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Resophonic Rattles
I have had a few requests to write something here about rattles in resophonic guitars. First because of the way a resophonic guitar works, amplification of the vibrating string frequency with a metal cone, you are far more likely to hear rattles in the upper frequency which may not make themselves audible in a normal acoustic guitar.
What to look for before seeking help.
There are two basic causes of rattles- frequency based rattles, rattles that only occur when a specific frequency or note is played and volume related rattles.
Many rattles which appear to come from the cone do not. Most come from something being loose and not always the obvious.
The first thing that people go for is the coverplate so make sure all the screws are nipped up and give the coverplate a tap. (If you have a tricone tapping on coverplate is bound to cause a rattle but this rarely translates into a playing rattle. If you suspect it is the coverplate on a tricone seek professional advice.) If you do get a rattle after all the screws this will usually be a frequency based rattle and will occur at a specific place on the perimeter of the coverplate.
Next check the tailpiece screw and also the ball ends of the strings. Its not the ball ends that are touching the coverplate but those that are just missing that can cause problems. If you suspect the ball ends loosen the strings and place a thin piece of felt, leather or even cardboard under the ball ends. This buffer can be mounted with contact cement to either the tailpiece or the coverplate.
If your guitar has a pickup fitted make sure the output jack is tight.
Now we move to the neck. Hold the guitar up but wrapping your hand around the neck and strings. With the ball of your other hand give the back of the neck a not to hard hit just behind the nut. If you get a positive rattle or knock check the following- all screws at the top of the neck e.g. truss rod cover screws, tuner screws and the most likely culprit the small 10mm nuts that form part of the machine head (just under the string.) The machine head nuts often come loose letting the washer rattle around and believe me it can be difficult to trace. If all else fails check the truss rod. Make sure it is not loose in the neck.
Remember you can only really check for elimination of rattles once you have the guitar fully strung and in pitch.
Lastly if you have checked all the above and you still think you have a rattle seek competent, profession help. Opening up a resophonic is not a job to be taken lightly but in truth if you are careful with the cone there very little you can damage.
Bad Manners, Arrogance and doing Business.
Over the last couple of weeks I've had my fill of bad mannered customers showing their arrogance by placing orders only to back out once the goods were ready. Those of you who deal with me on a regular basis or have just phoned, emailed, etc know that I'm usually pretty easy going and will offer all the advice I can. I'm only too happy to try to help people and also often carry out small repairs in my workshop at no cost. however I have my limits. One involved a father and son coming to my place to buy a guitar. They selected a they liked, one of my hand made guitars, and asked if I could fit a pickup. Because it was for the son's birthday I said OK and quoted below cost for the pickup and offered to fit it free of charge. As I judge people by my own standards I didn't ask for a deposit and told them I would let them know when it was ready. Two days later I rang the father and he informed me his son had decided to "do a bit more looking around". What they were getting was a hand made acoustic guitar, a $300.00 retail pickup and a hard case for $1800.00 with 2 years warrantee. The second case was much the same. A person spent more than an hour here playing and testing resophonic guitars. He finally settled on one which had been hand set up but decided he wanted to upgrade it and have a pickup fitted. I was waiting on pickups but said I would have the pickups soon. In the mean time someone had wanted the guitar as it was but I told them it was sold. I rang to let the customer know the pickup had arrived and he informed me that he wanted to "look at some other guitars". Both of these situations would have been OK if they they had made it clear they were both just looking but in both cases they entered into an agreement only to back out and had I not contacted them I probably would have never been told. Yes you can say I should have taken a deposit and you're right but because of my nature (or poor judgement) two agreements were broken. My answer to this. I will not deal with either of these people again. I don't need customers with attitudes like this. They are the arrogant and just make it more difficult for genuine buyers.Don't believe everything you read.
It's an old saying but true even more so when you don't know who is actually doing the writing.One online forum dedicated to letting people rate their guitars and equipment is a really great idea. However it is obvious that the comments are written by three groups:
The people who really don't think the equipment is poor,
people who like the equipment or who don't want to admit to making a wrong choice,
and the actual manufacturers of the equipment.
