Hey all,
I have a Masterbilt DR 500 MCE. It's a great guitar, but I've been having a few issues lately. On the high frets, the following was occuring: I'd fret the D-string at, say, the 13th fret and get a D#. Then I'd fret the same string at the 14th fret and get...a D#. This was happening to varying degrees on all my strings. I loosened the truss rod quite a bit, but to no avail. I was still getting the same problem. So, I restringed. Unfortunately, my G string snapped fresh out of the box, but I went ahead and finished off with the other strings. So, now my guitar has five strings and I still have the same stupid problem I started with, and even a ridiculously high action doesn't solve anything. Extremely upset, to say the least.
I'm currently living in South Korea at the moment, so my options seem pretty limited. Is there anything I can do?
Let me see if I'm getting what you're saying--because the 13th fret on the D string should be a D sharp--but their is no change when you go to the 14th fret--don't see how that would be possible, as if you are getting a D sharp on the 13th string-then that is correct, and if you go higher by one fret, don't see how it would be sounding the same. The 12th fret should be the same note as the open string (higher octave of course, but same note).
Well, it's happening. 2 different frets are producing the same note. They're dead, I suppose. And it's in the same area on the fretboard across all my strings. 12-14
I have to agree with elecluther. I don't see how the 13th fret can be correct - either the open string is tuned to C# or the intonation is way off. I can't see any other way that the 14th can also give D#-
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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After fiddling some more, I've noticed that I have to fret EXTREMELY hard to produce the correct note. It's better than it was, probably because of the new strings, but still a pain. Hopefully it gets better as it settles in...
It can't be intonation.
Fretting a note shortens the string; the vibrating string length determines the pitch produced. If you get the same pitch at the 13th and 14th frets, your vibrating string length MUST be the same for both (no exceptions; it's physics).
When two frets both produce the same vibrating string length, the string MUST be fretting out on the higher fret - in your example, the 14th. So either the 14th fret is too high, and the string is stopped at that fret whether you play the 13th or the 14th, or your 13th fret is too low, producing the same result.
But when that happens, the pitch you get will be a whole step higher than the 12th fret. It can't be the same in both places unless it's actually an E you're producing. If the 14th fret is too low to stop the string, your FINGER will stop the string - so you might be lower than E, but you'll be higher than the 13th fret. Again, it's physics - there are no exceptions.
How are you determining what pitch you're producing - with a chromatic tuner, or by ear?
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The 13th or 14th frets have to be the culprit. Whichever, the 14th fret has to be producing D#. That makes the 12th fret C#. If the intonation is correct, the open string must be C#. If the open string is D, then it has to be the intonation that is creating a C# at the 12th fret.
If the saddle is set too far back, the open string will be tuned to D, but the 12th fret will produce a note lower than the octave.
Assuming that the open string is correctly tuned, intonation is the only possible cause of the 14th fret produvcing a D#.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Ah - I misunderstood what you meant, Greybeard. I thought you were saying intonation might make the 14th fret the same as the 13th.
But it's still impossible for it to be intonation. The Masterbuilt DR-500MCE has a 25.5" scale length. At that length, it places the 14th fret 14.141 inches from the nut. In order to get a D# that distance from the nut, the bridge would have to be moved back by 1.28 inches - well beyond the range of any adjustable bridge on the market.
And since that model is an acoustic guitar, it's impossible for intonation to cause either the effect of the same pitch on both frets or a D# at the 14th if the string is tuned to D.
My suspicion is that the pitch isn't D#, and the original poster was guessing at the pitch. I'm thinking it's actually playing E at the 14th. I'm also thinking that since it's an acoustic, and the body joins the neck right at the 14th fret, that he's either got a warping neck starting to make itself known, or a failing neck joint.
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I was using a chromatic tuner to determine pitch. Again, unless I press down EXTREMELY hard on the string, it does not produce the correct pitch; it frets out. And when it does produce the correct pitch, it buzzes horribly.
Update: I shimmed the saddle, and that seemed to help a bit. Still trying to figure out what's wrong...
