Open string rattle.

[SimonEriksson]

Hi! I've had my soloist for a month and a half now and I'm having some trouble with string rattling. The guitar is a SLX from the new X series and everything worked just fine untill 2 weeks ago when the low E, A and D strings started buzzing when they where played open and then they started buzzing when I played some notes on the fretboard as well and it is really annoying when I play some clean licks on my guitar. The tremolo is a Floyd Rose special and I guess it could be the strings that are starting to wear out but after just 1 and a half month?

The low E has been changed and it still rattles but perhaps the other strings are getting so bad that they can't keep up with the spring tension thus pulling the bridge down into the guitar?

I've had cheaper guitars with tremolos that never buzzed but I guess the factory might use the cheapest strings money can buy.

The thing that I find weird is that the open notes rattles, and the rattle comes from the bridge saddle. Could it be that the neck is warping due to tempautre changes? I live in Sweden so it is rather cold here but the neck looks good to me but perhaps I should get a second opinion from my local music store.

If any one knows how to fix this then please tell me!

[straycat]

Could be your tremelo springs rattling, slide a piece of foam under them and see if the rattle goes away that way you have isolated the issue.
Factory strings need to come off when you get a new guitar no telling how long they have been on there.
I wouldn't worry about the neck if it looks straight to you.Pics of the neck looking from both ends would be a help you may have to adj the neck relief.
The Floyd should be flat along with the body not dipping back or leaning forward.

[ginsambo]

Is it rattling, harmonic chiming or fret buzzing? With the central heating and dry air things move. I'd advocate checking floyd springs too and changing strings.

Are your strings the same gauge as the factory set? If they are 9's and the guitar was fitted with 10's you might notice some buzz as the floyd will be rocked backwards off parallel, effectively reducing your action and the neck will be experiencing less string tension, backbowing it slightly. Check floyd is in same position to how it was when there was no buzzing and everything else is the same, as said ideally parallel. However I reckon they are fitted with 9's at the factory so probably not the problem. If your floyd springs have stretched, that effectively raises your action by allowing trem to sit tilted fowards, so unless a spring is a bit loose and rattling, that is not the problem either.

Try another brand of strings of they were cheap replacements.

Sight down neck from either end to check for twisting.

Not to worry you but try tapping the back of the neck by the body - does it knock? If so your truss rod is loose, you may have too much relief causing the buzz or the neck has backbowed or simply the loose rod is causing the rattle.

Worse case scenario is that the neck has straightened out a little with the central heating, however it may simply of bowed a little, as the truss rod settled in a bit, causing too much relief which is causing your buzzing, if the action was set very low. Check the relief on the 8th fret with an automotive feeler gauge by fretting 1st with a capo or shoestring and last fret at the same time. http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/108...ch-neck-relief

I don't know if these have a two way truss rod (You can mechanically relieve and backbow the neck with the truss rod).

Give the trussrod an 1/8 turn clockwise until it is just snug if its trussrod rattle.

If the neck relief is too much tighten the truss rod an 1/8 turn clockwise looking down the neck from the headstock to the body. Leave overnight and repeat if necessary max 1/4 turn ish.

If there is not enough neck relief and the trussrod is tight, slacken it 1/8 turn. If there is not enough neck relief and the trussrod is loose, unless you fit heavier strings, or have a two way trussrod you are basically bollocked. Although fitting heavier strings like 10's over winter might be enough to deal with it.

How much do you play per day. With a low action, it is not unknown to wear out frets in a month, especially cheap ones, you just don't know on these Chinese guitars, if you do a lot of low string bends etc, the problem might be that your highest frets are unworn and causing the buzz on the low strings - check your fret wear.

More likely is perhaps a fret popped out slightly from the board - visually check them, especially high ones on low strings. The lower your action the more sensitive your setup is to climate. Maybe just raise the action in the winter a touch.

[Bobby8]

The neck shouldn't be warping from temp change, you're not playing your guitar out on the street covered in snow anyway. Are you? The neck relief is my guess too as far as rattling across the fingerboard. You should take it to a tech if you're not familiar with adjusting the truss rod.

[SimonEriksson]

Yes the replacement string was the same gauge as the factory one, the neck had a bit of a back bow when I got it but it wasn't hard to fix and the guitar played great after that but then the strings started to rattle.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PEff0MYtuA Thats the problem I've got with all open wounded strings. I've asked the guy who uploaded the video if he knew how to fix it but no answer yet. And I don't need to dive down with the trem in order to make the strings rattle.

And just a note, the guitar is made in India.

Im not playing it outside But I do take it from my home to rehearsal 4 times a week but I have it in a hardcase so I don't really think thats the problem either.

I play 4 or 5 hours each day and sometimes up to 10 hours when I have all day rehearsal but the frets looks good and I don't see any fretwear.

I'll do a full setup this weekend with the tools I have available and change the strings.

[toejam]

Sounds like your fine tuners rattling. Adjust them a little and see if it goes away. I had a Floyd do this once on a G string and traced it back to the fine tuner.

[Jayster]

Sounds like your fine tuners rattling. Adjust them a little and see if it goes away. I had a Floyd do this once on a G string and traced it back to the fine tuner.

Interesting thought Tj, and just on general purposes Tuck FoeJam


You should be able to(after removing the trem cavity cover), use your free hand to 'deaden' the rattle. Simply pick one point at a time and see where when touching to stop movement, makes the offensive rattle stop.

If this doesn't immediatly help you find the problem, change your strings(making sure the gauges are normal(ish)). Then give a 'normal' set up. If the problem still happens, try to isolate what string - and if it's open\across the board... more than 1 string etc....


But, listen to these guys.... hang around and they'll teach ya stuff

Cheers!

[HOTRIFF]

I had a similar problem with my SL1 which has an original Floyd Rose.I had this kind of rattle when playing the A string open.
I realized when I put my finger on the saddle the rattle disapeared.So I replaced this saddle and the rattle was gone.
Maybe the saddles of your Floyd Rose are bad.