Telecaster 3rd string problem.

[Shsun Brown]

My tele has an issue where in the 3rd string rings bum when played open. It seems to be contacting something.
I've straightened the neck and run a long flat stone up and down the frets but it didn't change. The pickups aren't too high and the nut could go down a tad but has plenty of breakaway and the strings stit with half their diameter in the grooves. There is also a small amount of relief, not a lot.
I've raised the saddle height for the 3rd string and also the 2nd and the 1st string which was ringing. The 3rd is a bit better but needs more height.I reckon. Problem now though is that the 1st string is around 2.05 mm on my vernier calliper and the 3rd is sticking up a fair bit higher I just can't get a measure on it but it's too high I reckon.
What's going on?

 

[dirocyn]

2mm action is not high. Not by my standards, anyway. But I'm of those who learned to play on an old dred with 13s and 12mm action, so I admit to bias. I have several guitars with 3mm action. It's a combination of how level the frets are, and how hard ya hit the strings.

Set the relief to a known amount, and tell us what it is. Fender spec is 0.08", whatever high e string you prefer is in the right ballpark. If there's still a problem after that, raise the action until it rings true under your normal touch. And then take a measurement and tell us what it is.

 

[Shsun Brown]

2mm action is not high. Not by my standards, anyway. But I'm of those who learned to play on an old dred with 13s and 12mm action, so I admit to bias. I have several guitars with 3mm action. It's a combination of how level the frets are, and how hard ya hit the strings.

Set the relief to a known amount, and tell us what it is. Fender spec is 0.08", whatever high e string you prefer is in the right ballpark. If there's still a problem after that, raise the action until it rings true under your normal touch. And then take a measurement and tell us what it is.

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to go and learn how to measure relief but I'm sure there's enough and won't be causing the issue.

I just put a mm ruler on the strings and they're all now at 3mm. The 3rd string sounds a bit better but it's still hinting at the problem.
I've noticed that the intonation adjuster for the 3rd string is a little mobile - theres about a 1 mm gap between it the ones either side. That 3rd string adjuster can move from side to side whilst the other five are all stable.
I'm wondering if that might be causing the issue.

 

[dirocyn]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to go and learn how to measure relief but I'm sure there's enough and won't be causing the issue.

I just put a mm ruler on the strings and they're all now at 3mm. The 3rd string sounds a bit better but it's still hinting at the problem.
I've noticed that the intonation adjuster for the 3rd string is a little mobile - theres about a 1 mm gap between it the ones either side. That 3rd string adjuster can move from side to side whilst the other five are all stable.
I'm wondering if that might be causing the issue.

6 saddle bridge? Make sure all of them are level with the body, and resting firmly on both screws.

 

[Shsun Brown]

6 saddle bridge? Make sure all of them are level with the body, and resting firmly on both screws.

 

[Shsun Brown]

They are. I made sure both the screws are planted firmly on the plate.

I might take the 3rd out and swap it with the 6th.
Other than that I dunno . I keep imagining a Telecaster with a flaw in the body or neck right below that 3rd string.
3mm is too high for those strings..

See what happens...

 

[NullPointer]

Dont these things drive ya nuts?!

Easy test: fold up a tiny piece of paper (or similar) and put it under the string in the nut just to raise the string a little and test if that helps. You mentioned that there appears to be enough height at the nut but this test will take you 20 seconds and it might reveal (or at least eliminate) an issue.

 

[Shsun Brown]

Er.... I put a piece of thin plastic under the string on the nut. It didn't work and now the ambulance has come to take me to the insane asylum.
Hah...
What a mystery.
I've put 3 tusq nuts on the damn thing. I put a cable tie over the 3rd string to act as a string tree but that didn't work neither.
Sounding bum when played open... You'd think that be first or 2nd fret issue but then tho maybe the amplitude of the string vibrating when played open might be enough to make it touch a fret further up the neck. I've skimmed a bit off the first and second fret when I ran the stone along neck and I can't see it touching a fret the 3rd is a 3mm height.
I'll swap the intonation adjuster today just in case.
I'm pondering whether the nut is having bad contact with the neck due to the curve in the neck but 3 nuts and me scratching and scraping the nut and the neck hasn't altered the bum sound at all.
What have I got.... I hidden, invisible internal split/fault in the neck or body?
I'll swap the adjusters and eliminate that possibility today

 

[Shsun Brown]

Er.... I put a piece of thin plastic under the string on the nut. It didn't work and now the ambulance has come to take me to the insane asylum.
Hah...
What a mystery.
I've put 3 tusq nuts on the damn thing. I put a cable tie over the 3rd string to act as a string tree but that didn't work neither.
Sounding bum when played open... You'd think that be first or 2nd fret issue but then tho maybe the amplitude of the string vibrating when played open might be enough to make it touch a fret further up the neck. I've skimmed a bit off the first and second fret when I ran the stone along neck and I can't see it touching a fret the 3rd is a 3mm height.
I'll swap the intonation adjuster today just in case.
I'm pondering whether the nut is having bad contact with the neck due to the curve in the neck but 3 nuts and me scratching and scraping the nut and the neck hasn't altered the bum sound at all.
What have I got.... I hidden, invisible internal split/fault in the neck or body?
I'll swap the adjusters and eliminate that possibility today

 

[Shsun Brown]

Right. Changed the adjusters over and now I'm homing in on maybe something which is just how sensitive is that 3rd string to tuning. I'm a bit all G'd out from listening and it gets confusing.
I'll leave it for an hour or two then check again.

 

[Scott Baxendale]

My tele has an issue where in the 3rd string rings bum when played open. It seems to be contacting something.
I've straightened the neck and run a long flat stone up and down the frets but it didn't change. The pickups aren't too high and the nut could go down a tad but has plenty of breakaway and the strings stit with half their diameter in the grooves. There is also a small amount of relief, not a lot.
I've raised the saddle height for the 3rd string and also the 2nd and the 1st string which was ringing. The 3rd is a bit better but needs more height.I reckon. Problem now though is that the 1st string is around 2.05 mm on my vernier calliper and the 3rd is sticking up a fair bit higher I just can't get a measure on it but it's too high I reckon.
What's going on?

You are not getting enough down pull from the tuning post with too low of a string angle. Make sure the string winds down the post and gives you the necessary down angle. I’ve seen this problem hundreds of times.

 

[Shsun Brown]

You are not getting enough down pull from the tuning post with too low of a string angle. Make sure the string winds down the post and gives you the necessary down angle. I’ve seen this problem hundreds of times.

 

[Shsun Brown]

The string is down the bottom of the post. Nut there's this now.
I swore I wasn't gonna miss something stupid and obvious- like the woman whos car was chewing the gas. She put it in to be fixed but nothing was found... untill the mechanics saw her get in the car and.... pull out the choke and.... hang her fricken hand bag on it...
Measuring the sting height at the first using vernier calliper isn't very good - too hard and my old eyes don't see that good. I found a mm ruler tho. It's telling me that top E is less than 2mm!
Problem tho is that the ruler is slightly chewed and fattened on the damn end. Need a better one.
But! Less than 2mm? And that's now after I gave the neck more relief.
Curse. Probably need to make another dam nut a mm or so higher. I'm getting good at it, cept I copied the too low height of the original.
Probably need to start from scratch do that with a new nut, get it to a good height and then maybe add some relief again. This guitar might be sensitive to a couple of things maybe even.