Ringing noise from my acoustic guitar, Help.

[KirkJohnston]

I bought a new acoustic a few weeks ago (Fender CD-60SCE) and as I have been working through the beginning lessons, particularly lesson 2 - beginning blues chords, I am getting a strange ringing noise that resonates after strumming the low e, b & g strings for the E7, A7 & B7 chords, first and second frets.. I do not believe it is fret buzz, as this after ringing seams to be resonating more from the bridge area, but I have tried moving my fingers up and down from the fret, different picks, finger strumming, etc., and it does not make a difference. I do not get this after ringing as I will describe it, from single notes, only getting it on the chords. It really is getting bothersome and sounds terrible. So, am I doing something wrong? or should I take the guitar into a dealer shop and have an expert take a look at it? I am using the strings that came with the guitar, Fender 70L .012-.052 80/20 Bronze

 

[MikeS]

If you think the sounds will be picked up and if you know how to, maybe record it and post it here so that we ca hear what you are talking about.
It's never a bad idea to take it back and ask the dealer to listen.

 

[Jalapeno]

I bought a new acoustic a few weeks ago (Fender CD-60SCE) and as I have been working through the beginning lessons, particularly lesson 2 - beginning blues chords, I am getting a strange ringing noise that resonates after strumming the low e, b & g strings for the E7, A7 & B7 chords, first and second frets.. I do not believe it is fret buzz, as this after ringing seams to be resonating more from the bridge area, but I have tried moving my fingers up and down from the fret, different picks, finger strumming, etc., and it does not make a difference. I do not get this after ringing as I will describe it, from single notes, only getting it on the chords. It really is getting bothersome and sounds terrible. So, am I doing something wrong? or should I take the guitar into a dealer shop and have an expert take a look at it? I am using the strings that came with the guitar, Fender 70L .012-.052 80/20 Bronze

It sounds like a phenomena called "sympathetic resonance" or "sympathetic vibrations". You can look it up in google if you want to know more and there are a number of acoustic guitar forums with threads about it. You can try changing strings and see if it helps. Acoustic guitars are made to vibrate and at certain frequencies the vibrations can be long and annoying. You can try tuning your strings down 1/2 step and see if those frequencies have less sympathetic resonance. The only technique I'm aware of to tame it is learning to mute with both hands. Different strings helped me a little when my guitar was doing it. I've since learned to mute. I had a B string that used to drive me nuts with open chords and it helped by changing to a different brand of string.

Eric

 

[Al Holloway]

Firstly it is in tune? and secondly your not pressing the strings to hard are you? Has it been set up correctly, and is the nut the correct height? I find the cause of many issues where single notes sound OK but chords don't is down to tuning issues. Either caused by guitar setup/tuning ot technique.

cheers

Al.

 

[KirkJohnston]

Thanks everyone for the guidance. Based on the info, I am going to take the guitar in and have it looked at by a pro and see if I do have a mechanical issue with it or if it is the guy trying to operate it. I do currently have it tuned to standard tuning, but the strings do seem to be a bit loose to me, so time to have a pro take a look at it.

Kirk

 

[KirkJohnston]

Took the guitar into my local music shop. The owner of the shop played the guitar for a bit and started getting the same ringing, he shimmed up the saddle a bit which helped, but after playing for a few, the sound came back. Checked the frets and discovered the 5th fret had a slight hump in it starting at the G string and tapering off at the E string, enough to cause a fret buzz when the strings were sustained. So they are going to repair that fret and should be good. So much for a new guitar, even though it's just a cheap beginner acoustic guitar, the quality seems to be pretty poor. Glad I have my Les Paul as I will be using it for practice until I get the Fender back.

 

[Many Moons]

Hopefully that will sort it.

 

[Elio]

I was going to suggest checking the intonation since you primarily experience the problem with chordsbut it sounds as though you may have a handle on the problem. When you pick it up, you may want to have them check the intonation as it is very quick and easy to do.

 

[KirkJohnston]

I was going to suggest checking the intonation since you primarily experience the problem with chordsbut it sounds as though you may have a handle on the problem. When you pick it up, you may want to have them check the intonation as it is very quick and easy to do.

Thank you for the info. One of the first things the shop owner did when checking the guitar out, was to capo the strings to a higher fret and he re-tuned to pitch. Now I know what he was doing. I did get the guitar back the very next day with fret repair done and it is now a pleasure to play.

Kirk

 

[Elio]

Thank you for the info. One of the first things the shop owner did when checking the guitar out, was to capo the strings to a higher fret and he re-tuned to pitch. Now I know what he was doing. I did get the guitar back the very next day with fret repair done and it is now a pleasure to play.

Kirk

Glad it worked out! Those small adjustments can make a big difference sometimes. Checking the intonation is very easy. Just tune the open strings and then check them again at the 12th fret (which is the octave), and they should still be in tune. On an electric guitar, if a string is out of tune at the 12th fret (but not in the open position), the saddle needs to be moved in one direction or another to compensate. It is a relatively easy adjustment on an electric and there are quite a few YouTube videos that demonstrate it. For an acoustic, I leave intonation to the professionals.