Rattling Sound Inside Gibson J-45

[FiggyPudding18]

Hi All,

I bought a new J-45 about a month ago. It plays great but I have noticed something and can't tell if it's just my OCD or something that could be fixed. I have noticed that when I play the guitar in certain positions, particularly kind of slouched on the couch, or with the guitar at a 45 degree angle, the D and G strings will "rattle". It's not fret buzz, it is inside the guitar. I checked to make sure the strings are all seated against the bridge plate and they are, here is a picture of the bridge pins before I tightened the strings: https://imgur.com/a/UkE9Y5h. Right now I am thinking it is the pickup wiring or something (LR Baggs Element VTC) rattling around inside or something with the way the strings are seated. I'm thinking of taking it for a setup and to get this looked at but I am a little concerned they won't be able to hear the buzz as it seems to only happen every so often. Does anyone have any ideas? Is it normal for acoustic guitars with pickups to rattle occasionally/slightly?

Here is a recording of the sound that I made. Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGbE...ature=youtu.be

[unimogbert]

..........

[SuperB23]

Most of the time this is a pickup wire issue unless there's no pickup than its could be a loose brace. Loosen the strings up and do your best to move the wires around a bit and make sure none are touching the top.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by unimogbert

The little battery pocket inside my J45 came loose...

This was my first thought

[Martin_F]

It’s very hard to diagnose a rattle in a post. The usual culprits have already been mentioned in previous posts. However, many things can sound Like they are likely are coming from inside the guitar when they aren’t. You have to check absolutely everything on the guitar to make sure nothing is loose, check that there isn’t something inside the guitar hanging around, or strings where they should be cut by the tuners are not touching. All this being said, start with the easiest first, as in the pickup wiring or the battery. Then move on to other simple things, such as checking to make sure the tuners are tight. There are plenty of little things that can cause buzz. Remember that the body of the guitar body converts to sound all the vibrations it receives, so it can be anything. The braces are the last thing to consider. If a brace is loose enough, there is no way that you won’t hear it. These things can be pesky! The pickup itself should not rattle, but The wires can or if the saddle isn’t perfectly flat you can get some noise. So many things!

Good luck!

Martin

[Wade Hampton]

Fig, the advice you’ve been given in this thread so far is good. I especially like the way that Martin went on to describe how many seemingly non-related issues can cause odd noises that are created elsewhere on the guitar but seem to be coming from inside the body cavity. Good call, Martin.

As with several other folks, I think the most likely cause is that a wire came loose. Usually battery holders are easy to see through the soundhole. So if that isn’t loose my suspicion is that the problem is farther down the signal chain.

Most of the time, the wires that connect the pickup from the top to the endpin jack are held in place with little plastic holders that are attached to the side and top by an adhesive backing. If that adhesive gets dried out, the wire holders can and often do pop loose and create exactly what you’ve described in terms of the noise and how it varies by how you hold the instrument.

You can use your smartphone to investigate this. If you get to a place inside where you can’t see the screen as you look through the viewfinder, take some pictures. This can happen anywhere along the length of that wire, whether under the top or along the side.

My bet is that it happened along the side somewhere, but that doesn’t mean I’m right! It’s just an educated guess on my part.

Once you figure out what the problem was caused by, please return to this thread and tell the rest of us what it turned out to be. You’ve gotten me curious about it.
Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by FiggyPudding18

Hi All,

I bought a new J-45 about a month ago. It plays great but I have noticed something and can't tell if it's just my OCD or something that could be fixed. I have noticed that when I play the guitar in certain positions, particularly kind of slouched on the couch, or with the guitar at a 45 degree angle, the D and G strings will "rattle". It's not fret buzz, it is inside the guitar. I checked to make sure the strings are all seated against the bridge plate and they are, here is a picture of the bridge pins before I tightened the strings: https://imgur.com/a/UkE9Y5h. Right now I am thinking it is the pickup wiring or something (LR Baggs Element VTC) rattling around inside or something with the way the strings are seated. I'm thinking of taking it for a setup and to get this looked at but I am a little concerned they won't be able to hear the buzz as it seems to only happen every so often. Does anyone have any ideas? Is it normal for acoustic guitars with pickups to rattle occasionally/slightly?

