Why is my b string louder than the other 5 strings ?
It's an early 80's american standard strat, everything is stock, except I replaced the orginal maple neck with a neck(rose wood, smaller frets) from a mexican strat I have, the orginal neck desperately needs a fret job. I've had the mex neck on for awhile, and didn't notice the problem before, maybe I just didn't notice it. The strings are stock D'addario 10s, fairly fresh, I have the bridge set to float, I use to have it locked down.
The other day at rehersal, I started noticing it, maybe it was how my amp ('72 Fender Deluxe) was positioned? playing at a certain volume ? ? It seemed to happen reguardless of pickups selected, maybe not, it's hard to tell though, I was trying to be particular when I played to play each string with the same dynamics so as to get a better idea of what was going on.
I have a few guitars, do slight mods to them now and then, play varying situations, practice space, small and large gigs, so its not always easy to pinpoint when, where, if things change.
Any thoughts ?
Comments
Fender pick-ups are notorious for that, and they have several ne
Fender pick-ups are notorious for that, and they have several new models that will compensate for it. Go to their website and check it out. You also need to be sure that the bridge saddle for that string is properly set so that the string doesn't sit too close to the polepieces of the pick-ups. But I'm sure that you've done that already, right? I mean, after all, the radius of the rosewood neck vs. the maple fingerboard neck are different, and the curvature of the strings across the bridge vs. the arc due to the topnut are going to be off a bit. If that curvature is different enough, that 'B' string may very well be sitting too close to the pick-ups! Dig?
Hummm On your advice I started checking a few thinks, like is i
Hummm
On your advice I started checking a few thinks, like is it louder when played open, when I played it un-plug, in my house were it is quite, it seems that the b string when played open seems to be sound louder...., if that's true, I'm wondering
are the other strings going dead and the b string still have more life left in it. They are a whole matched D'addario set,
Is it something in the nut, I did cut it myself and I'm not a tech, so I could have the other strings sitting badly in the nut grooves and the b string sitting correctly so it rings better....
The string heights all seem to be set good. but those pickups also could be contributing to the problem, like you say moonbaby if they are notorious for acting like that....they are orginals from early 80's
I'll try a couple things and see if I can figure it out.
Also, the strat is an 83-84, it was kind of hard to read the hand written pencil date on the neck heel....but any thoughts on stratts from those years...like are the pickups any good, electronics, etc...
I am very much "old school" on Strats, in that the ones I have e
I am very much "old school" on Strats, in that the ones I have experienced from after the mid-sixties are not my cup of tea.
There were a lot of different versions of the Strat back in the 80s (still are). I would try another set of strings first, and maybe have a guitar tech at a reputable shop in your area look at it. Also go to the Fender website and check the forums. My personal take is that the p-ups are crappy, but that's just my opinion....
I can't see anything in the string or neck causing it to be loud
I can't see anything in the string or neck causing it to be louder unless it's physically closer to the pickup. It could be the pickup, but you said you tried different ones.
Is it a different string from the others? Does the guage match?
Is it the B string no matter what note you play or is it just the open B? It could be the room. Perhaps that frequency resonates more than others in the room and makes it sound louder.