It is obvious that a lot of the positive ratings are not what they seem. When you can read similar styles in a majority of the ratings chances are they were either written by the same person or the same person directed the writing. These types of forums and sites like My Space, Facebook, etc are not intended for people to covertly advertise their products. This is just dishonest and devalues the forum's value.
Endorsements by famous or not so famous artists are similar. Most are either paid for their endorsement or have guitars thrown at them. This is OK as long as you know. One large US company prides itself on the fact that it has never given away a guitar for endorsement purposes. This is almost a lie by omission because they do actually pay for artist endorsements.
Honestly, I have given instruments away that I have built or sold them at cost but the reason for this is to encourage young and potential talent. You will not find their names on my website or elsewhere endorsing my instruments. This doesn't make me a shining light in this business but I don't go out of my way to devalue what are valuable services especially to the person who wants to read what actual people have to say about instruments and equipment.
Online Guitar Lessons Around at this time are sites offering online guitar lessons. I viewed a few of these and generally they are very poor both in their content and value for money. Most have major errors of playing technique, music theory and misguided "teaching methods". Also if you don't understand you can't ask questions. sure you can email most of them but who wants to wait days or weeks for explanations. Most of these programs show you what to do rather than teach you what to do. The difference lies in the ability of the instructor to explain a technique and how it works rather than just repeated just demonstrating it. Demonstrating a pentatonic scale and calling it a blues scale is also confusing to the beginner as the two are similar but the blues scale has a extra note. Poor understanding or guitar style in one of the lessons was demonstrated when the instructor played a D major scale in the first position using the second and fourth fingers. As you don't normally use the first fret in the D scale you just move your hand down one fret and and use your first finger on the second fret etc. My view - don't waste your money, there are many great guitarists but few teach well.Innovations
In the last couple of years we have seen "innovations" in materials and construction of acoustic guitars. Whilst I'm for all and applaud innovation and improvements in technology many of these "innovations" have been a backward step in the structure and sound of the instruments. If "innovations" don't work give them up.
New materials have been a source of many problems. Keeping the guitar together is just one major problem and sound is another.
I am not a traditionalist but believe in using what works. I have tried many innovations in Resophonic guitars some work well and I keep them other have a negative effect and I abandon them and go back to what works.
Think about this the top three selling guitars around the world are Fender Telecaster, Stratocaster and Gibson's Les Paul. Yes they can be improved but they were all designed in the fifties and all stand up well and most people want their Tele,etc to sound like an original. They got it pretty right.
A good acoustic guitar should sound like a good acoustic guitar. You shouldn't have to pay the price of a good acoustic guitar and really only pay for some persons ego.THE MAGIC STRING
One of the major US acoustic guitar manufacturers and string suppliers is claiming to have strings of the same gauge that use the same tension and are the same thickness to get to the same frequency (note) but are easier to bend. They say they have done this by using a thinner core and thick winding.In a wire or string frequency is dependant upon three factors; tension, mass (or more correctly linear mass density) and length.
If you change the materials, in this case bronze for steel, that do not have the same linear mass density then something has to change to maintain the frequency. We can't change the scale length so tension MUST change. If you argue that the thinner steel core has been compressed and has the same linear mass as the old core then the amount of bronze to maintain the gauge must change thus the overall linear mass density has still changed. Below is one formula to determine frequency where T is tension, m is mass and L is length.
(1)
Without even understanding this it is easy to see change mass, length, and/or tension and the frequency is changed. Simply change one and you have to change at least one more to give the same frequency.
Just as a sideline (excuse the pun) this principle is used to string tennis rackets. Pro racket strings actually have a frequency of between 500Hz and 700Hz.
Alright now what about the claim that the strings will bend more easily.
Once two strings of the same mass are tensioned to give the same frequency by definition they must bend an equal distance with the same force. Why? The resistance to deformation of a wire under tension is the practical way we measure tension. Tension is non-direction and uniform.
