Weturn of the Weird Warbly Wickenbacker!
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:17 pm
So I spent the evening changing strings on my 330 last night. When I got my 660, Chris at POTR thoughtfully threw in a set of Pyramid Gold .011's for the old standby - the kind I like!
Anyways, so I notice that the d string and the A string both pulsate. . . like they are out of tune. The problem is, they pulsate on their own, with no help from any other strings. So I spent last evening and most of this evening tinkering with the guitar. I did just about every thing imaginable - stuffing paper into the bridge to immobilize the intonation springs, tweaking the rods, tweaking the intonation screws themselves, reversing the bridge, immobilizing all strings behind the bridge, immobilizing all strings on the headstock. . . let's see. . . re-installing the strings. . . .checking the screws on the machine heads. . . etc. etc. ad nauseam. The only thing I did not do was get into the control cavity (And I considered it!)
Turns out, it wasn;t the ceiling fan (like last time) it was the *new strings* themselves. At any rate, I put on my old A and D and no warble (These were also pyramids).
Is it possible that some strings are just born defective? I;ve heard all sorts of great stuff about pyramids (and indeed, they do sound and feel good and last a long time) but two bum strings in one set is just odd.
Or is it possible to screw up something as simple as a string change and get strange results? I did everything by-the-book - proper number of turns, 1st over, rest under, etc, and I can;t figure this one out.
For the time being the problem is moot, but I am mighty curious. Anybody have some light to shed on this matter?
On the bright side, the old strings *still*, after many many moons, sound great. The only difference to the new ones is a very slight loss in top end and volume. Still got the chunk rhythm + jangle though.
Anyways, so I notice that the d string and the A string both pulsate. . . like they are out of tune. The problem is, they pulsate on their own, with no help from any other strings. So I spent last evening and most of this evening tinkering with the guitar. I did just about every thing imaginable - stuffing paper into the bridge to immobilize the intonation springs, tweaking the rods, tweaking the intonation screws themselves, reversing the bridge, immobilizing all strings behind the bridge, immobilizing all strings on the headstock. . . let's see. . . re-installing the strings. . . .checking the screws on the machine heads. . . etc. etc. ad nauseam. The only thing I did not do was get into the control cavity (And I considered it!)
Turns out, it wasn;t the ceiling fan (like last time) it was the *new strings* themselves. At any rate, I put on my old A and D and no warble (These were also pyramids).
Is it possible that some strings are just born defective? I;ve heard all sorts of great stuff about pyramids (and indeed, they do sound and feel good and last a long time) but two bum strings in one set is just odd.
Or is it possible to screw up something as simple as a string change and get strange results? I did everything by-the-book - proper number of turns, 1st over, rest under, etc, and I can;t figure this one out.
For the time being the problem is moot, but I am mighty curious. Anybody have some light to shed on this matter?
On the bright side, the old strings *still*, after many many moons, sound great. The only difference to the new ones is a very slight loss in top end and volume. Still got the chunk rhythm + jangle though.