daveq Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 My lower strings are buzzing on pretty much every fret except maybe the first. What would be the first thing to look for? The upper (higher pitch) strings seem fine. I have already adjusted the bridge up and down without much change. I did a quick truss rod adlust to make the neck bow away from my body, and set it back again after learning it did not help. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feylya Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Sounds like maybe another truss rod tweak, leaving it to settle afterwards and possible raising the bass side of the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Is this a DIY guitar, parts project, or off the peg? Is this a problem which has existed since you first bought/built/assembled the guitar? If not, what has been changed recently? Bolt or Set neck? The solution will be different depending on your situation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 put your finget on the low e string at the first fret and the last fret then measure the gap between the string and top of the frets around the 10/12 fret. if their isnt enough space between them you need to relax the truss rod and get more forward bow in the neck. To me it just sounds like the action is too low on the bass side. the lower strings have a wider vibration area when picked. the Higher strings dont vibrate nearly as much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 i'd say start with the nut, if u already made hudge adjustments to the brdige height and nothing really changed i'd say the bass side of the nut is a tad to low, then check the truss rod like scotty said, then adjust the height via the bridge.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 i'd say start with the nut, if u already made hudge adjustments to the brdige height and nothing really changed i'd say the bass side of the nut is a tad to low, then check the truss rod like scotty said, then adjust the height via the bridge.. it's not the nut, his post said the strings buzz from the 1st fret on up, when a string is fretted the nut height doesn't matter one bit. in fact if you dont believe me, next time you string a guitar with a locking nut, take the nut off and string the low E, fret it at the first fret and pick it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Thank you Scott, I cannot believe how many hours the local guitar techs here spend changing nut height for buzzing on fretted notes!!!!! Common sense tells you that ANYTHING behind the fretted note will not make a difference. The ONLY time the nut makes a difference to a fretted note is if it is so high that it overstretches the string when fretted causing it to go sharp. As for the buzzing, I like to set up most necks to have between .006" to .012" of front bow when measured under the string like Scott mentioned. If you have recently changed strings to a lighter gauge, the truss rod will probably need to be loosened, if you have gone to a heavier gauge, you may need higher action. The heavier the string gauge the wider the vibration and the more chance for buzz. The bass side of the neck usually requires the action to be about 50% higher than the treble side because of the vibration of the lower string, ie: the high E might be 1mm, the Low E probably 1.5mm. Of course, if none of that works, you may have a high fret, once you're past that high fret the buzz will go away, so once you've played with the action and truss rod, if it won't go away, check all the frets for a high one, it's possible one has popped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 my last observation in this matter is the neck has possibly twisted since the bass strings pull harder on the neck than the treble strings. if the truss rod and action adjustment doesnt work thats my best guess. if it was just a truss rod tweak all the strings would probably buzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 In most of the usual string gauges the central strings pull the more, while the outers do the less on the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted July 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Thanks for all of the replies. Am I correct in assuming that a neck that bows away from the players body (front bow?) would normally prevent buzzing? I think LGM is basically saying that a front bow is usually desired and would help this type of problem? When I set it to bow this way, should the string height stay uniform from low to high frets or should it change slightly as you move up the neck? By the way - this is a new guitar that I just put together and not an old guitar with different guage strings. The frets look like they are well seated. I expected some buzzing but not on all frets. That's why I thought it was not a high fret but a neck position / bridge position problem. Thanks again for helping out. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 yes you should have a slight forward bow (away from the players body) the action should be relatively uniform maybe rising ever so slightly towards the bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted August 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 OK, I decided to try to level my frets and re-crown. I used one of those stewmac bars with the stick-on sand paper to do the leveling. I tried not to take of too much material but being the first time doing this, I had no idea what that really meant. I used a perm. marker to coat each fret and watched to see it dissapear as I worked. How do you know when to stop leveling? I used a feeler guage (.004?) to see if any frets had a gap. When I could no longer slide it under, I stopped. This may not have worked for the inner strings though since I only checked the high and low E strings. The end result is less buzzing. If I try, I can still get some buzzing randomly (mostly on the lower strings still). Sorry to bother you all with this. If there's anything else you can share, I would really appreciate it. I have a feeling that I did not complete the leveling properly. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 I just thought of one thing that wasn't asked, are you using a non standard tuning? drop d low tuning standard D or C on a standard scale guitar? That would really explain the buzzing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted August 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 That's a good point. I am using 25.5 scale standard tuning but I have not installed the third spring yet (OFR bridge). I am currently using two springs. Would that have any affect on this? Thanks Scott, I know my questions are probably driving people nuts. I'm so close to being able to use this thing that I've been pouring my heart into for so long - I just want to be sure I do the right thing at this point. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 just try giving the truss rod a 1/4 turn counterclockwise, tune to pitch and see what happens. also is the bridge set to the same radius as the fingerboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted August 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 I have tried several truss rod adjustments and bridge adjustments. The bridge is a 10" radius and the fretboard was 10" when I bought it. It is possible that I sanded the fretboard down to the point where it is no longer 10", I'll look into it. Thanks again - do you think the 3rd spring would have any affect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 can't hurt to try although I doubt it will make any difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted August 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 I think I'm in good shape now. I did throw in the third spring but I'm not sure if that was responsible. I made sure the bridge was in a neutral position and tuned it up (took several passes). Then I adjusted the truss rod to get most of the buzz out of the lower frets and the bridge for the upper frets. After giving it a while, things started to sound and feel good. I compared it against my RG550 and noticed that it had some buzzing in it. These were all things that you guys suggested but I guess I wasn't doing them right earlier - or maybe out of order? I guess from here, I will make small changes and not be so picky. If you disagree and think I should shoot for no buzzing at all, please let me know. The original problem does seem to have been fixed though. Thanks so much to everyone for helping out. Thanks Scott. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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