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here's the deal. I am working on a Washburn D17S with a transducer pickup. The pickup does not amplify the G string. All other strings are fine.

Anyone have experience with this sort of problem.

So you have an undersaddle piezo pickup, is that right? The first
thing to do is to be sure the saddle slot is free of debris. Next
inspect the transducer to see that there is no damage.   Next, If you
have already set the relief, check to see that the saddle is giving you
the desired action at the 12th fret. If that is fine, take some pencil
lead and blacken the bottom of the saddle. Lay some 320 (or
higher) grit paper on a level surface (thick plate glass, a piece of
surfaced marble, a surface plate, etc.) and while keeping the saddle
strictly vertical lightly sand the bottom of the saddle. Continue to do
so until all the pencil marks have been removed. Now you know
your saddle is flat. If these things do not work consider your string
break angle and the possibility that the saddle slot itself may not
have a flat bottom. I hope this helps. This can be a bear of a
problem but usually it's flattening the bottom of the saddle that
evens out the signal.

Bob,
Sounds like you have either a shallow spot on the saddle or an uneven/low spot in the slot. Maybe both. I use Stew Macs Saddle slotting jig and you can get a perfectly level slot with little effort...it is a little expensive - $119.90 part#4043

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Both suggestions are excellent. I might get the slot jig for the future. One can never have too many toys, I mean tools. I am not sure if it applies to my situation. I may not have explained what I have correctly and fully.

The guitar had a plastic shim under the saddle/pup when it came in. It was just a small piece of plastic under the low E string and the rest of the saddle/pup was floating free. I made a mahogony shim to correct the action issue but the G string is still silent.



As you can see, it is a seal saddle/pup configuration. I tried contacting Washburn and have no response yet.




Any additional ideas are welcome.

Hi Bob,

     In my shop, if the customer for some reason was in love with this
instrument, I'd cut to the chase and advise him to plug the current
saddle slot and cut for a new 3/32 bone saddle and standard
aftermarket under saddle transducer. My suspician is that you'll end
up making the strings intonate much better and the new pickup will
likely be better quality too. Of course He's got to be willing to spend
$200+. I think trying to make that pickup balance will not be worth
your time, and it will still be mediocre in the end.