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G String Choking at 12 Fret and Up

randomdude84

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Feb 7, 2015
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Hey guys, i have a custom shop VOS reissue of a 1957 Goldtop. have had it for a few years and never experienced this problem.

just changed strings and can't figure out why my g string is choking out when trying to bend it from the 12 fret and up. does start to choke out until i bend up to a whole step or more. no other string is doing this and i have adjusted the saddle height a few times and still getting the same thing happening.

any ideas?
 

Wilko

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no other string has to pull over the "hump".
 

El Gringo

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Could be your neck moved and needs an adjustment to add some relief , if you know how to do this fine , if not take it to a good tech
 

randomdude84

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Could be your neck moved and needs an adjustment to add some relief , if you know how to do this fine , if not take it to a good tech

i know how to adjust the neck and i did do it. i also put a heavier gauge string on this time. but i am not sure if i am adjusting correctly. i made the neck straighter but now i am getting some buzzing on the top frets by the nut. I've never been great at figuring out where I'm supposed to adjust the neck too.

its also stranger that the other strings aren't getting choked out though.
 

Cream Fan

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Might be because your bridge radius is too flat relative to the fretboard. Bridge collapse would make that happen. Do you use heavy-gauge strings?
 

El Gringo

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Maybe try adjusting the thumbwheels on the ABR-1 bridge or if its the Nashville that same adjustment on the thumbwheels to get rid of that buzzing or choke
 

Big Al

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i know how to adjust the neck and i did do it. i also put a heavier gauge string on this time. but i am not sure if i am adjusting correctly. i made the neck straighter but now i am getting some buzzing on the top frets by the nut. I've never been great at figuring out where I'm supposed to adjust the neck too.

its also stranger that the other strings aren't getting choked out though.

No, it seems you do not know how to adjust the neck or guitar. You know how to turn a bolt or screw but not why.

Take it to a competent tech.
 

Wilko

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No, it seems you do not know how to adjust the neck or guitar. You know how to turn a bolt or screw but not why.

Take it to a competent tech.

Love this advice.

If you knew how to adjust the neck, and you "did do it" it shouldn't be having a problem.
 

Dave P

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Oct 13, 2001
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It could be as simple as a collapsed ABR1, poor setup, or something more involved like a heel rise or fretboard hump. Without seeing the guitar, it's hard to diagnose.
 

randomdude84

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Feb 7, 2015
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Did you try to change the string?

i changed from 10's to 11's and i am positive this threw something off because i have played with 10's and never had a problem changing strings.

No, it seems you do not know how to adjust the neck or guitar. You know how to turn a bolt or screw but not why.

Take it to a competent tech.

appreciate the honesty. i must clarify that i do understand what neck bow and relief are and which way to adjust to achiever one vs the other. i also have a gauge set to measure but have never felt confident that I'm adjusting as well as i could be. but i agree, i think i will take it somewhere.

Might be because your bridge radius is too flat relative to the fretboard. Bridge collapse would make that happen. Do you use heavy-gauge strings?

yes, i just switched from 10's to 11's

Love this advice.

If you knew how to adjust the neck, and you "did do it" it shouldn't be having a problem.

but would a neck adjustment actually be creating this problem?
 

maxwedge

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Neck relief has little effect much above the 12th fret. Fretting or playing the 12th fret root? I'd pop a a new string in it to start with, could be a dud.
 

poor man's burst

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"]i changed from 10's to 11's and i am positive this threw something off because i have played with 10's and never had a problem changing strings."

I got that you changed the string set and went from 10s to 11s.

As your problem is only with the G string, it could be that it comes from the G string alone, which could be deffective, either having been damaged by some kind of mishandling or that came that way, even being new. Deffective new strings definitly happen.

It doesn't cost much neither takes a long time to begin with checking this.
 
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Wilko

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Neck relief has little effect much above the 12th fret. Fretting or playing the 12th fret root? I'd pop a a new string in it to start with, could be a dud.


Actually, it can have more effect higher up the neck. as this exagerated graphic shows:

neck_relief.jpg


of course, just changing string guage usually just makes the action a tad higher (if anything). lowering the bridge can lead to the above effect to some degree if there is added relief.
 

maxwedge

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I suppose a bit of movement is possible but with a Les Paul's neck glued in at the 16th fret and getting quite thick around the 14th it doesn't seem to change much in this area, at least in mine. Sounds like he's bending on the 14th fret to me and the fret out would be up higher on the neck.
 

Wilko

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I suppose a bit of movement is possible but with a Les Paul's neck glued in at the 16th fret and getting quite thick around the 14th it doesn't seem to change much in this area, at least in mine. Sounds like he's bending on the 14th fret to me and the fret out would be up higher on the neck.

see the graphic. Of course the fretboard isnt bending there. The change in geometry makes the angle bad in the upper areas.
 

maxwedge

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see the graphic. Of course the fretboard isnt bending there. The change in geometry makes the angle bad in the upper areas.
Ah, I think I see it now! As the truss rod is tightened the neck levels out in the middle but the nut drops some in relationship to the bridge, creating less clearance past the 12th fret. Is that right? In that case you would raise the bridge some to compensate.

Thanks!:salude
 

rick c

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May 28, 2016
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randomdude84: go back to basics. I don't have the luxury of a humidity controlled environment and when the weather changes for the worse (cold and wet) my guitars change a little too so a tiny amount of tweaking is required to make them and me happy again. Your problme may be a coincidental one with new, thicker strings and colde, wetter weather. You put a slightly heavier gauge of strings on and noticed this new problem. This is good news; if you had a hump in the neck post 12th fret then this would have also been an issue with the lighter strings, assuming your action set-up was about the same, so it may just be a relief issue and the G string is picking this up due to a rogue fret or two. A hump, if present would be expected a little further up the neck at around 16 and above.

Go look up guitar set-up on YouTube; there are dozens of good videos showing you exactly what to do; do not be scared, this is not rocket science. Make truss rod adjustments in small increments and wait to see what happens. My guitars all react immediately.

Take a peek at your G string saddle notch. Does it look deeper than the adjacent strings' ones? It's possible that the G string is relatively lower than the others due to a bad notch but unlikely as you didn't observe this issue with the lighter gauge strings.

Why did you make the move to thicker strings? If it hasn't made a significant difference to your tone/playability/whatever maybe you should go back to your original gauges and hopefully all will be well again.

Good luck
 
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