Neck Issues

Kublai

Senior Member
Messages
494
I have something going on with a neck...I think. Not sure how to describe it though, and I am not much of a tech, so that doesn't help. I am getting a buzz on the low E fretted and open, and to a lesser extent on the A. It sounds like more of a rattle, though, than fret buzz. And it passes through the pups to be amplified. It seems this would be a bridge problem to me, but here is where the story gets weird.
This neck was on an LPS with a TOM/Stop. The buzz was there.
I recently had the frets height filed way down, and a new nut installed. The buzz was still there.
Just this week, I had another nut installed, and put the neck on a different body with a TonePros wrap around. It is on this body...I know, everyone warned me about that neck a long time ago! But, the guitar had no playability issues with the  old neck.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=952.0

The buzz is still freaking here! I almost snapped the damn thing in half when I got it back from the shop.

Anyway, I don't know what to do now. It has to be the neck, right? The same buzz is following the neck around, regardless of nut or bridge or electonics. But, 3 nuts, a fret job and it still buzzes? Am I missing something? Heck, I am so upset I don't even know what to ask about it.
 
Step away from this guitar/neck for a couple of days , while we come to your aid . . . no need to set it on fire  , yet !

:toothy10:
 
1.Maybe the nut slot ?!?
2.or the string on the tuner post is not pulled down enough !?
3.improper fret filing/dressing/refret
4.the strings themselves(unraveling)
5.saddles(height,seat)
and do you have an intonation problem ?

 
The techs might have setup the neck dead straight, which some players like.  Have you tried putting a little relief in the neck?
 
I'd have thought the only thing left that could buzz would be the truss rod which you don't mention. As suggested, if the the neck has been left straight, there may be no tension on the truss rod, leaving it free to much around in sympathy with the string vibration.

The only other option might be to check that nothing is loose at the bridge end of things. Once had a really irritating buzz on my Lonestar Strat that I couldn't trace for ages, it turned out to be a loose grub screw in one of the bridge saddles. Was the work of seconds to fix, once I'd worked out where it was coming from.
 
If the tuner is the 10mm type that has a washer and a bolt on the headstock side, check to make sure they are tight, because I had buzzing on a neck and thought it was the truss rod, and turned out to be that.
 
Thanks for the responses. Just eye-balling the neck, it looks like it is too flat. I will put some relief in there in the next day or two.
 
If it was driving me that crazy, I'd start eliminating things. It sounds like you've tried two bridges... I'd raise the action way, way high, and make sure there was no fret buzz. I'd tighten the truss rod whether it "needed" it or not, to make sure it's not the rod/nut/washer.... that truss rod assembly would be my guess based on what you've written, but unfortunately more than one thing can buzz. My students drive me crazy, coming to me with these $200 Ibanezes with the strings lowered right to the frets "Just like Paul Gilbert's" - they want me to make it stop buzzing - the whole damn thing buzzes, if you want it to stop buzzing PUT IT IN THE DUMPSTER OR RAISE THE ACTION - grrrr.  :help:
 
Well, use your ear to identify the location of the buzz. pluck the string while listening closely from several angles and locations - i.e., put your ear up to the bridge, the nut, etc. And like stub said, raise up the action to make sure it's not the frets.
Loosen up the truss rod so you get a bit of relief; the quick and dirty way to check is to capo the 1st fret, then depress the last fret with your finger. You should see a gap of about the size of a high E string at the 8th fret or so, or less. If the string touches all the frets on the way down, or is so close you can't tell, then you need a straightedge. In any case, you can relieve the neck to give it that little bit of relief, and futher isolate the problem.

Are the nut slots too low? Is your bridge properly slotted? etc. etc.
 
that truss rod assembly would be my guess

Not on Warmoth necks.

Whoever you are trusting to work on your guitar must hear this buzz too. If they cannot pinpoint the source, I would suggest taking it to the best tech you can find even if you have to drive a ways. A qualified guitar tech will be able to hear it, identify it and fix it rather quickly saving you many hours of frustration.
 
Gregg said:
that truss rod assembly would be my guess

Not on Warmoth necks.

Whoever you are trusting to work on your guitar must hear this buzz too. If they cannot pinpoint the source, I would suggest taking it to the best tech you can find even if you have to drive a ways. A qualified guitar tech will be able to hear it, identify it and fix it rather quickly saving you many hours of frustration.

+1 - There are those times when a good guitar tech is worth their weight in gold (not to mention the saved stress & frustration on you)...
 
Check the tuner..... I had the same issue on one of my strats years ago.... changed the bridge, nut, frets done, went through EVERY piece of hardware.... would not go away.... on a whim changed the tuner.... buzzing gone.... Just an idea

Had another guitar with a mystery buzz everytime I played an E... turned out to be a pickup mounting spring that had lost its "spring"... and for some reason buzzed like crazy whenever I played an E... goofy problem...

Good luck!
 
I was thinking similar thots while away - you already have snugged down all the individual six tuning machine bushings too, and tried holding each tuner as you violently picked a (buzzy) open E? :icon_smile:
 
It is not a tuner. This is the second set of tuners, third nut, second bridge, second fret level, second body, second pups...the buzz never went away thru any of those changes. Probably the only thing never changed was the relief. It came from the tech that assembled it like that, then the other techs maybe just assumed that is the way I like it? I don't know why anyone would think some one would want that nasty amplified buzz though, but I will adjust the relief when I get a few minutes in the next couple of days. Thanks for the input!
 
I am new but was doing some reading in a couple of books. I might be wrong but check this out.


http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Neck,_fingerboard/Neck_Relief_Gauge.html

Adjust a truss rod without guesswork
Neck Relief Gauge
Our Neck Relief Gauge helps you quickly and precisely adjust guitar fretboard straightness (for comfortable playability without fret buzz). It accurately measures the amount of variation from a dead flat position, to take the guesswork out of adding or subtracting neck relief as you adjust the truss rod.



 
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