No sustain on low E string when fretted

[derek2400]

Hi folks,
I have a canundrum. On my Gibson LG, I have great sustain and a long decay of notes on every string but my Low E. This is when fretted . Especially when capoed. Is there anything I can look for to remedy this? Thanks!

[stanron]

Strings or saddle is what comes first to mind. If the problem persists after a string change I would examine how well the bottom of the saddle contacts the bridge or body. Ah, what year LG is it? Does it have the plastic bridge or the adjustable saddle?

[stanron]

Just reread your post and seen you have a 61 LG. Nice guitar. I've got a 64 LG0 with the plastic bridge replaced with rosewood and have wondered about having it re strutted. The 61 should have the thin original style bridge. When you change the strings, pull the saddle out and have a look. If the bottom of the saddle is flat you could try a soft pencil rub test between the saddle and it's bed to see if there is a low point or void beneath the 6th string.

[derek2400]

Excellent!!! I will get some new strings tomorrow and check out the saddle. Yes...it is a great little guitar. It was given to me as a gift fom my uncle. He, my dad, and my other uncle all learned on it. It was a 61 LG1. I had it "X braced" a number of years ago and it sounds HUGE! I love it! I treasure it dearly. Thanks for your input! I`ll keep you posted.

[gitnoob]

Also try dropping the tuning (e.g., to D) and see if that improves the bass response.

If it does, that suggests "wolf tone" to me.

[derek2400]

What the he -"double hockey sticks" is wolf tone????????

[mr. beaumont]

Wolf tone usually is the term given to a note that the guitar particularly resonates at. For example, on my old Kay archtop, it's an Eb on the sixth string, 11th fret.

Plugged in with some volume, it can get resonant to the point of a feedback "howl."

I'm not sure what gitnoob means by it here, though, seems to be the opposite of too much resonance...

I agree with the saddle diagnosis...I had a student with the same problem, and it was actually a saddle with a curved bottom...looked like the knucklehead previous owner decided he wanted to radius his own saddle--so he flipped the existing one over and worked on it!

[arie]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Wolf tone usually is the term given to a note that the guitar particularly resonates at. For example, on my old Kay archtop, it's an Eb on the sixth string, 11th fret.

Plugged in with some volume, it can get resonant to the point of a feedback "howl."

Actually a wolf note is produced when a played note matches the natural resonating frequency of the guitar. It produces a sustaining sympathetic overtone that amplifies and expands the frequencies of the original note. They often produce "beat notes" as well -very much like what happens when you tune with harmonics and you hear a pulsing sound until the string is up to pitch.

The note that the whole instrument resonates at is it's "resonant frequency". This can be found by humming or singing a note into the sound hole. The note that causes the instrument to "sound off" so to speak the most is it's resonant frequency.

Orchestral string players will often have an attenuator placed upon the bridge to cancel out the offending note. The more skilled players will skip that note entirely.

I suspect that the op has fretting and capo'ing issues. Possibly with the placement of the capo. He hasn't stated what happens to the E string when played open.

[gitnoob]

Yes, wolf tone means that a guitar resonates too strongly at a certain frequency.

The effect is that all of the energy of the note is expended quickly, and there's no sustain for that particular note.

So conversely to the "howl" you'd think it'd generate, it sounds dead. (Sustain is a function of keeping the energy in the strings.)

[mr. beaumont]

I love it here, I learn something every day.