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How does my E string sound?


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I got my 69s replacement today. Does this sound plinky to you?

 

I can't remember, but I think the guitar I sent back sounded a bit smoother than this one.

 

Please give some feedback so I can decide whether or not to keep the guitar.

 

READ BEFORE HEARING:

THE FIRST sound in the clip is my old 600, which has the problem, for comparison.

THE SECOND is the new guitar.

The last one is my 69s through a tube screamer-> high gain signal.

 

Both models were Lester. HD modeling on the new guitar.

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21663288/Music/plinkornottoplink.mp3

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I can't say I hear anything that sounds out of the ordinary. The Spank bridge on your second clip sounds darker than I'd expect, but I don't really hear any plinkiness or clang.

 

So you'd say I have a good Variax in terms of the E string plink problem?

 

I don't think it's bad, and it sounds pretty great, I just feel like the guitar I sent back's E string's attack sounded smoother.

 

Edit: Also, all clean sounds are 100% clean, no amp.

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I assume you are palm muting all of that.  Sounds ok to me.  How does it sound when you are not muting.

 

Sounds pretty good. The Lester is a bit more punchy than the old firmware.

 

The only setting that's honestly plinky is the spank models, but a single coil strat sound is an already inherently plinky tone, but I'd say the magnetics sound a bit different than the spank models when palm muting on the E.

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I have been fooling more with different models and I think the best way to listen to them is to first have no amp effects.  I go right into my powered PA speaker from my Pod with no modeling enabled so you hear the raw guitar model sounds.  I think that most of the models are pretty good.  I am still not thrilled with any of the 12 string models.  They all sound too digital to me.  I wish they were better because I really like 12 string acoustic sounds and I don't own a real one. (and they are kind of hard to play well)

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On the topic of the E string plink thing, I tried a 42 gauge string and it got worse. I switched back to 48 and it sounded better. More bass to the note.

 

Basically, my guitar has it very very, very subtly. When I put the 42 on I think the real note became less loud and the plinking noise became more audible. 

 

Personally, I liked the previous guitar I had's E string sound better, but I can live with my guitar. It sounds a lot better than my 600 which has it pretty badly, and even had it worse before until I swapped an older piezo into the E string (strange huh? I really do think it's an oversensitive piezo causing the plinking noise)

 

In summary, I can't confirm whether or not moving up in gauge will keep making a difference, but a 46 gauge string will overpower the plinking noise and a 42 gauge string makes the plinking noise come up clearer because of the lack of bass in the string.

 

 

 

I have been fooling more with different models and I think the best way to listen to them is to first have no amp effects.  I go right into my powered PA speaker from my Pod with no modeling enabled so you hear the raw guitar model sounds.  I think that most of the models are pretty good.  I am still not thrilled with any of the 12 string models.  They all sound too digital to me.  I wish they were better because I really like 12 string acoustic sounds and I don't own a real one. (and they are kind of hard to play well)

 

I think the 12 string sounds were improved a little bit, but pitching up does sound nasally still. 

 

What they need to do is add more timbre preservation to the pitch shifting algorithm, which is strange because tuning down sounds remarkably great.

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The sound I don't like is the sound you get when you let a note die out with the 12 string acoustic models.  Sort of a buzz.  It's like when the amplitude gets too low the modeling can't lock on to it. 

 

Well, the plinking noise makes palm muting riffs unusable, luckily the amount of plink on my guitar is very minuscule you can't really tell unless you concentrate on the sound. It gets worse when you put the presence and treble high but it's fine.

 

Like I said, it's a lot better than my 600.

 

As for the 12 strings, I agree that warble can be annoying. I don't like the warble I get using alt tunings and doing hammer ons and pull offs. I might need to adjust my neck relief as there is some buzz on some frets though.

 

The fret buzz might be attributing to the plinking noise as well, because sometimes if I play a bit differently the plinking noise is virtually not even there.

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Fret Buzz is a disaster with alternate tunings and artifacts in the modeling.  I had to raise my Low E and A saddles on my JTV 69S when I got it to eliminate a slight fret buzz. Once I  did that I it still plays nicely and it has virtually no fret buzz unless you hit the strings way too hard.  Relief was decent on mine and I have not fooled with it.

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It's strange because it seems like palm muting isn't a problem, but non palm muted notes on the E string are. It sounds like a nasally droning sound. 

 

The E string just sounds more nasally in attack than the other strings which sound fat and smooth compared to the E string.

I did put an elixir string on so maybe it's just new sounding string vs old d'dario strings. 

 

When I get back my order of Elixir strings should be in and I'll see if changing the set makes it more consistent, but if not, I might reconsider swapping for another guitar. 

 

Some amp settings sound great, others make it really pronounced, but lowing presence and treble makes the rest of the strings sound dull, so I'm not sure what to do.

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You may want to try lowering the string volume a bit or globally.  I used to have some pretty bad clipping and plinking with my g-string that was very noticeable in the acoustic emulations.  I lowered globally to about 85% and it cleared the problem up very nicely.

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Tried lowering the volume, did nothing. The clankyness of the E string is very noticable when playing riffs that interchange between the E and A string a lot.

 

The E string on the Lester model sounds like an awkward single coil, and the single coils are ear piercing. 

 

I don't know how the palm muting is better than the open strings, but even then, the plinking noise is definitely there, and it gets worse with high treble high gain stuff.

 

 

I know about the "high gain and treble is going to make it more pronounced" but the problem is that this shouldn't happen regardless.

 

Discussing swapping the guitar again, otherwise I might have to do a refund and try getting one again later.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got my new replacement. Sounds kinda better. The strings are more consistent. I've realized the softer you play, the less the stange clanky overtones show up.

 

Any of you tried throwing a default screamer in pod in front of an amp, then using spank 1? The E string sounds the worst on that, but it is a single coil guitar, but even the magnetics sound better.

 

I guess I have to play a bit softer then.

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I think I'm a bit in denial, and honestly, it's still pretty there, so I did sent an email to sweetwater one more time. I feel bad though, because he did test it, but honestly it's hard to tell someone the problem of a guitar with a bunch of settings through emails.

 

I told him to use Lester and that's probably the least affected model, though it can get really annoying still on higher gain.

 

Does everyone have that sound on their E string to some extent or is it just me?

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