Below is a picture of a tensiometer measuring tension in a wire. It can either deform the wire with a given force and measure the deformation or it can deform the wire a given amount and measure the force needed.
I'm not saying these are not excellent strings and changing the core won't help sound but as I told the company don't mix science and advertising terms and don't give as Voodoo "science".
If you want a more detailed explanation look up - Young's Modulus along with Hook's Law (tension and elasticity).
(1) String Tension Cross, Rod 2006
BEWARE THE ZONE
There is a "retailer" in Canberra calling itself The Zone,etc. There are few good luthiers in Canberra and they don't seem to use any. I've been in repairs and building for over 12 Years and I do know all the top guitar luthiers in Canberra. I have been playing and doing my own repairs (with guidance) for over 40 years.
To suggest that someone who has worked on guitars for a long time in no way qualifies them to work on violins then the reverse is true. Not only does each need it own way of doing things but a simple job such as setting action takes not only book skills but experience and "feel". I would not try to repair violins as I don't have the experience and feel. I have seen some of the repairs and restorations from the zone and they are very much have the look of a job where the person responsible did not know what they he/she was doing. Both myself and a colleague know what it is like to re-repair a guitar like this, simply its two to three times as hard.
BEWARE OF SOME TRADERS ON ONLINE AUCTIONS.
There are some traders on online auctions charging $350 plus for shipment of guitars, etc from China. They sell the guitars for as little as $5.00 but make up for it by the huge and misleading shipping charges. Worse still some don't deliver the products at all and there is very little that can be economically done. Shipping a guitar from China should cost, at most, AUD$120.00. This overcharging scam is the second biggest problem with online auctions and despite knowing this the proprietors of the online auctions don't care. And if you think you might sue them when the goods don't arrive most are not based in Australia despite there names. The largest "Australian"online auction is registered and based in Holland. If you don't believe me go to their section on paying GST and you'll see they don't pay GST because they are based overseas.
Tips on this page are for everyone from the beginner to the advanced player. Some may seem basic to advanced players and other may seem out of the reach of beginning players. If you want more information or you what like to contribute a tip please e-mail me at the address below. Many are the results of my most asked questions. If you want a question answered e-mail me and I'll include the answer in my tips.
All tips © Barron Clarke 1999/2008. Tips may only be reproduced with permission. If you wish to reproduce these tips for noncommercial use please e-mail me.
The guitar making is going well and I'll report with photos soon. As I said below Making an acoustic guitar is not for the faint hearted and specialist tools are needed.
I'm at present buying and putting together 3 Acoustic guitar kits, one from each of the major US suppiers - Stewart MacDonald, Martin and Luthiers Mercantile. I intended to write a full article on all aspects of the kits but if the one I'm making at the moment is anything to go by it could be a long hard road. This one has split timbers, badly machined parts, full sized plans that aren't full size, etc. Without a lot of skill and specialist tools this kit would have been impossible to make. I also had another luthier friend of mine look at the kit and he's surprised that I've got as far as I have. He has also been a great source of advice.
Simple fact is that a Au$550 kit is going to cost you at least that in specialist tools and then you've got to spray it. A full report and comparison will appear on its own page later in the year or if you want to know more you can e-mail or phone me. Meanwhile stick to electric kits for your first project!!
I'm often asked the advantages of bone nuts, bone saddles and non-plastic bridge pins. Bone nuts and saddles are simply harder and denser than plastic and transmit mid and high frequency sound better. This can make a big difference to the quality of the sound of a guitar. (Ivory was once the choice of top luthiers) There are also many fine synthetic (notice a didn't say plastic) materials on the market that are very suitable for nuts and saddles. Good quality Corian and Micarta to name just two.
Bridge pins are a different story. I have always been amazed that even top guitar manufacturers persist with plastic bridge pins. The very least that they should supply are bridge pins made out of the same timber as the bridge. These are readily available and don't cost the earth especially if you are talking about $4,000 plus for a guitar. Many smaller makers use timber, bone or even brass bridge pins. Each of these materials has its own special tonal characteristics. changing all three (nut, saddle and bridge pins) will make a noticeable difference to the sound of your guitar.
