# Bad sound on low E



## Aryonas (Aug 13, 2008)

Hey. When I engage my distortion pedal, I get a terrible sound from my low E string. It is the only string that acts like this, and it seems to only happen when the pedal is engaged. I hooked a different guitar to the same pedal and amp, to see if the pedal or amp caused the problem, but it sounded great. And once again, when I plugged my other guitar back in, I got the bad sound. It sounds out of tune and sort-of hollow. It isn't very sharp and almost sounds like there is less distortion on it. And yes, it is in tune. In D-Drop. Please tell me what to do, raise or lower pickups or rods, or raise bridge.... please help


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

A change of strings can do wonders.

If your guitar hasnt gotten a setup in while (6 months to a year), its prob about $40 and well spent. Esp if it wasnt setup for Drop D tuning.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Helps to know what kind of guitar. And how high you have your pickups, especially nearest the neck.

Stratocasters can suffer from 'stratitis', sort of a phasey sound on the low E and sometimes A. Solution for me is to drop the pickups, or at least the neck pickup....but it can depend on string guage, string age/condition, and overall setup. 

I just this week dropped my Strat neck pickup from 'about as high as it can get' to decked right down the the pickguard. _Much_ clearer, albeit a little less output. And the adjustment doesn't necessarily have to be that dramatic.


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## Aryonas (Aug 13, 2008)

keto said:


> Helps to know what kind of guitar.


It's a BC Rich Dark Arts Warlock. New Strings. Dual BC Rich high-end humbucker pickups. 

I wanna fix this please help


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## 55dollarbill (Aug 4, 2008)

How long have you had the guitar? COULD be defective pickups... I'm not a tech though so don't take my word for it..


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## Aryonas (Aug 13, 2008)

This guitar is pretty much new. Maybe 3 months old. It's only E string. And only when the pedal is on. Otherwise it sounds great


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## 55dollarbill (Aug 4, 2008)

How are your pickups adjusted? are they closer to the high E string? All I'm thinking is maybe try leveling out between the Low E and the High E, or even if you have to raise it on the Low E side to get more output out of the E string, it's worth a shot... Is it just that their is less distortion or output or does the tone really suck too?


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## Aryonas (Aug 13, 2008)

Well, I guess I'll try that. Should I raise both the humbuckers? It is hard to describe the sound with the low E. I can only say hollow. It's not the sharp distortion that it should be. Thanks


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Problem could be the guitar nut...loosen string and check nut for cracks or perhaps wear in the low E slot.

Guitar may need a truss rod adjustment.

Could be the saddle on the bridge of the low E...Does your guitar have tremlo or do strings go through body...could be a problem there.

test the bridge saddle...hit open E...then push down on saddle with something like a toothpick and try not to touch string then hit open while applying pressure...does the sound change at all.

My G string was making a buzzing/rattling sound on a guitar I own however I stuffed some tissue paper between the saddle and saddle screw down in the grooves on sides of screw and the buzzing went away...it seems to be a dud saddle screw...maybe your having the same problem.

Has your low E always sounded like this or just recently...could be a bad E string as well.

Lots of factors to think about...also is the tuning key loose at all.

Tap/knock on back of guitar neck...does it rattle?...rattle is bad.

Check for any loose parts on guitar

First thing to check is string/tuning key/guitar nut/bridge/saddle/tremlo/loose parts/tap neck/

Wouldnt hurt to take low E string off the guitar and see if there is any debris in the holes where the strings go through and check string to see if its not a dud or damged.

Lots of things to think about however the problem can be solved.

Adjusting pickups would be the very last thing I would do in this case...dont touch them if you dont know what your doing.


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## Aryonas (Aug 13, 2008)

I don't think it's cracked or anything. It's a brand new guitar. There is some rattleing, but I think that is from a very small bow in the neck. I raised the bridge a bit more on the 6th string side and it helped a small amount. The guitar has a neck-thru design, with a tune-o-matic bridge, I'm pretty sure that's what the bridge is. Anyway, no tremelo. It's not floyd rose or anything. strings go right through. It was a pack of brand new strings that I put on when I got the guitar. A set of 11's. I don't think the tuning key is loose. I believe the biggest problem is that it was not adjusted when it was shipped to me. And I got it in a out-of-factory condition. I believe I'll hbring it to the city asap to get a pro to check on it. Thanks


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## 55dollarbill (Aug 4, 2008)

Not trying to start a flame war, but why would you put truss rod adjustment above changing pickup height, atleast pickup height is something that's reversible, to be honest, I'm always adjusting my pickups trying to find a sound I want, and it's very likely that a bow in his neck isn't going to make his E string sound dead, especially if when played open if it's not low enough it's hitting any frets. 

I'm going to tell the TS to experiment with pickup heights, just remember that there is a magnetic pull towards the pickups from the strings if they get too high, if you want measure how high they are on each side of each pickup so you can go back to that height if you mess up.

Is it possible you could get a picture showing the pickups where they are? Maybe one going down the guitar to show the space between the strings and the pickups.


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Everybody does things their own way...I would adjust truss rod before pickups however thats just me...Im not telling anyone what order they should do things...im just telling the guy what to look for...who cares what order its in...I dont.


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## Aryonas (Aug 13, 2008)

I would post a pic of my guitar, but it says I may NOT post attachments


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## Wheeman (Dec 4, 2007)

You have to host the picture on a separate site and use the IMG tags to post it. Image attachments suck up a lot of precious bandwidth.

Have you tried a different distortion pedal? It could be your pickups don't like the one you've got. I've got a microphonic pickup in my SG right now that I have to dial down with some overdrives.

Pickup height adjustment is something I constantly fiddle with because its so easy to do. Try turning the bass side down a twist.


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## 55dollarbill (Aug 4, 2008)

Try Photobucket.com for hosting images.



Vincent said:


> Everybody does things their own way...I would adjust truss rod before pickups however thats just me...Im not telling anyone what order they should do things...im just telling the guy what to look for...who cares what order its in...I dont.


Ok cool, I respect that, I know your not telling him what order to do things, it's all personal preference.

I would also suggest (if you are going to be playing this guitar for a while) bring it in and get things adjusted that were said, like the truss rod, have the action checked and set up how you like it, and after your guitar is set up, you can probably start narrowing down easier what the problem is.


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