What caused the tin can string effect ??

anthon_74

Hi there,

Lately, The G string on my alta mira has been tin canning like crazy. It started when I changed the G string 2 times ago (I go through G strings quite quickly).

Is it caused by the nut ? the bridge ? Is it possible that weather conditions caused it ? What can be done to correct it ? Perhaps a heavier gauge string ?

Thanks,

Anthony

Bob Holo

Tough to say. It could be a burr on your zero fret or a rough spot on the leading edge of your bridge slot, or it could be that your action is low due to low humidity and you're noticing it on the G string first because the curvature of your bridge is flatter than the curvature of your fretboard and the core of the G string is smaller than the core of the other middle string (D) so it has a greater tendency to break into harmonics and/or oscillate when it kisses a fret lightly... AKA tin-can.

If it has happened over time, I'd bet on action and/or a flat bridge. shim the bass side of the bridge just a little bit and see if it goes away... a very little... like, cut a shim out of a plastic pop-bottle's side if you don't have access to thin hardwood veneer. If it happened exactly after a G string broke, I'd bet on a roughed-up bridge slot. Take an old D string and "floss" the slot very lightly with it... just a few light passes... not enough to deepen the slot, but the D string is just a tiny bit larger and will lightly abrade any small anomaly in the wood that is pinching the string in an odd fashion.

Jeff Moore

Let me add to the list: Is something cutting the windings on the G? It's real thin compared to the other windings - E, A, D. Could be the "burr on the zero" fret or on any fret, or a knife edged bridge slot. Also my G's windings usually break from the battering it gets right where I pick the most.
The other possibility of course: is something rattling in the guitar: a dropped pick?, a loose brace (hard to find I know)?
A cheap stethoscope or even just getting your ear real close, all over the guitar, while you pluck might help you locate the area. The stethoscope works a lot better cuz it "listens" to a smaller area than your ear. But I think this will only locate sympathetic rattling of things on the body and headstock, and not a broken winding?
I've had the same problem with G strings. The winding breaks so I keep spare Gs, but it sounds like your putting a new string on and still getting the tin can right away?
Also using the D string as Bob suggested but using it in such a way as to leave a radius in the slot. A perfectly flat slot has two sharp edges! Also take into consideration the break angle on the tailpiece side of the bridge slot. That edge of the tiny slot feels all the break angle. So floss the back side of that little slot accordingly, so the string meets a rounded edge right where it has to turn over the bridge. As stated, do it softly.
A lot of ideas for such a tiny spot of wood!