There are at least three major string manufacturers making coated strings of one sort or another. Don't rush in and buy these. They are usually three times the price of a standard set of strings. They do live up to the promise that "they will sound as good in 3 months as when you put them on." Unfortunately what they fail to say is that they sound like 4 week old strings when you first put them on
Sometimes favorite guitar straps keep slipping off the strap buttons. Rather than replacing the strap or buttons save the plastic pieces off the bread bags and slip one of these over the button on the outside of the strap. This should stop it coming off and is cheap. If you don't like white try colouring it with a felt tipped pen.
I've lately seen a lot of string problems at the ball ends especially on plain strings. They can untwist or break through contact with they tailpiece. The simple solution is to tin, apply a small amount of solder, the length of the twist using the smallest soldering iron possible. This not only reinforces the twist but also provides a lubricant (the lead in the solder) for any part of the twist that contacts the tailpiece.
A couple of guitars I've seen over in the last three weeks have had warped necks. Some people seem to think that all neck problems can be resolved with the use of the neck adjustment rod. This is just what it says its for, adjustment, not for taking out warps. Any more than about 2mm and the guitar needs a luthier. Even though warps bigger than this may be able to be 'fixed' with the adjustment rod there is a reason that the neck is this far out and over tightening the adjustment rod can cause more problems than it will fix.
A handy scale to know is the basic E scale. This can then be moved up and down the fretboard (like E formation barre chords) to play notes of different scales easily and quickly. The E scale from the 6th string is as follows:
(E6)0, 2, 4. (A5) 0, 2, 4. (D4) 1, 2, 4. (G3) 1, 2. (B2) 0, 2, 4. (E1)
If you are having problems playing a piece of music from tab check the music. If you only read tab ask somebody who can read both to check it for you. The last 3 lots of sheets music I have purchased have all had problems with the tab. One, published in a magazine, was both wrong in the musical notation and the tab and the errors didn't even match.
So you want to be able to get big string bends on your steel string acoustic....Well try this....Tune the guitar down a full tone and play away. If you want to play in 'standard' tune use a capo on the second fret. This method is becoming very popular especially with all the 'unplugged' concerts and albums around these days. Happy bending.
Fretboards get a lot of use (or abuse). Most fretboard that I see that are well worn are usually worn next to the strings not under the strings. Keep your nails short on the fretting hand and this will go some way to keeping the fretboard in good condition.
Many people find Barre chords the hardest of all the chord types to master. There are several reasons for this; first don't use the flat of the first finger roll it so you are using the side. This can be naturally achieved by making the second finger lean back onto the first finger. Next practice using the first finger only to find out what strings are giving you problems. Once you have that try playing your first Barre chords at the 5th fret (A in the E formation) as the distance between the frets at this position is less of a stretch than at the first fret and the fingers are less 'crowded' than they would be further down the neck, work back up the neck.
Why polish frets? Less expensive guitars often come with rough or poorly polished frets. Polishing the frets will help sustain, tone, intonation and string life. They also look great.
Pickup heights can cause much confusion. This height should be measured between the string and the top of the pickup with the string depressed at the last fret. If the pickup is too close it will overdrive, if it is too far away it will lack volume and tone. With single coil pickups a good place to start is about 3.5mm on the bass side and about 3mm on the treble side. With humbuckers 2.7mm on both sides is a good starting point and many dual coil pickups are also adjustable from front to rear. (e.g. De Armond).Factory specs should come with the pickup or be able to be found on the manufacturer's website.
Many people complain that their guitar goes 'out of tune' when they use a capo and the most common and unjust thought is that the scale length or saddle is incorrect. Almost in every case the capo is on to hard especially on the bass strings. With today's jumbo frets pushing a bass string all the way to the fingerboard can send it 'out of tune'. Capos should be adjusted so that they hold the strings on the desired fret without rattle and this may be well off the fingerboard!
