Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey there fellows,

A customer brought in a 75th Anniversary Gibson Advanced Jumbo which has an underwhelming low E - I thought must be a poorly seated low E string in the nut because he raised his string guage (I checked he indeed did do that), but I checked the nutslot takeoff and the seating on the bridge it seemed fine. Went over it a bit just in case... no change.
Anyone ever encounter this? This is a really expensive instrument and its been that way since he got it apparently.
Is there a chance its something in the bracing, I thought maybe loose tonebar or something?

If you have any ideas Im all ears

Thanks
Charlie

Change the string first. It's literally the cheapest part of the guitar.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks Chris yeah, Ive had new E strings on it same guage he uses and everything, its really not that.
but going over it a little more Ive noticed a short 1 second feedback howl when you strike the low e hard (anywhere from the 1st to 4rth fret) and release finger pressure without taking your finger off the string. There should be a little hum but this is a loud howl, Im wondering if its a competing frequency when playing thats cancelling out the e.
Im going on with an inspection mirror and seeing if theres anything loose in there. I dont know what this could be.
Ive not experienced this before, Ive chased rattles and buzzes all over the place before, but this is new to me.
cheers
Charlie

Sounds odd to me. Let us know what else you find.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Maybe the frequency response of the box is killing the low E? There are others here that are much more knowledgeable than I but I would try a quick experiment and tape a weight to the bridge to see if it changes the response.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

If you haven’t already, check that the saddle AND the saddle slot are dead flat


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Steve's "tape a weight to the bridge" is a great suggestion; locate on each wings, and center, one at a time. You can move that weight around the top and the sides too. Generous thumb sized hunk of blue poster putty works. Extra ordinary tuners and hardware can make a difference too- check the nuts and screws.

If you want to move into the Freq Analysis space, its not very difficult, or expensive.
Free, REW FFT Frequency Analyzer program for PC (Room EQ Wizard)
Good USB Microphone with 30hz to 20000hz (good low freq response)- one that uses a calibration file is usually recommended.
Pink trapazoid pencil eraser on the end of a chopstick (or a marimba mallet medium hard).
More info on request....

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

I agree with all the suggestions including yours.

I'd definitely look for a loose brace end and rule that out.

Brian

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED