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Still fret buzz after neck and bridge adjustment


e-zero

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I have a Gibson Les Paul Studio and I have fret buzz on the bottom twos string around the 1st to 5th frets. I adjusted the neck so that it is flat (there is no back bow). I can't turn the adjustment rod anymore counterclockwise cause there is no more tension. I raised the action pretty high on the bridge. After doing all this, I still get fret buzz! and its very annoying. What else can I do now to get rid of this fret buzz??

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A lot of folks, (myself included) actually do not like a "completely straight" neck. If you tighten the truss rod a bit it can actually get rid of the buzz on some of the lower frets by having a slight bow. One of the main causes is playing style. If you are a "hard picker" you are definitely going to hear more buzz compared to someone with a lighter strum. Lastly, string sizes can affect buzz. Heavier bottom strings give you more tension and sometimes less buzz.

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by the way, I have heard Gibson checks neck relief of guitars leaving the factory by pressing down the 6th string on the 15th fret. Once you do this, you should have only a very tiny gap between the 7th fret and the 6th string if the neck is adjusted properly.

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If you have buzzing on the lower frets you probably need to add some relief to the neck, but it sounds like you have loosened the truss rod all the way and it's still flat. What gauge strings are you using? If you can tolerate one gauge higher it might solve your problem.

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Guest Farnsbarns

@665... You've misunderstood, there is no more tension on the OP's truss rod so s/he can't allow any more relief. Also, tightening a truss rod straightens the neck, loosening it allows for relief. Of course, too tight and you can have a back bow, the opposite of relief. Somehow your post sounds like you're not clear on how that works, sorry if I've misread that.

 

@e-zero, your but might be cut too deep, do you get buzz on fretted notes or just open strings? A grey dress might be in order, as mentioned, heavier strings might give you the extra relief you need.

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No, tightening the truss rod will make it worse. Heavier gauge strings could help if it's a problem with the neck, or a fret or two could be high/low, in which case a fret dress would be in order. How old is the guitar?

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I have a Gibson Les Paul Studio and I have fret buzz on the bottom twos string around the 1st to 5th frets. I adjusted the neck so that it is flat (there is no back bow). I can't turn the adjustment rod anymore counterclockwise cause there is no more tension. I raised the action pretty high on the bridge. After doing all this, I still get fret buzz! and its very annoying. What else can I do now to get rid of this fret buzz??

 

fret buzz on lp studio ... i went through this thouroughly! Assuming it's not anything wrong like an improperly cut nut, I trust Gibson's PLEK setup when the guitar leaves the factory. You can adjust the neck by truss rod so that there is slight relief on the fretboard, in other words a little bit of a concave (bowl shape) to relieve the immediate buzzing on lower strings on lower frets ... it will move the buzz higher on the fretboard a bit. Lower the bridge as far as it can go, then raise the bass side only high enough so that it doesn't buzz. The treble and bass side of the bridge don't have to match in height. you can lower the tailpiece to the body and topwrap strings. you can use a heavier guage of strings so that the heavier strings don't vibrate as much. last you can lower the pickups so that the magnetic pull on the bass strings is less. there's always some slight string buzz on some frets while the action is within liveable height. you don't have to raise the height to unliveable heights (unless you're hooked on slide guitar), just live with it. any guitar is going to have strings resonating to buzz depending how hard you strike them. doing these things helped as much as it could for me (2011 lp studio). I really think issues that plague new guitars, i.e. break in period, like the height of the frets might contribute initially to fret buzz and will settle once worn in with play.

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@665... You've misunderstood, there is no more tension on the OP's truss rod so s/he can't allow any more relief. Also, tightening a truss rod straightens the neck, loosening it allows for relief. Of course, too tight and you can have a back bow, the opposite of relief. Somehow your post sounds like you're not clear on how that works, sorry if I've misread that.

 

@e-zero, your but might be cut too deep, do you get buzz on fretted notes or just open strings? A grey dress might be in order, as mentioned, heavier strings might give you the extra relief you need.

 

My bad, I misread the part about the OP's truss rod status

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Guest Farnsbarns

Buzzing on fretted notes has nothing to do with the nut. Think about it.

 

Yep, not the nut, that's now established. Their is either a lifted/high fret or the neck is bending non-uniformly or is twisted. Either way, any player who's asking online is going to need a tech so find a good one and get your guitar to them. It isn't something you can sort yourself (given that you're asking here).

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I have a Gibson Les Paul Studio and I have fret buzz on the bottom twos string around the 1st to 5th frets. I adjusted the neck so that it is flat (there is no back bow). I can't turn the adjustment rod anymore counterclockwise cause there is no more tension. I raised the action pretty high on the bridge. After doing all this, I still get fret buzz! and its very annoying. What else can I do now to get rid of this fret buzz??

 

 

Take it to a good luthier.

 

The reason I say this my friend just brought his new Signature T to master luthier Barry Lipman because of a little fret buzz and G string not staying in tune.

From what I under stand it needed a slight truss rod adjust and nut and saddle hand filing.

She is perfect now.

 

Before he brought it to Barry he brought it to Jeff (the guitar tech) at Sam Ash twice because that is where he bought guitar.

Jeff couldn't fix but master luthier Barry Lipman did.

 

And a master luthier won't guess at what could be wrong. He will go over it very thoroughly and tell you what exactly is wrong.

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I had the same problem with my older vintage...the truss rod adjustment is all the way loose and I needed some relief to prevent fret buzz. For what it's worth, my home remedy right or wrong was:

 

Loosen the truss rod nut completely. Using my heavy duty carpenter level with 1" wood blocks on the 7-8th fret and using C-clamps with padding on each end to give slight pressure for a relief. Even placed an electric blanket on the neck area for a week or so. It's over 30 years and the guitar is still working fine.

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If you don`t know the answer, take it to an expert. A good tech will be able to quickly identify the issue and advise how to move froward.

 

When you think about the action, there are so many factors to considered:

 

Bridge heights, Nut heights, Fret heights, relief, Neck position, ..

 

You will most probably find its a combination of factors as opposed to a single point that needs attention.

 

Good luck

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