Please help diagnose my Tele

[Fifthstone]

I have a Highway One Tele which I purchased new a few months ago. Love it overall and already replaced the jack with an Electrosocket.

When played open, the G string sounds like it's being muted slightly. It just doesn't ring out. When fretted on any fret, it's no longer an issue. I've just changed to a fresh set of strings (Ernie Ball 9's ... same gauge as the original strings) and no difference.

There is no visible sign of a problem with the nut, but I suspect it's probably the nut. I wonder if the string might not be seating fully. Any other ideas?

I don't have a trustworthy tech here that I know of and would like to address this myself. I can pick up a nut file for the G if I have to.

Thanks!

 

[62Tele]

The way you're describing it, the nut is about all it could be. The slot may be too flat or too tight and pinching the string a little. Does the string catch when you tune it?

You could try a gentle swipe or two with a nut file but if you haven't done this it can be a little tricky - cutting nut slots is a bit of an art.

 

[XKnight]

It might have the swine flu.

 

[hippiebob]

+1 on the nut. I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself. You can really screw it up if you aren't careful.

 

[Fifthstone]

The way you're describing it, the nut is about all it could be. The slot may be too flat or too tight and pinching the string a little. Does the string catch when you tune it?

You could try a gentle swipe or two with a nut file but if you haven't done this it can be a little tricky - cutting nut slots is a bit of an art.

Too flat? Is the bottom of the slot supposed to have a curve to it? With the middle of the slot being slightly higher?

 

[bsuite]

Try putting your finger on the string between the nut and the tuner post.
Put some pressure on the string, play the string, does the problem go away?

 

[xrolandtx]

Try putting your finger on the string between the nut and the tuner post.
Put some pressure on the string, play the string, does the problem go away?

This.

Many times, some tele's will benefit from a second string tree being installed on the d/g strings.

 

[Selsaral]

If that's true, perhaps how the string is wound around the tuning post could improve the situation.

 

[gkoelling]

lube the nut slot

 

[Fifthstone]

Try putting your finger on the string between the nut and the tuner post.
Put some pressure on the string, play the string, does the problem go away?

Doing this does seem to improve it a bit, but not much.

 

[Foley]

You can make your own nut file by getting a smaller guage (close to your g slot size) wound d string and super gluing it to a Popsicle stick and using that to clean up your slot, instead of buying a file. The good thing about string files is they don't take a lot of material off quickly so it's pretty safe to use.