A question I get asked a lot is should the strings on a guitar that is going to be shipped or stored for some time be slackened off. The simple answer is no. If the guitar is adjusted correctly loosening the strings may actually cause the neck to bow. There are exceptions to this but if in doubt check with your friendly luthier.
When using an automatic electronic tuner it can seem to jump from the string being tuned to another string. This is especially true of E-1. You will often get a reading of E-1, A-5 and back to E-1. This is not a fault of the tuner but shows how strings react with each other. When one string is played other strings will start what is called sympathetic vibration. The solution is to damp the strings not being tuned.
Want to get those big bends on your steel string acoustic. Tune the guitar down a whole tone and use a capo on the second fret to bring it up to tune. The lower string tension will allow bigger and easier the bends.
When using a slide the position of the slide is the same as when playing harmonics. The slide should touch the string directly over the fret. It can be moved quickly back and forth to provide vibrato but it should not be stopped in the 'normal' finger position
If you want to stop two metal parts rattling in a resophonic guitar coat each with a small amount of olive oil and apply some silicon to one surface. Place the surfaces together, press gently and allow the silicon to dry. The oil stops the silicon from sticking but allows a buffer between the parts. This can be used on problem cones and seats but not on spider bridges !
One of the most important aspects of guitar playing is to keep the wrist as straight as possible. This allows better finger movement and flexibility. If you don't think this sounds right try making a fist with your wrist fully bent.
Loose frets can not only be distracting but, if you are playing a gig, a real disaster. A simple and quick fix is to use a very small amount of super glue to hold the fret until it can be fixed professionally. Make sure you mask off the fret board and only use the smallest amount on the tang of the fret. Its always a good idea to carry low tack masking tape and a good brand super glue in your tool kit.
Drone strings can be very effective especially on the bass strings. Try using the E (6th) string with the A (5th) string played on the following frets 2,3,5,7,9,10 and 12. If you're playing through and amp with overdrive try using random runs using the above frets and you'll find some interesting sounds.
If you have to change strings change them one at a time. This causes the least disruption to the neck setup. Usually if you remove them all the neck will resettle after about 2 days. Every three months it is a good idea to remove all the strings and polish the frets. Mask off the fret board leaving only the frets clear. Use 'Brasso' or similar to polish the frets then clean the fretboard with lemon oil.
Playing most styles of guitar requires bending of strings, but what if the note is on an open string. There are 2 solutions - use the fret of the next lower string that is equivalent to the note or bend the open string by pushing on the part of the string between the nut and the tuner. The second method is hard on the fingers but produces nice results.
If you are required to do a pull off of several notes in a row this can be achieved by pulling the finger to be lifted across the string rather than just lifting it up. What you are actually doing is plucking the string with that finger then do the same with the next. With this system you can easily pull off four notes without loss of volume even on a classical guitar.
When changing strings on an open tail guitar, such as an archtop or resophonic guitar, it is often difficult to keep the strings in the tail. A simple solution to this is to place the string in the tail and use a piece of masking tape to hold it there. If you are changing one string at a time the same piece of tape can be use for all strings.
People are often surprised what difference a new set of strings makes to the sound of their guitars. Even if a guitar is not being played strings on any steel string guitar should be changed every 6 to 8 weeks. This is particularly so if it is an acoustic guitar. There are many reasons for this but the most important is corrosion. Whilst attempts have been made to address this by various means none seem entirely satisfactory.
Most quick riffs which do not use hammering on use chord or chord like formations. If you have the riff in tab try stacking the notes and copying the stack to a chord graph. Even if it doesn't make a recognisable chord very often it will help with finger positions for the riff. Remember to consider where you fingers will have to go after the riff especially if it is a quick move as this will often affect what fingers are placed on each string.
One of the great myths about playing the guitar is that you need lots of strength in your fingers and some books even tell students to squeeze a tennis ball to build up strength. In fact it takes very little effort to put enough pressure on the strings to 'stop' them on the frets. In many cases the string and finger do not even have to touch the fretboard to stop the string. What is required is flexibility and the ability to move the fingers independently. Think of the hand as a ballet dancer not a weightlifter.
