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I know this question has many, many variables to it, but simply, the last guitar that I completed and strung up has somewhat muted B & E strings. Are there any real obvious things that I can be looking for. I seem to remember reading about strings not coming off the nut correctly, etc. This guitar is a walnut B/S with Cedar top, OM size. It has pretty much standard martin type bracing (1/4"). I know voicing is an important consideration that books have been written on. My previous guitar that I completed, pretty much same everything as this one did not suffer this malady. The current one is only my fifth completion, so I have a long way to go, I know, but any help might go a long way. My thanks to all you have taught me so far.
I will post pics in the future. Tom Harbin

Did you check to make sure the ball is is in good contact with the bridge plate?

Thanks Michael: I'll check that, that may be a problem, I know I had trouble with the A string. Tom

Thanks Hesh: I have read that in the distant past, not well enough, cause I did not remember the 1/2 angle part. I have worked on this nut quite a bit, so maybe a new nut is in order, the practice won't hurt anyway. thanks for the input. Tom

When I strung up the thinline SJ and tuned up the first time my A was weeeeeeek. I set it back down on the bench and scratched my head. asking my self "do I need to redo the nut? then it dawned on me before I fix a problem that is not ther I wonder if the ball is well trapped between the pin and bridge plate. so I got out the inspection mirror and bingo. The problem was the sting slot was just tight enough to let the pin pinch only the sting and come up to pitch wut out the ball even touching the bridge plate so that is the first thing I wouled check

I thought I would post an update on my muted string dilemma. Thanks Michael and Hesh! I used my inspection mirror and it 'appeared' that the string balls were tight, but in the end they weren't. I went back and reworked all the bridge holes; slightly larger diameter and slots a little wider, and the balls easily went past the bridge pin. this helped. Also the nut was an issue too, so I relieved the tuner side of the nut so I was sure there was less contact in the slot. After doing both of these mods, no muted strings, and all the strings had much more volume, sustain and overall better sound. One problem that I have observed was the angle that both E strings come over the nut is much flatter than the other strings. Of course this is going to be true since their posts are closer to the nut, making it more important to relieve the nut. Two things I am going to consider on future builds is headstock angle, currently 15 degrees and placement of the nut, I currently place it on the headstock. Since I have ordered a few of John Watkins necks and they have a 17 degree headstock angle, I want to see how much difference this makes. It also occurs to me that the thickness of the headstock will determine how far the post sticks above the top of the headstock, somewhat determining the angle the string comes off the nut. I thank you guys for helping me to think this through. After hearing the sound of this guitar, I think I may build a few more and continue to find out just how much I don't know.   As Andrew Peterson wrote, it is amazing what comes "from the void of the wire and the wood"

Tom H