Strange experience with guitar

[backdoc]

So I have a Gretsch g9521 roots series that I initially loved, but it had gotten sounding really muffled and I noticed one day when I bumped the back of the guitar on my knee that a loud clunk was heard. I could repeat this every time and I thought perhaps a brace on the top had come loose and was rattling and thought also that might be the reason for the loss in tone.

So I finally took it to Guitar Center (authorized service for Fender/Gretsch) the tech there looked inside and couldn't find anything and then sighted down the neck and said the truss rod needed adjusting. After he adjusted it, the clunking noise was gone and he played the guitar and it absolutely was transformed and sounded amazing. He didn't charge me a dime, he recommended some strings that also sound great on the guitar and he told me to come back in 6 months and he'd check it out again and make sure it was staying properly adjusted.

Anyone ever experience a truss rod make that much difference in tone?

Anyway, kudos to the tech there (forgot his name ) but if you're in Raleigh, NC I think the level of service I got is worth recommending. Also, to those who have read this far. If you are looking for an amazing and inexpensive fingerstyle guitar, you really should check these out. 12 fret, nut width is a bit narrower at 1.73" by my calipers, but the spacing at the saddle is about 2 5/16" which I don't see often in guitars of this price range. And now with the truss rod adjusted the thing sounds WAY better than most $350 guitars.

[Steadfastly]

It sounds like the truss rod was really loose and rattling inside its channel. Never heard of this before though.

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

It sounds like the truss rod was really loose and rattling inside its channel.

Not unusual at all. Slightly tightening the rod will/did eliminate the rattle. Transforming the sound though... ? This doesn’t make sense alone. New strings, however can transform a guitar.

[Stevien]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

Not unusual at all. Slightly tightening the rod will/did eliminate the rattle. Transforming the sound though... ? This doesn’t make sense alone. New strings, however can transform a guitar.

..... Sure. If the truss rod was loose, it would slightly rattle with the vibration of the strings, making each note sound dull & distorted. Glad it was an easy fix!
Steve

[Wade Hampton]

I've had that happen once before. It's not a common problem, but it's certainly not unheard, either.


whm

[mickthemiller]

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

It sounds like the truss rod was really loose and rattling inside its channel. Never heard of this before though.

Agree, always make sure the truss rod is tight. Not a bad idea to regularly check that the machine screws are not loosening as these can cause some odd rattles too.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by mickthemiller

Agree, always make sure the truss rod is tight. Not a bad idea to regularly check that the machine screws are not loosening as these can cause some odd rattles too.

I would paraphrase that by saying that it's a good idea to make sure all the hardware that can rattle or buzz when loose should be firmed up. This includes not only the truss rod, but also all the screws holding the tuners onto the headstock, the screws holding the tuner buttons onto the tuners, and on those tuners that have nuts in place of bushings, the nuts should be firmed up, as well.

That's just part of my routine whenever I detect a buzz or rattle: I take my little phillipshead screwdriver, truss rod wrench and 10 mm nut wrench and firm up whatever should be snug but isn't.

Sometimes there can be odd noises that seem to be coming from inside the body cavity of the guitar, but when you track them down they're actually coming from the headstock somewhere instead. And vice versa.

Another source of the occasional noise from inside the body cavity can be onboard electronics, particularly when those little adhesive pads holding the wires to the inside of the guitar dry out and pop loose. Again, there's nothing obvious that instantly makes you think: "Oh, the wire from the jack to the pickup must have popped loose." I mean, sometimes it's obvious but as often as not it's kind of a mystery until you track down the source of the noise through a process of elimination.


whm