QUESTION: String vibration OUTSIDE the bridge or nut ?

[1String]

What's normal? Is it a symptom of a poorly fit nut/saddle? Have a dead spot the sink for which appears to be the tailpiece. Strings are narrower gauge than original so slots at each end are "wider"

 

[rudy4444]

Yes, it's normal but not usually audible. If it bothers you in any way you can add something absorbent around the afterlength to damp the vibrations. Nut or saddle fit doesn't really have much of an effect on this.

The best way to address this is to design the instrument so it doesn't have afterlength or nut to string post length that is long enough to matter.

We always have "open string length" behind the fret being played to the nut and that's hardly any concern to anyone.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Like Rudy said, it certainly can happen, I’d expect more odd overtones rather than a dead spot. I had some feedback on my EUB a while back at church so when I tried it again a couple of weeks ago I had a cloth stuck through the strings between the bridge and tailpiece. Not sure if it was that or a lower overall stage volume that day but the feedback was gone. Check out mandolin players, they have numerous devices to go on the strings between the bridge and tailpiece to stop those overtones.

 

[1String]

Thanks. I was watching a video today fixing a dead spot by sticking essentially a felt "mute" between strings BEHIND the bridge saddles. Thought that was kind of "odd" since I didn't believe any significant vibration would occur there but, having only recently learned something new about harmonics, I'm only now beginning to see clearly how these instruments actually work in real life. In my case, vibration of the big heavy metal tailpiece behind the bridge seems to have been stealing my string's energy at E2. Damping that vibration has brought back "normal" sustain for E2 and although it's causes a slight damping overall (takes the "edge" off) it's tolerable. For now

 

[1String]

Yes, it's normal but not usually audible. If it bothers you in any way you can add something absorbent around the afterlength to damp the vibrations. Nut or saddle fit doesn't really have much of an effect on this.

The best way to address this is to design the instrument so it doesn't have afterlength or nut to string post length that is long enough to matter.

We always have "open string length" behind the fret being played to the nut and that's hardly any concern to anyone.

That's good to know. But nut and saddles were created by my own hands