Guitar sounding funky after unlikely but possible water damage

G

gene12586

Member
I had a small amount of flooding in my apartment about a week ago. My guitar (fender Strat) was in its hard case. The hard case has these little metal stands on the bottom of it that elevate the rest of the case off of the ground by an inch or so. Beneath the guitar there was a little flood water when I got home and found the flooding, but it definitely didn't get as high as the top of the metal things and none seemed to have gotten inside the case, as the guitar and inside of the case seemed dry when I opened it. However, by the time I got home and found the flooding the case had possibly been above the water for as long as several hours.
I just tried playing the guitar for the first time since the flooding today... and something is off... The B and G strings seemed to have developed a little rattle to them when I pluck them with more than a mild amount of intensity. And I think more generally the overall sound just doesn't sound right... possibly because of the strings...
I got a full setup (including new strings) on the guitar like 2 months ago - so the issue isn't that I need a setup or new strings... So I'm just trying to figure out what the deal is... I'm going to buy new strings tomorrow and see if that fixes it... If not I'll try and get another setup...
Any thoughts or recommendations? Even if the guitar didn't get wet could the flooding somehow have affected the guitar? The guitar remained in its case for the last week, and so it's hard to understand how it could have been screwed up by the flooding..
Thanks.
 
gene12586 said:
I had a small amount of flooding in my apartment about a week ago. My guitar (fender Strat) was in its hard case. The hard case has these little metal stands on the bottom of it that elevate the rest of the case off of the ground by an inch or so. Beneath the guitar there was a little flood water when I got home and found the flooding, but it definitely didn't get as high as the top of the metal things and none seemed to have gotten inside the case, as the guitar and inside of the case seemed dry when I opened it. However, by the time I got home and found the flooding the case had possibly been above the water for as long as several hours.
I just tried playing the guitar for the first time since the flooding today... and something is off... The B and G strings seemed to have developed a little rattle to them when I pluck them with more than a mild amount of intensity. And I think more generally the overall sound just doesn't sound right... possibly because of the strings...
I got a full setup (including new strings) on the guitar like 2 months ago - so the issue isn't that I need a setup or new strings... So I'm just trying to figure out what the deal is... I'm going to buy new strings tomorrow and see if that fixes it... If not I'll try and get another setup...
Any thoughts or recommendations? Even if the guitar didn't get wet could the flooding somehow have affected the guitar? The guitar remained in its case for the last week, and so it's hard to understand how it could have been screwed up by the flooding..
Thanks.
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Could be humidity issue. Being in the case might of kept it humid. Maybe leave it out somewhere nice and safe for a few days and the case open too.
 
Moisture. I’ll bet the moisture has made the neck shift. Even if it didn’t get wet the humidity created by the water evaporating has moved things around.

Fret at the 1st and last frets on the low E string. You should see a slight bow, or gap in the middle of the neck between the strings and the frets.

What you’re doing is comparing the straightness of the neck, or lack of, with a known straight edge. A string under tension will give you a straight line.

When a neck is too straight, it will lower the nut height and cause buzzes from the first to the fifth frets.

I’d put the guitar on a stand, tune it up to a higher pitch. E sharp or even F. Let it naturally dry with the increased tension for about a week. As the moisture disappears, the minor change in tension will pull the neck back into some relief.

Also leave the case open and let it dry out to prevent possible mold.

If none of this does the trick, well, you’ll have to get it set up again.
 
RFR said:
Moisture. I’ll bet the moisture has made the neck shift. Even if it didn’t get wet the humidity created by the water evaporating has moved things around.

Fret at the 1st and last frets on the low E string. You should see a slight bow, or gap in the middle of the neck between the strings and the frets.

What you’re doing is comparing the straightness of the neck, or lack of, with a known straight edge. A string under tension will give you a straight line.

When a neck is too straight, it will lower the nut height and cause buzzes from the first to the fifth frets.

I’d put the guitar on a stand, tune it up to a higher pitch. E sharp or even F. Let it naturally dry with the increased tension for about a week. As the moisture disappears, the minor change in tension will pull the neck back into some relief.

Also leave the case open and let it dry out to prevent possible mold.

If none of this does the trick, well, you’ll have to get it set up again.
Click to expand...
Good call. Agree.
 
RFR said:
Moisture. I’ll bet the moisture has made the neck shift. Even if it didn’t get wet the humidity created by the water evaporating has moved things around.

Fret at the 1st and last frets on the low E string. You should see a slight bow, or gap in the middle of the neck between the strings and the frets.

What you’re doing is comparing the straightness of the neck, or lack of, with a known straight edge. A string under tension will give you a straight line.

When a neck is too straight, it will lower the nut height and cause buzzes from the first to the fifth frets.

I’d put the guitar on a stand, tune it up to a higher pitch. E sharp or even F. Let it naturally dry with the increased tension for about a week. As the moisture disappears, the minor change in tension will pull the neck back into some relief.

Also leave the case open and let it dry out to prevent possible mold.

If none of this does the trick, well, you’ll have to get it set up again.
Click to expand...
Very helpful. Thank you.
 
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It's unlikely the flood did any damage to it. Electric guitars are pretty robust, compared to acoustics. I live in Canada, and the weather here is brutal on instruments. My Guild acoustic just up and cracked vertically below the bridge overnight. I had it repaired, but it was more of a cosmetic thing, didn't change it's sound or play-ability.

Electrics, I've taken out of the case after traveling in freezing temperatures, back in case after a gig into freezing temps. Bounced around in the back of car in the summertime with no case.. they seem to survive, at least that's been my experience. Obviously you want to protect them when possible.

