string bending problem

[superdave]

I am having trouble with my fingers sliding under or over adjacent strings and catching strings I don't want to sound. It's usually strings higher up the neck. What do I need to do?

[Tedster]

I had that problem when I first started bending strings. I think a lot of people do. This might be something where you'd want to schedule an appointment with a pro (lesson?) and have him or her give you some tips. It's one of those things that, for me, anyway, it's hard to analyze here.

[Ricardo.]

Your entire finger sliding under them, or enough as to catch them? Can string height be factored out, or does it have strange action in such a way that it could be a problem?

 

Practice will fix it for sure. How long has this been a problem? Did it recently surface, or have you never been able to bend cleanly? If it's not a recent development, I can suggest that by practice, your fingers will innately develop the technique to stop sounding unwanted strings. Find on informal ways to stop the string sound. Mute with the right hand when possible, bend the string with more than one finger if you aren't already and use the other fingers as a sort of buffer to push the other strings out of the way before the leading bending finger gets there (i.e. if you're bending with the ring finger, use the middle and index behind the ring finger on the same string to assist in the bend and at the same time using the fleshy top of the finger to be muting the adjacent strings before you get there).

[Gruupi]

Your action (string hieght) can definatly be a factor here. Alot of folks that like a real low action have a hard time adjusting to blues type bends since they cannot get their fingers under the adjacent strings to push them along. You need enough room to get your finger tip to push the strings without them being pressed down to the fingerboard and sliding under your finger (I hope this makes sense). Its still mostly a metter of practice though, just work on suporting the bend with as many fingers as you have to spare to help push all that tension of 2-3 strings. As your fingers become stronger it will be easy and won't take much thought or effort at all.

[superdave]

It seems to be a problem the higher up the neck I go. Say around the 14th fret. The bottom of my strings are about 1/8 of an inch above the fretboard at the 17th fret. I have super small fingers and I hope that's not the problem!!! I'm not trying to make excuses but missing the ist joint of my ring finger on my fret hand has caused me to approach things like bending differently. I can bend without too much trouble lower down the fretboard say at the 5th fret.

[A String]

You neck could have a bit of a bend in it and need to be adjusted. If you hold it up and look along the neck, from the bridge to the nut, can you see a bend?

[superdave]

I had a tech guy look at it about a month ago because I had bumped the neck and was cocnerned about damage. He said everything looked okay except that the bridge pickup was a little too close in one area.

[Rock Soldier]

1/8th inch at the 17th fret is high for me dude. 1/16th inch 18th fret 1st string, 3/32 18th fret 6th string is my setup.

[superdave]

I've tried lowering my strings the way the Fender (squire strat) site reccomends and it's buzz city when I do it. The Fender site says 1/16 at the 17th fret. I had a tech guy tell me that it couldn't go any lower without buzzing. I assume he knew what he was talking about. I'm just trying to figure out if it's something I'm doing wrong.

[Big Red 67]

That is why it is good to learn how to set up your own stuff. You can get it the way YOU want it. Over the years, I have gotten really good at it.

[superdave]

Okay I went and took a good look at the pup's on my strat and decided to lower two of them because they looked too close to some of the strings. I then dropped my strings down close to where the specs say they should be and there is no buzzing that I can hear and I don't seem to have the trouble bending and catching strings like I was before. I'm by no means perfect at it higher up on the neck but it is easier for me now. Thanks for the info guys. I love this forum.

[miroslav]

You're probably letting your finger straighten out too much as you apply the bend and you are losing control of it.

 

You have to maintain a nice arc with your finger as you apply the bend to the string.

[MILLO]

Plus... with your right hand, mute the strings you're not attacking while you apply the bend--side of thumb and/or edge of palm/blade.

[I I mjrn]

Can't rilly add much 2 what's been suggested already other than that no matter how U have Ur guitar set up there will always B more "play" N the strings N the middle of the string length, which X-plains why this doesn't happen nearer the nut.

 

Any significant bend will always bring Ur fingers N2 contact with other strings so I'd N-dorse Ricardo's & Millo's remarks about muting, S-pecially with the picking hand.

This is often a good idea as a general practice. U needn't worry about muting only the strings U don't want 2 sound; a light touch will allow the played strings 2 B well heard.

[baronedo]

It could be that your neck curvature may also need adjustment - this can cause string buzzing with a low string action. Here are some setup adjustments you can try:

 

Guitar Adjustments

 

1. Check the neck curvature and adjust it as follows. Tune the guitar and then put a capo on the first fret, depress the highest fret of the Low E string and with a .010 inch feeler gauge, check the clearance between the top of the 8th fret (i.e. 8th fret is about half way down the neck) and the bottom of the low E string. If the gap is less than .010 inch, the truss rod is too tight, which causes the neck to bow up toward the strings. Correct this by gently turning the truss rod screw counter-clockwise, no more than 1/8 turn at a time. If the gap is more than .010 inch, the truss rod is too loose, which causes the neck to bow away from the strings. Correct this by gently turning the truss rod screw clockwise, no more than 1/8 turn at a time. Retune, recheck and adjust to get a .010 inch gap, which will allow the neck to be set up for a low action, but still with enough bow to prevent fret buzzing. Note, if the truss rod is hard to adjust, dont force it. Rather, loosen your strings to alleviate pressure on the rod, then try to adjust it, then retune and check. When you have completed this adjustment, remove the capo.

 

2. Next, if your guitar has a trem, tune the guitar and check the amount of tilt on the trem bridge plate. If you have changed string gauges, the new strings may have moved the amount of tilt on this bridge plate, which can inhibit up tremming or down tremming. I set up my trems as recommended by Fender by measuring the gap between the bottom rear of the trem bridge plate and the top face of the guitar body. I try to get this gap to about 1/8 inch, which allows adequate tremming in both directions. To increase the gap, loosen the tension on the trem springs by removing the rear cover plate and turning the trem string bracket screws counterclockwise, then retune the guitar and re-measure. To decrease the gap, tighten these screws, retune and re-measure.

 

3. Next, with a straight measuring edge, check the string height gap from the top of the highest fret of each string to bottom of the string. Adjust the string saddles to get proper clearances. For my taste, I set the gap of my unwound strings (i.e. Hi E, B, and G) a little over 1/16 inch and the wound strings (D, A, Low E) about 3/32 inch (the wound strings need more clearance as their vibration path is wider). I use the above gaps as a guideline but I am striving to get a clean acoustic tone with no buzzing over the entire neck at the lowest possible string heights, so let you ears guide you. It is amazing how much easier and cleaner a guitar plays and sounds after a more uniform string height adjustment.

 

4. Lastly, check the string length/intonation of each string with an electronic tuner. Do his by playing the 12th fret harmonic note and then comparing it to the 12th fret octave note when played. If the note plays sharp compared to the harmonic, the string is too short so lengthen it by turning that string length bridge saddle adjustment screw clockwise. If the note plays flat compared to the harmonic, the string is too long so shorten it by turning that string length bridge saddle adjustment screw counter-clockwise. Retune and check until the intonation of each string is on.

 

5. After you set the intonation, it can change your string heights so go back to steps 3 and then 4 to recheck and readjust string heights and lengths if needed.