What is that *thunk* I hear? Can anything be done about it?

[N+1]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

I think people would be better occupied picking up their guitars and playing, rather than wasting time watching videos and listening for barely-existent, or even non-existent 'thunks'.

The fact that you hear it as 'barely existent or even non-existent', while for me it is the most disturbingly dominant and ruinous aspect of the video, is surely a matter of some little interest?

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by N+1

The fact that you hear it as 'barely existent or even non-existent', while for me it is the most disturbingly dominant and ruinous aspect of the video, is surely a matter of some little interest?

Are you hearing this when YOU play, or just identifying it in the playing of others?

[N+1]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Are you hearing this when YOU play, or just identifying it in the playing of others?

I'm only referring to the sound heard in the video in the first post in this thread. I've never heard such a sound anywhere else.

[funkapus]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Are you hearing this when YOU play, or just identifying it in the playing of others?

I've certainly heard it on some guitars I've played (including one I used to own - a hand-me-down), and not on (most) others.

[MHC]

I didn’t hear “thunk” but I distinctly heard “Yanny”

[funkapus]

Originally Posted by MHC

I didn’t hear “thunk” but I distinctly heard “Yanny”

I so wish this forum had rep.

[mickthemiller]

I think we've done this thunk on the g string previously. I hear it on lots of guitars either on open g or on fret 2 or 3 on that string. I also tested guitars that have this, I was going to say fault but who knows, by plucking the same note I hear the thunk on other strings e.g 7 or 8 fret on the d string. When I get a guitar that does this it annoys the hell out of me. I believe it's something to do with the way the sound box resonates at around that frequency. I would add that it doesn't seem to happen when a pick is used. I normally hear it when playing up strokes with the flesh of my finger. I also want to add that it does not happen on most of my guitars or most guitars I've played, so it is definitely not my hearing or in my head.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by N+1

The fact that you hear it as 'barely existent or even non-existent', while for me it is the most disturbingly dominant and ruinous aspect of the video, is surely a matter of some little interest?

Not really of any interest at all - we all have our own ears and we hear things differently, it's a 'human ' thing. I've listened to the video through speakers and headphones, and all I'm hearing is a lot of fret-buzz. Sorry!

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[jdto]

I'm glad my hearing is still good enough to hear it.

It may be accentuated by the recording or the room, but I don't think it's a product of those. It's quite easy to discern in this video and I've heard it from guitars in my hands on more than a few occasions.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by N+1

I'm only referring to the sound heard in the video in the first post in this thread. I've never heard such a sound anywhere else.

In some cases I attribute it to the inate response of that particular instrument. In other cases I attribute it to the technique of the player. The sound an instrument makes is the product of the two.

[BoneDigger]

Guitar tones and sounds are so very subjective. I have, more than once, taken a guitar to my tech and said "Do something about that horrible note!" He'd play it and say, "I don't hear anything that's off?"

We'd go back and forth with me trying to point it out and him saying he doesn't hear it. Now, this guy is really good, so it was probably just my hearing zoning in on one particular note. In all instances, a new brand of strings fixed it.

I don't specifically hear anything off in this video, but then it's totally possible that you and others here may hear something.

[funkapus]

Originally Posted by mickthemiller

I think we've done this thunk on the g string previously . . .I also want to add that it does not happen on most of my guitars or most guitars I've played, so it is definitely not my hearing or in my head.

Well, I can imagine that hearing does play a role. As another poster hinted, the recent Yanny/Laurel thing shows how individualized the experience of hearing the same sound can be. We all have different frequency responses; and playing with the frequencies used in that Yanny/Laurel thing made me able to hear either one. At the same time, the fact that it seems guitar-dependent for those who hear it indicates that it's not *just* the individual, either.

As for whether it's a big deal or not, obviously that's even more subjective. But my motivation for starting this thread is that there's a specific guitar on the market right now that I'd buy in a heartbeat, except for this issue. In every other way, I love the way this guitar sounds; but then that plunk comes out and the love fades. So I wondered if this was a known thing, and thus whether there was something one could do about it.

[Von Beerhofen]

Perhaps we're going the wrong way about this. Instead of ''did you hear that or this'' perhaps we can put the OP's mind at rest by explaining what phenomena on a guitar can actually cause the sound of a ''thunk'', like for instance a headbut or a bullet impact, or just the sound of a brace letting loose.

OK a bit far fetched, I agree, but string slippage is a pretty normal phenomenum on many guitars, they just don't happen all the time within seconds of eachother unless you try Jimi's bending techniques on an acoustic.

Then there also was the unexplained thunk quite some time ago which seemed to be linked to an expanding neckjoint or some other part. Since this was the most mysterious unexplained ''thunk'' and people started mentioning haunted guitarcases and such, it covered the most likely and unlikely sources of ''thunks''

Some thunks were explained by guitars dropping from clumsy hands or insecure stands but the shown pictures didn't leave much room for 2nd guessing the causes.

Ofcourse ''thunks'' in video's may not really have been coming from the guitar in question, it could have been coming from the street or from behind the stage, when a workman repairing the sewer dropped his hammer. In fact some ''thunks'' aren't thunks at all but more like a thud.

These are just a few explanations and I don't want my imagination running wild on the topic but I'm sure other people have a far more vivid imagination then I have and are just as desperate as me to look stupid, , so I'll leave the rest to them.

Ludwig

[Wistah]

I hear both the fret buzz and the g-string thunk that the OP describes. The G string sounds dead and lifeless when played open. When played fretted, it sounds OK. Could be a bunch of things, but my money is on a worn nut slot.

[RustyAxe]

I hear it ... but think it's more a product of the recording than it is the guitar.