software

I recently bought a JEM 7VWH, a 2004 model. Lately, in the last month it is acting very weird when I play on the 24th fret on the high E string, it makes this weird piercing noise. The best way to describe it is that the note turns into a high harmonic and loses sustain very quickly. This sound does not occur when playing any other note on the fretboard at all. This harmonic / piercing noise also occurs when I play the 22nd/23rd fret and bend upwards 1/2 semitones to a high E.

I also notice that there is a bit of rattle around the pickguard area when I play the high E on the 24th fret. Again, this rattle does not occur when I play anywhere else on the fretboard. However it does occur when I play the 22nd/23rd fret and bend upwards 1/2 semitones again to the high E. I believe that the rattle is related to the weird harmonic noise I hear.

I have ruled out fret-buzz as the cause of the problem as the guitar simply has no fret buzz anywhere on the neck. Other strings played at the 24th fret do not seem to have this problem. I tried checking the trem/dampening other strings, shaking the guitar about, checking screws for tightness, but to no avail.

Has anyone experienced this before? Is there a solution to improving sustain and getting rid of that god-awful rattle/harmonic on the 24th fret?

Cheers,

Vincent

What...has noone else ever experienced this problem? Even with other guitars?

It's just a guess, but it sounds to me as though you have some kind of resonant peak at the high E. It 's difficult to say what is causing this or how to eliminate it. The problem is that this sort of resonance is most likely a neck/body resonance so getting rid of it isn't likely to be easy. There is one thing you can try first and that is to wrap the tremelo springs in a layer of plumber's PTFE tape. This solution is normally used to stop the springs squeaking but if there is a resonance that is being contributed to by the springs then that might be enough to damp it.

I'm assuming that the truss rod has been set to it's optimum value and there is no scope for adjustment? Sometimes you can shift these resonant peaks just by adjusting the tension on the rod which will alter the natural frequency of the neck, breaking up the coupling between the body and neck resonance. The JEM is, of course a through neck construction, but there will still be separate resonant paths at various dimensions in the body and if these actively couple then you will get this effect. If you can get away with slightly more or less relief you might be able to shift the resonance this way.

A question: do you notice this note as being particularly prominent when the guitar is played unplugged?

The scratchplate rattle could simply be a mechanical effect of the resonance or it could be part of the problem. Mounting the pickups on silicon tubing helps to damp the sympathetic resonance you sometimes get with springs so that could be worth a shot as well.

If all else fails, get a notch filter, but if the cause is resonant coupling then i doubt this will work without other unwanted side effects.