Here is a recording of the sound that I made. Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGbE...ature=youtu.be

I'll go for the worst case scenario:

Have you treated the guitar well? Hasn't taken any kind of fall or blow?

When you play those rattling strings, put a hand on top of the top of your guitar. It can be something simple as something loose with the electronics, but it can be something worse: a loose brace. A loose brace can be fixed, but many luthiers and guitar techs have uneasy times fixing those.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

I'll go for the worst case scenario:

Have you treated the guitar well? Hasn't taken any kind of fall or blow?

When you play those rattling strings, put a hand on top of the top of your guitar. It can be something simple as something loose with the electronics, but it can be something worse: a loose brace. A loose brace can be fixed, but many luthiers and guitar techs have uneasy times fixing those.

Really? I've had loose braces on instruments several times, and it's never been any big deal to get them fixed. My longtime guitar repairman just uses some of those deep throated C clamps, pads them so they don't dent the wood of the brace or top, and then just reglues the brace back in place. He cleans up the area which needs to be reglued before gluing the brace back in place, of course, but it's always been a quick, inexpensive repair.

It does get a bit more complicated if the brace has to be replaced, but even that is not major surgery.

Replacing a bridgeplate - now THAT can be more worrisome, time-consuming and thus more costly to repair. But none of the guitar techs I've used in the past have had any problems with fixing them.


Wade Hampton Miller

[DaveG]

Another thing to check. My Larrivee had a rattling sound that seemed to be coming from the inside. After much searching it turned out that the nut on the end pin jack had come loose. There is a cover that screws over it, so it was hard to spot.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by FiggyPudding18

Hi All,

I bought a new J-45 about a month ago. It plays great but I have noticed something and can't tell if it's just my OCD or something that could be fixed. I have noticed that when I play the guitar in certain positions, particularly kind of slouched on the couch, or with the guitar at a 45 degree angle, the D and G strings will "rattle". It's not fret buzz, it is inside the guitar. I checked to make sure the strings are all seated against the bridge plate and they are, here is a picture of the bridge pins before I tightened the strings: https://imgur.com/a/UkE9Y5h. Right now I am thinking it is the pickup wiring or something (LR Baggs Element VTC) rattling around inside or something with the way the strings are seated. I'm thinking of taking it for a setup and to get this looked at but I am a little concerned they won't be able to hear the buzz as it seems to only happen every so often. Does anyone have any ideas? Is it normal for acoustic guitars with pickups to rattle occasionally/slightly?

Here is a recording of the sound that I made. Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGbE...ature=youtu.be

I'm not hearing it... but.. I've been down this road before.

Put some painters tape over the wheels for volume and tone. The see if it still happens.

My 2016 SJ200 had the Anthem, which has a pretty large pre-amp module.

after about a year, I would notice the same thing. Certain notes, I'd hear something coming out of the J200 that should not have been. Drove me crazy..

Turns out it was that pre-amp module for the Anthem.

I replaced with a different setup, and that was the end of it. I do miss the great sound the anthem had, but I absolutely don't miss the rattles..

[Photojeep]

For the longest time my Martin DCPA4 had an intermittent "rattle" that was beginning to drive me nuts.

Turns out it was the nut on the D string tuning peg. The one that holds the tuner from falling back down the hole if that makes any sense.

Anyway, I tightened it up (it was really loose!) and voila! No more rattle.

Like someone said above, these noises seem to come from parts of the guitar other than the true location of the problem.

Good luck,
PJ

[Martin_F]

Any word on some resolution Figgypudding18? We are all wondering what it was!

Martin

[jseth]

It's one of the wires for his pickup rattling/buzzing against the back or sides... in the opening post, he said something about "when I lean back on my couch and play"... and that's EXACTLY when you hear that sucker buzzing... the rattling, as well, when shaken (not stirred)...

I don't think this one is Rocket Science, guys... although the guitar IS a "new" Gibson, so, there's that to consider as well...

(Where's that emoji with the nervous face and eyes all askew?)

[Wade Hampton]

It can happen with any brand of guitar.


whm

[rmp]

Being a Gibson guitar has nothing to do with this.