Home Forums Guitar Discussion Guitar G-string sounding “damped”

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  • #23476
    riz
    Participant

    Hi everyone!
    The title says it all… on my Maton ms500 I finally noticed that the hole G string sounds a bit strange, like if it was damped somehow. That becomes really bad between the 12th and 14th fret, where the sustain is really short.
    Be aware the tuner for that string does not seem to work really well, since it loses intonation quite fast, and the bridge itself does not look a full quality one.
    Any suggestion?
    Thanks!

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    • #74214
      riz
      Participant

      the nut actually seems fine, but who knows.
      about the pickups: it is the double pickup model, the standard ms500. I haven’t thought about that, but how can I check if it is that? maybe lowering one of the two pickups a little?
      another possibility I thought of is the bridge. since it is clearly a quite cheap model, can’t it be that it is the bridge itself, that is absorbing some frequencies and causing a lack of resonance of the whole string? or just dampening the vibration of the string?
      if the string was sounding dampened only when not fretted, then the tuner might have been part of the cause, but since it ALWAYS sounds strange then (as far as I can understand) it should not be responsible of this problem… or maybe it is?!?

    • #74253
      lee_UK
      Participant

      could be the nut too.
      could be a pickup pole? is it single pickup model?

    • #74227
      riz
      Participant

      hi lee, thanks for your reply.
      the guitar has had a complete fret job done, so frets can not be.
      since one mchine head is not working properly (strangely, the g one) I was planning to replace the grover deluxe that were stock (vintage type), with some grover standard sealed tuners, which appear to be heavier; maybe more weight on the headstock will help? the bridge too is nasty, when I have some money i’ll put a new and heavier one on.
      for now, i’ll just try to change strings….
      one more thing just before i go.
      i already knew that there was this kind of dead spot on the neck, which, i read, can be caused by a lack of resonance or something like that. anyway, since the whole string sounds dull and only gets worse in that spot, it could be a “hardware” (=tuners or bridge or tailpiece or whatever) problem, right?
      byebye!

    • #74190
      lee_UK
      Participant

      Get some new strings, make sure they are the same gauge (thickness)otherwise you will need to setup the guitar again. Usually the opposite happens to what you are saying, the G strings usualy rings over everything else, i would also be tempted to change that string on its own before the complete restring. For a complete restring,
      Change one string at a time, take off the 1st ‘E’ string and replace that, then the 2nd and so on. You can eliminate problems with bridges etc.
      If your problem is worse on the 12th and 14th fret then you may have a problem with fret heights?, may need the frets ‘dressing’ or the action may be too low? try adjusting that string higher from the bridge.
      Could also be a dead spot which some guitars suffer with, that can be a very difficult problem to cure, but one answer is a device called a ‘Fat Finger’ , its kind of a clamp that clamps on the headstock, it increases sustain and can iron out ‘dead spots’ on the neck.
      Hope this helps.

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