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New 2018 Studio Fret Buzz


AloofWinter

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Hello everyone.

 

Just in the last week I received my fist Gibson, a Les Paul Studio 2018 in vintage sunburst, in the post from Thomann in Germany. I'm in the UK.

 

I opened the case and everything looked great, the guitar is very attractive, not to mention great smelling as well. :D

 

However, upon playing the guitar I realised quickly that it buzzes rather a lot. The low E string buzzes off the fretboard even when it's not being fretted.

 

Is this a common occurrence for new Gibsons, that they need a setup even when brand new? For those of you who have bought new Gibsons, how did they play out of the box/case for you?

 

Cheers.

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Hi,

Congratulations on the new Les Paul and welcome to the forum.

It's quite common for new Gibson's to need a set-up, if you can't do it yourself find a good guitar tech, it will be money we spent if you find a good tech, he'll be able to make the guitar far better than you could imagine possible. Take your time to find the right guy.

 

 

Regards,

Ian

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I would say it is quite common for new guitars in general to require a set up just because everyone has their own preferences.

 

It is probably less common to have really bad buzz like you describe, but not out of the ordinary.

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Yes, a setup for sure. All these new Gibson's are PLEK'd so it's highly unlikely you have a high fret or anything like that. But other things happen. Brand new guitars change based on the environment, humidity, etc. Most all of these retailers claim they do a 6927 point checklist and setup before they go out the door but I'm a little skeptical as to how meticulous they are, and even if they are, everyone has a different preference for setup. I got my brand new Custom Shop R0 and it had a terrible low E fret buzz, very similar to what you are describing. It wasn't even playable really. All it needed was a 1/8 turn of the truss and it was perfect.

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Yes the necks can move and do often...

 

I would suggest first just raise the top E side of the bridge like a quarter/half a turn anti clockwise or something.. It could sort it out straight away.. If that doesn't work it probably needs a slight neck adjustment. But you need to be able to check the neck straightness first. If that doesn't work its probably the nut.

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Thanks for the great posts guys, I appreciate the clarification.

 

I'm going to find a good tech as suggested and see what they think is the issue. I don't feel comfortable adjusting the truss rod myself as I've no experience of it, though it'd be good if they could teach me.

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Thanks for the great posts guys, I appreciate the clarification.

 

I'm going to find a good tech as suggested and see what they think is the issue. I don't feel comfortable adjusting the truss rod myself as I've no experience of it, though it'd be good if they could teach me.

If your LP was new in the original factory packaging it may take a little bit of time for it to acclimate to your environment. New guitars react to changes in humidity and temperature. If your LP was on display hanging on wall in a store its reaction would be less. But it shouldn't take much more than about a week to stabilize. It is always advisable to have a new guitar checked out by a skilled person.

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Thanks for the great posts guys, I appreciate the clarification.

 

I'm going to find a good tech as suggested and see what they think is the issue. I don't feel comfortable adjusting the truss rod myself as I've no experience of it, though it'd be good if they could teach me.

 

BTW, I wasn't suggesting that your guitar needs a truss rod adjustment. I was just giving one example of something that could cause the problem you described.

 

But, learning these basic setup skills is not that hard. There are good books and YouTube.

 

 

 

 

 

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if a fret buzzes open.. you have a nut issue (ie slot cut too deep)

 

then take a standard piece of paper cut a 2x2 inch sqr, fold it over on it self tight (this is aprox 8thou of an inch thick.

then put a capo on fret 1.. hold the last fret

slide the folded sqr paper under the string at the 7th fret.

does it slide easy? does it jam under the string and the fret? does it fall to the floor?

 

should just slide in easy and stay, shouldn't lift the string, shouldn't fall to the floor.

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Not sure where LP Studios are made, but I know it's not Germany. Guitar was shipped from the US or somewhere else to Thomann in Germany, then again to you in the UK so subject to a lot of different temperatures, humidity etc. Not uncommon to need some adjustments. Find a good tech and they can straighten it out for you and over time you can learn to adjust as needed.

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