Weird harmonic when palm mutting.

[Keregioz]

Hello,
I have a shecter c-7 blackjack.
Every time a put a new set of strings in my guitar i notice this weird thing.
I use ernie ball 10-52 and d'addario 0.070.
When i palm mute open the low "Bb" string (7th string) i hear a harmonic, like when you place your finger over the 12th fret.
I've posted a little clip for you to understand better what i'm saying.
In the clip first i play the string open and muffled with the fretting hand and you hear a harmonic where you normally shouldn't, then i play it open palm muted and you still hear the harmonic, then i play in the 1st and 2nd fret and notice that the harmonic stops.
Usually this happens with with every new set of strings, after i've played them for some time it goes away. It's really annoying though and i would really like some help to get rid of it.
Any ideas?

The clip is here:

http://sr2.mytempdir.com/158241

 

[cobhc]

Sounds like the string might be fretting out on the 12th fret, try playing the 12th fret natural harmonic and see if it's the same harmonic, if so you may have a high fret

 

[RayneEvil]

Has the guitar been set up properly, take a glance down the neck and double check it's perfectly straight. Also, hold the string down at the 4th and 12th frets and see it the neck dips in the middle, if so you need to adjust the trus rod slightly. If that's not the problem then try adjusting the height of the saddle, you may find it is set lower than the rest of the other strings (as is the custom for lots of 7-string manufacturers). I've had this problem loads on guitars direct from the factory, even a friends PRS Custom 24 had it. It's usually either the neck or the saddle. Don't try anything I said unless you fully understand it though, I learnt the hard way that truss rod adjustment is a very fine art.

 

[Mendel]

i had the same problem wih my lespaul. the schecter has a fixed bridge right ? no tremolo. try to set your bridge a bit higher.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

Sounds like the first fret is high... You could try to GENTLY hammer it down with a rubber headed mallett. When your strings get slightly worn out, there is not as much metal to metal contact so it is not as pronounced as a brand new string.

If it does that only when you chug the low B, but not if you fret anywhere on the neck, then it's not a bridge problem. I think you need to have your frets leveled/crowned... too bad its the first one, cuz that means they all have to be done.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

Just thought of something for a quick temporary fix, and to see if it goes away.

Loosen the B and slip it out of the nut. Wedge a small piece of business card or 3x5 index card into the nut slut. Put string back, tune, chunk - should be gone.

A good tech will charge $65 for a level/crown...

 

[Keregioz]

Thanks for all your replies guys....

Unfortunately i still have the problem. It happens only when i palm mute the string open. I tried setting the bridge higher and lower.
Didn't see any problem with the neck. I don't think that the frets need to be set lower, when i hit the string i don't see it touching any fret.
However i think i found where the harmoric comes from. The C7 blackjack has a string trough body setup. When i hit the string in the little space between the bridge and the holes where the strings go inside the body i hear the same harmonic like that when i palm mute. So i tried placing a finger there to muffle it while i palm muted. When i do that, the harmonic is a lot less noticable, so i could put a tape there to muffle it. But to be honest i don't like that solution. The guitar is supposed to sound fine without any tape. There must be something else i could do to fix it...

 

[Andy Sneap]

is it a through body? try foam under the strings behind the bridge and under strings after top nut, its probably just resonating behind the bridge.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

Did you buy it new? Any chance of swapping it for another?

I guess it is a bridge problem after all.. Unusual that it only does it on open low B but not when fretted. I thought for sure it was the first fret.

Guess you should try Andy's foam stuffing suggestion.

I'd be pist if my guitar did that... that is very un metal.

 

[JeffTD]

is it a through body? try foam under the strings behind the bridge and under strings after top nut, its probably just resonating behind the bridge.

Exactly my thoughts. Happens with both of my Schecters, and is common of all string thru body guitars.

 

[DIOBOLIC5150]

I use a piece of foam behind the bridge. It looks dumb, but it beats sounding dumb.

 

[Keregioz]

is it a through body? try foam under the strings behind the bridge and under strings after top nut, its probably just resonating behind the bridge.

Yes it's a string through body.
I found out yesterday that the problem is excactly what you're describing, i just hoped that there should be a better solution that placing stuff on my guitar...

When you say foam you mean like a sponge?...

 

[Andy Sneap]

yeah, thats just a thing that happens with string through bodies, I personally think the tone is better, but when recording you just need to dampen a few bits down. I do this with all gtrs though, even with floyd bridges, I'll dampen the springs etc and all gtrs will get the strings after the top nut taped up also.

 

[Ermz]

Now, acoustically what do you think is the best foam? I heard that the standard sponge gives the best dampening, but volume pot has to be set to 6 to bring out the ideal tonality??