Open notes sound funny

[Eclimax13]

Just purchased a brand new Taylor 814ce.  While teaching myself Fur Elise I notice that the open notes, high "e" and "b" sound out of place.  Sort of not as smooth as the fretted notes.  The guitar plays amazing and seems to be set up perfectly.  Wondering if it's something that is natural and I never noticed it before on the other acoustics I've owned?  Could it be the Tusq saddle and nut?  Just curious at this point.  Thanks

[jjrpilot-admin]

Hmm.  I have no clue...but I'll give this a post a free bump.  Hopefully someone knowledgeable will come along. 

[Eclimax13]

Oh crap!  This is one of those things that once you notice it, you hear it all the time.  Now my electric is doing it.  It must be a characteristic of guitars that I never noticed before. 

[sachi]

What do you mean by "not as smooth"? Are you hearing harmonics?

[Eclimax13]

Hmmm.  Being self taught, I've never been shown what to look for in acoustic characteristics.  Not sure what I'm hearing but when I play the "b" on the "g" string and play an open "b" they sound like the same frequency but the characteristic of the sound is different.  I should really get together with a seasoned acoustic player as this is my first, to me, high end acoustic and would love to learn more about what makes it special.  My last acoustic, 214ce, was just something I thought sounded good for the price and I just played when an electric wasn't convenient. 

[michaelw]

Just purchased a brand new Taylor 814ce.  While teaching myself Fur Elise I notice that the open notes, high "e" and "b" sound out of place.  Sort of not as smooth as the fretted notes.  The guitar plays amazing and seems to be set up perfectly.  Wondering if it's something that is natural and I never noticed it before on the other acoustics I've owned?  Could it be the Tusq saddle and nut?  Just curious at this point.  Thanks

hi eclimax,
i was wondering if what you're hearing is more of a brillance or 'shimmer' to the B & e open strings -
in terms of the newer 814ce models i've tried with the CV bracing, i've generally noticed
a bit more depth & warmth, along with more articulate trebles over the Fall 04 to 08
Standard II models & the 03 - earlier 'Classic' or non-forward shifted X brace models

there are some acoustics that use the same Tusq nut & saddle & other that use different materials,
such as plastic, micarta, ivorex, NuBone, etc, which along with the tonal characterics of the guitar,
may have a tendency to have a more mellow, focused, direct or 'tempered' tone to the trebles

a different gauge pick or pick material (if you use one) or different strings set with plated B & e
or those that have a wrap close the ball end may change change alter the tone a bit or, perhaps ,
considering an alternate nut/saddle material (for example, a NuBone saddle or bone saddle & nut)

also, i was wondering what kind of electric guitar you have & what kind of strings are on it -
stainless steel plain strings, along with the metal saddles, locking nuts & 'graphite' synthetic
nuts have a tendency to make the brilliance of the B & e stand out, especially with .009 -.042s

there a quite a few other members here that have recent model 814ce's as well &
i'd also suggest checking out some of the other threads to see what their thoughts are

[zeebow]

i think i know what phenomenon you are describing. it's prob b/c you're fretting a majority of the notes and have a few open strings here and there.

the open strings "ring" cleanly but has a different tone than fretted notes/chords.

the sustain on cv braced guitars (814ce, 914ce and presentation series etc) seem to have a different sounding sustain. not sure how to describe it.

playing electric and acoustic are different techniques.

i used to love alternative music and the grungy overdrive electric sound. as my tastes matured, i really appreciate the sound of open notes and chords, and i love when artists (like boyce avenue) alter a song to use an open tuning.

the end result is a very clean and crisp sound.

that's my guess anyway, b/c i remember feeling the same way when i first started playing guitar.

[Eclimax13]

Ok thanks.  Just wanted to make sure its normal