Do you do any basic setups on your electric guitars yourself? It isn't that complicated and there are tons of Youtube videos on it. It's a good skill to learn. Raising the action on the B and G a teeny bit might cure it. All my electrics buzz a little bit here and there, especially with 'more then a mild amount of intensity'. Nature of the beast.
 
Eric Malone said:
It's unlikely the flood did any damage to it. Electric guitars are pretty robust, compared to acoustics. I live in Canada, and the weather here is brutal on instruments. My Guild acoustic just up and cracked vertically below the bridge overnight. I had it repaired, but it was more of a cosmetic thing, didn't change it's sound or play-ability.

Electrics, I've taken out of the case after traveling in freezing temperatures, back in case after a gig into freezing temps. Bounced around in the back of car in the summertime with no case.. they seem to survive, at least that's been my experience. Obviously you want to protect them when possible.

Do you do any basic setups on your electric guitars yourself? It isn't that complicated and there are tons of Youtube videos on it. It's a good skill to learn. Raising the action on the B and G a teeny bit might cure it. All my electrics buzz a little bit here and there, especially with 'more then a mild amount of intensity'. Nature of the beast.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply Eric. Reassuring to hear.

I'm ashamed to say that with respect to maintenance all I ever do on my own is change the strings. I've been pretty lazy about learning the other stuff... But I think now is a good time to start since my appointment with my luthier isn't until Monday. I'll watch some videos and see what I can do...

Best.
 
What has been said is correct. Wood will move depending on the moisture, it swells which can change the length of the neck. The truss rod doesn't move, so a significant change in moisture can change the overall setup. The truss rod's there to allow you to compensate for those changes. Loosen the truss rod by a quarter turn and you will being back a bit of relief, which will raise the action very slightly to minimize any string buzz. Or being a strat, you can slightly raise the B and G saddles. Then if you find the action creeps up after it dries, you can lower those strings without changing the other strings.

When my basement flooded years ago (you saw the picture), there was a guitar case on the chair. What you didn't see was my Heritage H157 on a stand, with water up to the bridge, or my Guild S100 floating in the case. Both guitars are fine, although the Heritage had to have a refinish on the body. The Guild developed a couple of finish cracks, but nothing like the stuff you see with the current "relicing" craze. The case, however took a licking. The velvet inside was absolutely ruined. I bought a new case for it, and kept the shell of the old one, hoping to someday redo it. Maybe when I retire... (oh wait, that happened 5 years ago! So I don't always finish what I start.)

Both guitars are just fine today.
 
TalismanRich said:
What has been said is correct. Wood will move depending on the moisture, it swells which can change the length of the neck. The truss rod doesn't move, so a significant change in moisture can change the overall setup. The truss rod's there to allow you to compensate for those changes. Loosen the truss rod by a quarter turn and you will being back a bit of relief, which will raise the action very slightly to minimize any string buzz. Or being a strat, you can slightly raise the B and G saddles. Then if you find the action creeps up after it dries, you can lower those strings without changing the other strings.

When my basement flooded years ago (you saw the picture), there was a guitar case on the chair. What you didn't see was my Heritage H157 on a stand, with water up to the bridge, or my Guild S100 floating in the case. Both guitars are fine, although the Heritage had to have a refinish on the body. The Guild developed a couple of finish cracks, but nothing like the stuff you see with the current "relicing" craze. The case, however took a licking. The velvet inside was absolutely ruined. I bought a new case for it, and kept the shell of the old one, hoping to someday redo it. Maybe when I retire... (oh wait, that happened 5 years ago! So I don't always finish what I start.)

Both guitars are just fine today.
Click to expand...
Very reassuring to hear. Thank you.
 
"I got a full setup (including new strings) on the guitar like 2 months ago" and did you play it for a while afterwards and everything was fine? Or did you just put it away in the case and then 2 months later only because of the "flood" did you open it up to test it out and play it? I only ask because, I've had something strange happen after changing strings on a guitar (to a different brand) that suddenly cause weird rattling sounds like you're describing... and it was because of those new (different) strings, changing them to the same brand that had previously been replaced stopped the rattling.
 
Ujn Hunter said:
"I got a full setup (including new strings) on the guitar like 2 months ago" and did you play it for a while afterwards and everything was fine? Or did you just put it away in the case and then 2 months later only because of the "flood" did you open it up to test it out and play it? I only ask because, I've had something strange happen after changing strings on a guitar (to a different brand) that suddenly cause weird rattling sounds like you're describing... and it was because of those new (different) strings, changing them to the same brand that had previously been replaced stopped the rattling.
Click to expand...
After the setup I played it many times. So the issue was definitely related to the flooding.
Sounds like you just got a bad set of strings.
 
RFR said:
So? Any updates?
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I played it last night after leaving it out for a day and it basically sounded about the same - maybe a tiny bit of improvement. Will try it again when I get back home tonight. And then the luthier on Monday should it still not sound right.
 
gene12586 said:
I played it last night after leaving it out for a day and it basically sounded about the same - maybe a tiny bit of improvement. Will try it again when I get back home tonight. And then the luthier on Monday should it still not sound right.
Click to expand...
You getting fret buzz? And if so where? Through an amp or just played acoustically?
 
Sorry to hear about the flooding situation. Even if the water didn't reach the guitar, humidity can still affect it over time. Try changing the strings, and if the issue persists, it's a good idea to get the guitar checked by a professional luthier or technician. They can assess if any changes in humidity might have caused the issue or if there's another underlying problem. Hopefully, it's nothing serious, and your guitar can get back to sounding its best. Good luck!
 
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