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Old 08-11-2017, 05:18 PM
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Default Quick Note Decay - Contributing Factors???

What factors contribute to fairly quick note decay in an acoustic guitar????
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Old 08-11-2017, 05:21 PM
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Too thin top or not braced stiff enough? The banjo effect,
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Old 08-11-2017, 05:27 PM
Scotso Scotso is offline
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What factors contribute to fairly quick note decay in an acoustic guitar????
gibson on the headstock.. love em but sustain ain't their bag
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Old 08-11-2017, 06:07 PM
Steadfastly Steadfastly is offline
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A cheaper guitar and/or old strings.
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Old 08-11-2017, 06:11 PM
Dustinfurlow Dustinfurlow is offline
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Crud built up on the nut/saddle. I gig full time during the summer and gotta give em a good clean occasionally or even new strings will sound slightly dead. Also tight action can be a factor...or even using medium gauge strings when a certain guitar might like lights on it better. These are just my experiences, hope they help.
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Old 08-11-2017, 06:18 PM
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Crud built up on the nut/saddle. I gig full time during the summer and gotta give em a good clean occasionally or even new strings will sound slightly dead. Also tight action can be a factor...or even using medium gauge strings when a certain guitar might like lights on it better. These are just my experiences, hope they help.
Have you found the coastal air and humidity to be rougher on strings than farther inland???
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Old 08-11-2017, 06:25 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Originally Posted by Imbler View Post
Too thin top or not braced stiff enough? The banjo effect,
"Acoustic guitar" doesn't always mean a round-hole flattop (preferably an OM) with a 1-3/4" neck...

A typical first-tier Big Band-era archtop - not exactly a sustain machine - has a top significantly thicker than a similar-vintage flattop...

They were braced to handle a 14-60/15-62 set tuned to concert pitch, often with a wound B string...

The unbraced membrane top of a banjo exhibits a more complex vibrational mode than many people realize, as well as comparatively quick decay...

There's a more intricate and involved mechanism here - I'm thinking one of the resident luthiers could explain it better, and in less space...
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Old 08-11-2017, 06:27 PM
lodi_55 lodi_55 is offline
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I think of the tonewoods as having a big impact/influence on note decay
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Old 08-11-2017, 06:58 PM
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String tension not being optimal for the top; too much or too little
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Old 08-11-2017, 07:09 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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As mentioned - very old strings.
Saddle not seated correctly.
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Old 08-11-2017, 07:34 PM
Dustinfurlow Dustinfurlow is offline
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Quote:
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Have you found the coastal air and humidity to be rougher on strings than farther inland???
I haven't gigged enough further inland to see a noticeable difference... I do know that the intense humidity in Southeast VA in the summers cuts my string life in half so I normally have to use coated strings (sigh) so they at least last two gigs.
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Old 08-11-2017, 10:39 PM
Misifus Misifus is offline
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Doyle Dykes has his guitars optimized for rapid decay. According to Doyle, a relatively shallow body, large sound hole, and maple b/s all help.
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Old 08-12-2017, 05:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imbler View Post
Too thin top or not braced stiff enough? The banjo effect,
I would think just the opposite. My 000-15 has a light, thin, lightly braced top and rings like a bell. I believe too thick, too heavy bracing and old strings would add up to short decay. I could be wrong, I usually am.
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Old 08-12-2017, 06:27 AM
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Overbuilt sound box of thicker plates minus tap tuning, heavy bracing and complete lack of luthiery in the design. I could have just said Gibson.
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Old 08-12-2017, 06:34 AM
Greg Ballantyne Greg Ballantyne is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lodi_55 View Post
I think of the tonewoods as having a big impact/influence on note decay
+1 on this. I've become a fan of ovangkol since buying my 418e - it has quite a bit of overtones, producing a complex sound. Lots of overtones can "muddy" the sound when strumming heavily, or playing fast. The solution is a bit faster decay, which seems to also be an attribute of ovangkol. I have however developed this opinion baseball on one guitar. Could be influenced but other things as well, big body, etc..... but I'm leaning toward secondary tonewood attribute.

RP, were you thinking about your 414 when you posted this, by any chance?
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