Low E too high when fretted

[dan6652]

Newbie here, apologies if the issue has already been discussed.

When I play, say, a G major chord (320003), the bass G note is way too high, I guess because of the thickness of the string.

It is somewhat noticeable when strumming, but highly annoying when arpeggio'ing.

I am using .012 gauge, meaning that the low E string is .054. Had to give up 0.013 altogether because the problem was even worse there.

Any ideas?

[Dr O’Fluf]

Sounds like you need a setup.

Could be a number of things from the bridge being in the wrong place (highly unlikely) to the nut slots not being deep enough/the action being too high.

Hard to diagnose remotely; is there a local guitar tech you can take it to?

[YamahaGuy]

A couple things that can help.
1) if you mostly play in a key where you're fretting that string (like G or D or C) try tuning that string down ever so slightly
2) the action at the nut is way too high. Filing down the nut slot could help some
3) the saddle height is too high. As others have said, having setup done will certainly help
4) try fretting closer to the fret as opposed to in the midpoint of the two frets
5) the guitar may have really large frets. Having them leveled will help slightly.

I hope this helps

[stanron]

Here are a couple of tests you can do yourself on your guitar.

Put a capo on the first fret and tune your guitar to

F A# D# G# C F

If the problem has gone then the nut is too high or in the wrong position.

If your tuner will only tune to

E A D G B E

then tune to that but your string tension will be lower.

This link

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musi...nutaction.html

Shows you how to check if your nut is too high.

To check if your bridge is in the correct position measure from the nut fret to the 12th fret. then measure from the 12th fret to the bridge. The first measurement, from the nut fret to the 12th gives you the theoretical string length. The second measurement, from the 12th to the bridge gives you the practical string length taking into consideration the very small amount of stretching that happens when you press the strings down.

The second measurement should be 2 to 3 mm longer on the High E and 3 to 5 mm longer on the bass E.

If you don't have a nut fret and do this test from the nut you are making the assumption that the nut is in the correct position. 99% of the time it will be but if you do the test from the 1st fret to the 13th and the 13th fret to the bridge this possibility of error is eliminated.

I hope that this is not too complicated.

[TBman]

You're saying "when its fretted" so as someone else said, possibly the frets need to be leveled. Can you post a picture of the situation?

[Coop47]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

A couple things that can help.
1) if you mostly play in a key where you're fretting that string (like G or D or C) try tuning that string down ever so slightly
2) the action at the nut is way too high. Filing down the nut slot could help some
3) the saddle height is too high. As others have said, having setup done will certainly help
4) try fretting closer to the fret as opposed to in the midpoint of the two frets
5) the guitar may have really large frets. Having them leveled will help slightly.

I hope this helps

Great list of potential causes, to which I can only add one: You may be fretting too hard or possibly pulling/bending the string. I'm an experienced player with a bad habit of doing this. But if you've never had your guitar set up, I'm guessing it's 2 or 3.

[RustyAxe]

You are admittedly new to guitar. Great! It's a lot of fun. As a beginner, it's important to know what you don't know. The best advice given so far is to get your guitar professionally set up. And be sure the tech addresses the following:

Neck relief
Nut slot height
Level/crown/polish frets if need
Check neck angle
Adjust saddle height if needed
Check intonation

If you're lucky, you might ask the tech if you can watch and learn. There are some good references on the web ... even if you can't actually do the work yourself, at least you'll understand what it is and why it's necessary.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

A couple things that can help.
1) if you mostly play in a key where you're fretting that string (like G or D or C) try tuning that string down ever so slightly
2) the action at the nut is way too high. Filing down the nut slot could help some
3) the saddle height is too high. As others have said, having setup done will certainly help
4) try fretting closer to the fret as opposed to in the midpoint of the two frets
5) the guitar may have really large frets. Having them leveled will help slightly.

I hope this helps

All good tips in general, but (3) and (4) won't cause a fretted note to sound sharp. (3) just might, but the saddle would need to be very high.

One thing you didn't mention - point (6) - is the possibility that fret 3 under the 6th string is worn down, or fret 4 is too high, so the string is actually sounding off the 4th fret (or an even higher one).
He did say "way too high", which makes me think it's not just a nut problem.