Bridge creaking

[Brandonah1994]

Hey guys! New member to the forum but have been lurking for the past few months. I've been mostly an electric player for about 15 years but recently gotten really into acoustic. I own a 2010 Taylor 114ce (bought used in 2012) and love it. Have changed to a bone saddle and ebony bridge pins and couldn't be happier.

My only issue is that I am getting a creaking sound from my bridge since changing to the ebony pins. Only notice this sound when tightening or loosing the strings and only on my wound strings. I decided to check the bridge plate as I worried there was an issue with it but the string ends seem to be seated fairly well with minimum wear on the plate.

As I dont have a lot of acoustic experience regarding maintenance and repairs/mods, is this common. I used Taylor branded ebony bridge pins so the taper should be correct. I did however need to lightly sand them to fit them flush

[mirwa]

You likely have a broken brace inside the guitar

[Brandonah1994]

Darn, that sounds like a pain to fix. Not sure I'd be up for a job like that. If it is that, does anyone have experience fixing that themselves or is it a job for a luthier? I'd imagine youd need special C clamps that probably cost more then the fix itself lol

[mirwa]

Go see a luthier, get a quote

[Bass.swimmer]

Could it be that the ball ends aren't seated correctly? The wound strings could be ticking as the windings slide by

[nikpearson]

...the wound strings moving across the saddle (or nut). It often surprises me that a sound can appear to be coming from one end of the guitar when the causes is somewhere else entirely. If the saddle is rough or the nut slots cut imperfectly then both can cause this sound when tuning the guitar as the wrap wire scrapes against the surface. Have you changed string gauge recently? This can also cause binding in the nut slots and the sound you describe.

The advice above to get you instrument checked out by a luthier is sound. Correcting saddle and nut issues is very simple for someone with the right tools and knowledge. Even if it turns out to be something more serious, such as a loose brace as suggested by Steve, this is still a simple repair for someone who knows what they’re doing. None of these should cost you very much.

[Brandonah1994]

Yeah I wondered if I could have been that! It's a brand new set of strings too, also I have graphite the nut so its probably just that sharp edge on the new bone saddle. Regardless though I'll definitely get it checked out