Weissenborn issue

[KLW]

A year or so ago I build a Weissenborn for a friend. He has been happy with it and learning to play it (he is an accomplished fingerstyle player) recently he chnaged tunings on it. He had been playing in various C & G tunings but has now changed to Open D (major) tuning.

The problem is the low D string sounds good when played open but as you move up the fretboard it gets dead. The effect is worse the farther up the fretboard you go. All other strings sound good.. it was originally a 0.060 string.. I have dropped it to a 0.053 which has made a slight improvement..

I've checked all the usual suspects..

This is the only Weissenborn I've built..

Any ideals?????????

Thanks

Kerry

[ozziebluesman]

G'day Kerry,
Have you changed the strings.
If you haven't as you have put more tension on the string it a dull part of the string is sitting in the nut and will cause a dull tone.
If you have changed strings check for residue in the nut slot.
Just my two bob worth.
Cheers
Al

[KLW]

Yep new strings....

Lighter sets for open C or G work fine.. Open D the low D sucks...

Kerry

[KLW]

So this issue is solved.. Here is what the problem was. The saddle was rounded with a slope to the bridge pins but the heavier guage string on the D could not conform to this curve so there was a space between the string and the front of the saddle as the player moved the slide toward the saddle the vibrating string would start to hit the front of the saddle and lose energy & tone.. Properly ramping the saddle so the string contacted the front of the saddle solved this issue and the owner and I are both happy!

Thanks everyone for the help

Kerry

[Mark McLean]

Thanks for telling us about the solution. Makes sense when you go through it, but I bet you puzzled over that for a while before the penny dropped! I will add that to the memory bank.