JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Well it arrived yesterday... I'm happy with the tone, the neck, the action.. pretty much everything apart from a dammed annoying buzz (from the bridge) when the 4th dtring is fretted at the 3rd,4th,5th,8th frets. What a dissapointment! I tried adjusting the truss rod and it didnt make any difference. It only seems to move a half turn either way. Is that normal? I have only ever adjusted Gibson rods in the past. I can see a screw that sits in the middle of the brdige area. Maybe I should mess with that?
Del Nilppeznaf Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Well it arrived yesterday... I'm happy with the tone, the neck, the action.. pretty much everything apart from a dammed annoying buzz (from the bridge) when the 4th dtring is fretted at the 3rd,4th,5th,8th frets. What a dissapointment! I tried adjusting the truss rod and it didnt make any difference. It only seems to move a half turn either way. Is that normal? I have only ever adjusted Gibson rods in the past. I can see a screw that sits in the middle of the brdige area. Maybe I should mess with that? Could be the 4th string is not seated correctly in it's hole. If it's only buzzing on that string at the bridge..seems like a likely cause. Restring and make sure the ball end is resting against bridge plate in the correct manner. May solve the issue.
Versatile Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Some common sense may help here... :blink: For a buzz at the bridge, adjusting the truss rod is unlikely to help in any way... For a new guitar...it may take some playing to settle in and loosen up a bit... Careful listening should pinpoint the exact spot from whence the buzz doth emanate... <_< Many people, including moi, become obsessed with buzzes etc...a few hours rehearsing/gigging and curiously they seem less important.. V
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Some common sense may help here... :blink: For a buzz at the bridge, adjusting the truss rod is unlikely to help in any way... For a new guitar...it may take some playing to settle in and loosen up a bit... Careful listening should pinpoint the exact spot from whence the buzz doth emanate... <_< Many people, including moi, become obsessed with buzzes etc...a few hours rehearsing/gigging and curiously they seem less important.. V Well, it made a real difference with my LG1. I had a similar problem with buzzing at the bridge and it was fixed by loosening the truss rod. This buzz is way to annoying to ignore. I will try reseating the string - good call Del.
Versatile Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Well, it made a real difference with my LG1. I had a similar problem with buzzing at the bridge and it was fixed by loosening the truss rod. This buzz is way to annoying to ignore. I will try reseating the string - good call Del. Yes I posted without checking the specific instrument...oops and apologies... Resonators are a unique kettle of fish indeed... Good luck and perhaps post on a specialist forum if problems persist... And then we will want to hear a sound clip to know that 'all is well'... V
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Yes I posted without checking the specific instrument...oops and apologies... Resonators are a unique kettle of fish indeed... Good luck and perhaps post on a specialist forum if problems persist... And then we will want to hear a sound clip to know that 'all is well'... V It's funny how its only happening on that one string. If it were uneven fret height then it would be the same on other strings surely? I will try another string tonight, failing that I will go to my nearest tech tomorrow and see what he thinks. If it needs work then it's going back. The company I bought it from said they have no problems swapping it out for another. It just means packaging it up and sending off which is a pita
ParlourMan Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Rarely will a tech tell you a guitar doesn't need some sort of work.
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Rarely will a tech tell you a guitar doesn't need some sort of work. very true, but he has had alot of custom from me in the past and I said over the phone that if it needs anything remotely significant done then it's going back. He said bring it in and he will hae a look. Hopefully he will have a wee tinkle and it will be buzz free ;)
ParlourMan Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Hopefully he will have a wee tinkle and it will be buzz free ;) Better chances if you have a decent relationship like you mentioned. Fingers crossed mate... All the best.
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Better chances if you have a decent relationship like you mentioned. Fingers crossed mate... All the best. Thanks, will post some pics once its buzz free
zombywoof Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 While they look tough enough, resonators can be finicky little things. A buzz in a reso could be comig from the cone. If strings or a string is too low you can get a buzz so check your string height. If the cone is not seated correctly you can also get a buzz so first check all those little screws to make sure everything is tight.
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 While they look tough enough, resonators can be finicky little things. A buzz in a reso could be comig from the cone. If strings or a string is too low you can get a buzz so check your string height. If the cone is not seated correctly you can also get a buzz so first check all those little screws to make sure everything is tight. Right-o I noticed a small screw that holds the Guard onto the spider. Will tighten that first and change the string.
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 OK I have just done some more fault finding and I can confirm that it is certain frequencies that are making it buzz. The buzz seems to be coming from the cone/speaker. I can get it to buzz when playing other strings frets on the same couple of notes. Ideas?
zombywoof Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 One other thing that can cause a big time buzz is improper break angle of strings over the bridge. I had an old National that had this problem when I first got it. I soon discovered that if I put just a bit of downward pressure on the strings between the bridge and tailpiece the buzz went away. There was just not enough downward pressure being exerted on the cone. So it ended up being a relatively easy fix. Something else to think about though - I am assuming the guitar is under warranty. If you star cracking it open to see if the cone is damaged or improperly seated it might void the warranty. Just something to consider. If it was me, I would just take the guitar to a good repair guy. If he can fix it on the cheap it might just be worth it. Sure would help keep your frustration level down.
JAddison Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks man you got it spot on. I got my buddy to push down slightly on the tailpiece over the strings and the buzz disappeared! It doesn't look like it is adjustable at all. How did you obtain more downward pressure?
tvguit Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Rarely will a tech tell you a guitar doesn't need some sort of work. The good ones will. Only because they have too much other work to do!
zombywoof Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 So possibly either the cone is not sitting on the ledge evenly or that the spider legs are not applying even pressure. What you might do is go to the Stewmac site. They have a spider bridge setup page in their free information section. It is a step by step process for checking both the seating of the cone and the bridge and some easy adjustments to remedy problems. It is very easy to follow.
JAddison Posted May 11, 2013 Author Posted May 11, 2013 I finally got to the bottom of the buzzing. It was the electric wire that runs between the spider and the shield. Pushing it away from the spider has eliminated all buzzing :) Thanks for the advice given. Now I can enjoy her. I did a quick recording of both my LG1 and Gretsch. I am interested to know what everything thinks about the difference in tone: http://www.2shared.com/audio/WsuWrl8Z/LG1_VS_Gretsch_9220_slide.html Some pics;
aliasphobias Posted May 11, 2013 Posted May 11, 2013 That's a good looking Gretsch and a nice job of "tinkering" to get her playing buzz free, enjoy!
JAddison Posted May 11, 2013 Author Posted May 11, 2013 That's a good looking Gretsch and a nice job of "tinkering" to get her playing buzz free, enjoy! Thanks :)
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