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Topic: Sitar Dobro |
Bill Hampton
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2008 6:22 am |
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I've heard a couple of people talk about their sitars here on the forum and wondered if someone could help me with a problem on one of my squareneck resonators. It's a cheap import that I changed the cone, spider, bridge and nut on. Everything was going pretty well and sounding better and better until I had a local luthier change the plastic nut to bone. It started sounding like a sitar. I think the problem is other strings sounding when one is picked. I got rid of most of it by angling the top of the nut to get less string contact, and raising the bridge as high as possible to load the cone.
I thought maybe if someone had experience with a sitar and how to get the the sitar sound, it would help me understand what is happening on my resonator and how to get rid of it. |
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Alan Kirk
From:
Scotia, CA, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2008 8:41 am
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Sound to me like your "luthier" screwed up. You should ask him to fix the problem, if you trust him enough to do so. Otherwise, put the old nut back on, if you have it.
I'm not entirely clear on what part of the Sitar sound you are talking about: the sympathetic strings or the buzzing bridge. As far as sympathetic strings, you should be damping them with your hands. As far as a buzzing sound, it's either the bridge or the nut.
Because the problem started after the nut was changed, that's the prime candidate. Maybe the angle of the string slots is incorrect, allowing for the "jawari" (buzzing sound of a Sitar bridge) effect.
_________________
Everyone in the world has two jobs: 1) whatever they do for a living; and 2) music critic. |
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Bill Hampton
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2008 9:00 am
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Thanks for the reply Alan. I guess I don't really understand sympathetic strings -- I damp behind the bar, but the strings seem to be ringing in front of the bar.
My luthier is pretty good on guitars, but I haven't been able to find anyone in the area that understands dobro's.
The "jawari" sound is waht I am fighting. I just don't get a clear when I pick only one string -- even open strings. Any thoughts on how to determine the correct angle for the strings in the nut? |
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Alan Kirk
From:
Scotia, CA, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2008 9:19 am
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"Sympathetic" strings are ones that sound when another string has been plucked.
I'm not qualified to describe proper nut-slot angle.
What happened to the old nut?
You know, you can get pre-cut bone dobro nuts on the web here and there.
_________________
Everyone in the world has two jobs: 1) whatever they do for a living; and 2) music critic. |
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Bill Hampton
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2008 9:34 am
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The luthier tossed the old nut.
All the ones I can find on the internet are too thin to fit in the slot in the neck -- that's why I had one custom made and also why I think that may be the problem.
I have 70's OMI Dobro to compare, and the only real difference in the nut is thickness. |
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David Venzke
From:
SE Michigan, USA
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Bill Hampton
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2008 11:42 am
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| Thanks David, that's a very good thread. I've tried most of what is on there already, but might try the suggestion of the two different materials for the bridge. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 14 Feb 2008 8:19 pm
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You might find that slipping a nut riser over your nut solves the problem.
Your guitar doesn't have sympathetic strings. The buzzing sound of the sitar is created intentionally by having a bridge shaped at a very shallow angle, so that as the string vibrates it comes into contact with the bridge fractionally in front of the bridge's fulcrum. I've produced the same sound by making a dome-shaped bridge. A nut, if it has a width wide enough and at a very shallow angle, can unintentionally create the same sound, but that sound would disappear instantly you appled the bar. If the sound continued then it would be the bridge causing the problem, not the nut. |
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Eugene Cole
From:
near Washington Grove, MD, USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2008 11:18 pm
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Your saddle may be too high. And raising the bridge can contribute to this problem. If this is the case your tailpiece can create some rattle.
My fix for this problem was to pt a piece of leather or felt (different instruments same problem) between the cover-plate and the tailpeice.
_________________
Regards
-- Eugene <sup>at</sup> FJ45.com
PixEnBar.com
Cole-Luthierie.com
FJ45.com
Sierra U14 8+5 my copedent, 1972 MSA D10 8+4, and nothing in the Bank. 8^) |
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Bill Hampton
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 18 Feb 2008 6:54 am
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Thanks for the input guys.
Alan, that's exactly the info I needed. That explains why it got better when I raised the bridge and angled the top of both the saddle and bridge a little more.
Eugene, thanks for the reply, I have some thin felt under the tailpiece, but I think I'll try padding that a little better. |
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