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I have a Yamaha ls-Ta which I really like! I did a good set up on it Ian’s it plays like a dream BUT.....

When I voice the b string on the 5th fret for an e note my A string resonates the e, which gives a strange sound imo.

What is going on?
How can I fix this?

Ideas?



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That is an overtone/harmonic. Some people call them sympathetic resonances. There is nothing you can do to eliminate them except remove the A string. Every single guitar has these and they are a normal part of a guitar.

For example, leave all the strings open and play the high E by itself all the way up the board, you will hear the other strings light up on various notes. Resophonic guitars do this to a higher degree than regular wood bodies.

Dan is right. Harmonic vibrations happen all over the place. Sometimes a tuning machine will start to buzz, but only when you hit a B flat note. Wolf tones happen because your soundboard has an inbuilt sympathetic resonance of G#, or whatever. Some of these can be eliminated. The tuning machine might quit buzzing if you tighten it’s screws, or lubricate its gears. You can alter soundboard resonance by adding or subtracting weight, or adding mass to the sides. Your string sympathetic resonance might be less annoying if you use different gauge strings, or slightly alter the scale length of that string at the nut or saddle.

Not being there in person hinders the ability to be really helpful, but here’s a thought: try muting the strings in the area between the nut and the tuners by sticking some felt in there, or by applying a capo very lightly right behind the nut. It is sometimes the case that the resonances referenced above are picked up in that area. Since you don’t have your hands up there to mute the strings that are reacting to what you are playing (which is what a player would normally do to stop such extraneous sounds), you need something else to stop the ringing. I don’t know if that is what is happening, but I see it often enough to mention it as a possibility to eliminate.

I’ll try something like this. I understand that it happens all the time, but this time it almost sounds like feedback (and no I’m not plugged in:))... it’s just annoying


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Usually sympathetic vibrations are not annoying, but if it is giving a sitar like sound it may be a poorly cut nut slot.

This is possible! I adjusted the slots . I did use proper width files and ramp them... what constitutes a poorly cut a slot ?


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Here is something I do when cutting and deepening nut slots: Assume the headstock is at a 15 degree angle relative to the fingerboard. I try to have the nut file sit at an angle that is half that. If I try to keep the file sort of equidistant from the headstock and the fingerboard, it usually works out, even if the slot is rounded a bit, due to my inability to keep a constant angle. If, however, I were to allow the file to become parallel to the fingerboard, there is always a risk that it doesn't stay completely parallel, and dips down toward the fingerboard too much. Even a little bit of that is a problem, because it allows the front face of the nut to be slightly below where the string exits the slot, and that gives you the buzzing, sitar-like noise. Maybe this is obvious, but this is how I do it, and I don't have the buzzing problem. This way, all my "angle error" still gives me a slot that is angled toward the headstock a bit.

Also assuming the slot has a rounded bottom (as it should using a nut file) it doesn't hurt to have a slot a few thousands wider than the string so there is no chance it will get pinched in the slot and be held above the bottom. Rolling the file side to side a little bit can widen the slot enough to do this.