Rattling near headstock?

[billyfamilyvide]

Hello all,

I was just playing a piece that ended on a D chord...for effect I was shaking the guitar to give the final D a "ringing effect".

I heard something "rattling" up near the headstock.

I checked all of the tuning knobs on the sides, and on the face of the headstock. None of them appear to be loose....

Has this ever happened to you? Any idea of what it might be?

[Laurent Brondel]

Do you have the truss rod adjustment at the peghead?

[billyfamilyvide]

Originally Posted by Laurent Brondel

Do you have the truss rod adjustment at the peghead?

I'm not entirely sure what this means?

The truss rod is tight and in its correct spot....

[Martin_Nut]

Loose trussrod cover? Has happened to me. There's not a lot else up there to rattle . It think that Laurent was referring to the fact that some have trussrod adjust inside the body, at the base of the neck (ie Martin) instead of at the top of the neck (peghead, ie Gibson).
JOHN

[gitnoob]

Enclosed tuners? Could be something inside the tuner box, like a broken gear tooth.

[L20A]

Originally Posted by gitnoob

Enclosed tuners? Could be something inside the tuner box, like a broken gear tooth.

Or the nut that secures the tuner to the head.

[arie]

last time i had something like that happen it was a tuner's spindle nut and washer that came loose. a couple of twists with a nut driver and it was fixed. check everything up at the head stock:

tuners: front and back side plus knobs/screws/washers etc...

truss rod: adjustment nut/washer/cover/screws etc.. if your truss rod
pokes through the headstock that is.

strings: rattely loose ends. these should be nice and manicured. if your string ends are coiled up like a bird's nest you're on your own here

nut slots too large/ramping too shallow: can cause buzzing. this is kinda rare though but easy to spot. the string slot will have black/grey/silver/coppery/brassy gunk in it from vibrating and buzzing and possibly some burrs too if it's a tusq/plastic one

broken truss rod: you'll know this when it happens as your action will get really high instantly.

hope this helps

[patticake]

i remember that. it was on that rogue gc i bought, and i thought the strings were rattling against the headstock originally.

Originally Posted by arie

last time i had something like that happen it was a tuner's spindle nut and washer that came loose. a couple of twists with a nut driver and it was fixed.

[billyfamilyvide]

Originally Posted by L20A

Or the nut that secures the tuner to the head.

Bingo! I logged off and just now found out the problem. It is the D string (go figure lol)

The very thin washer that secures the tuning peg on is loose and rattles....how do I tighten this?

[billyfamilyvide]

This is so frustrating lol

[arie]

Originally Posted by billyfamilyvide

Bingo! I logged off and just now found out the problem. It is the D string (go figure lol)

The very thin washer that secures the tuning peg on is loose and rattles....how do I tighten this?

ok. there should be a hex nut on top of the washer. best choice is a nut driver but a small adjustable wrench, small combo, or box wrench will do. check the size first -should be around 3/8", 10mm, 7/16" etc.. depending on make.

nut driver:


small adjustable wrench:


combo wrench:


be careful not to scratch the finish with the tools. cushion them with tape if you have too. this applies to tuners with threaded ends.

if your tuners have bushings it's a different thing to deal with.

do your tuners have hex nuts or bushings? what brand of guitar is this?

[billyfamilyvide]

So I will be tightening the nut that rests above the thin washer, correct? I just want to clarify.

Unfortunately I don't have access to tools...but at least I will know for when I do.

[arie]

if the tuner has a nut, and the washer below it is loose, then yes you'll need to snug it up.

[ErikH]

I once bought a new Les Paul that had a rattling at the head stock which as it turned out was the least of its issues. The culprit was a washer that was beneath the B string tuning post. All it took was tightening the nut above it and it was good to go