If you play a 'classical' guitar and it needs restringing try replacing the 6th, 5th and 4th strings only. Many guitarists who play this type of guitar like to leave the nylon strings until they are really worn or break as these strings get a more crisp sound with age. It also helps overcome the problem of always tuning the nylon strings. Hannabach do produce a bass only set of three strings - 7287 HT - to deal with the problem left over strings.
Playing fast chord runs, especially if the chords are new to you, can be like a game of chess. What I do is draw out the fingering positions of the chords on blank chord chart paper and work out what fingers to use so that the next chord is as easy as possible to move to. You may have to do this several times to make a run with work but it is worthwhile. Try this also with music written only in tab and you'll probably be surprised how many chords you already know.
One of the most common problems with acoustic guitars (especially 'classical' guitars) is the bridge lifting off the soundboard. You can check the bridge by visually inspecting the edge of the bridge closest to the bottom of the guitar. If you can slide a piece of paper under the joint between the soundboard and the bridge then have it checked professionally. It is a simple matter for a luthier to remove and re-glue the bridge. If the bridge is lifting and you have it repaired you will be surprised at the difference in sound and action. Don't confuse this problem with the top of the guitar 'arching' this is a normal process but once it is high enough to cause action problems it will usually be more expensive to fix.
Many people have difficulty with bending a string where they have to bend up 3 or 4 semitones from the fretted note. The solution is fairly easy but takes some practice. Use your third finger on the string and when you start to bend introduce the first and second finger to help 'push' on the string to the desired pitch. You should be able to bend strings 1, 2 and 3 at least 3 semitones in this way, especially if you are at or above the 5th fret.
Sliding is a technique guitar players often have trouble with either ending up short or overshooting the wanted position. This is how to do it: Let's say you want to slide from the fifth fret to the twelfth. Place your finger on the fifth fret and keep your eyes on the twelfth fret, keep good pressure on the string and slide your finger. It should stop at the fret you were watching. Don't watch your finger nothing is going to get in the way so concentrate on the desired fret.
One technique beginners often find hard to master is the hammer on. Many people will tell you to hammer as soon as you pluck the string (or strings). Whilst this does produce the loudest results your finger can move a little after the string has been plucked, however when it does move it must move quickly and accurately. If it is moved slowly it will simply 'kill' the original vibration and the only sound you will hear will be caused by the string hitting the fret. Hammering can be used to great effect with a full chord as well as single notes.
Beginners (and others) often can't tell if a string is sharp or flat when tuning a guitar using relative tuning. A method I teach all beginners is to pluck both strings at the same time. If you can only hear one clear sound then the strings are in tune but if you hear a 'dirty' note then the strings are different. The problem come when the strings almost sound the same. Try bending the string you are holding down and if the strings sound further apart then the open string is flat. If the strings sound closer together then the open string is sharp.
When trying to play tunes, licks or bass runs it is best to remember there are only 5 semitones on the guitar that can only be played in one position. To put it another way most notes can be played in at least 2 positions and up to 5. For example: A bass run from B back to E can be played using only the bass E string or the A and E strings. The way it is played will depend on many factors not the least of which is speed. The run can be played more quickly and easily using the A string than just running back down the E string.
Just as chords can be played in different ways most notes on the guitar can be played in positions.
Many people only use bar chords when moving up the fretboard these days but it was common for some of the blind guitarists from the 20's and 30's to only know 4 or 5 chords. They would move them up and down the fretboard to play in different keys.
Try moving C7, D or D7(with thumb hooked on the second fret), A7 or just a plain E.
Another variation of the Barre chord is as follows.
F#
The 1st and 5th strings are not usually played and the 6th string is fretted with the thumb.
This chord is often used where the player wants to leave a finger free for melody.
When restringing a guitar always leave enough string to finish with about 2 to 3 winds around the post.
A good guide is to set the string to allow enough slack so that its about 100mm (4") above the fingerboard at the 12th fret .
This should give adequate turns of string on the post to ensure about 2 to 3 winds, depending on string guage.
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