I knocked my LP, now the low E buzzes!

[Slash Is God]

Hi guys,

 

I did a slightly silly thing the other day.

I was moving around the studio and lifting my LP out of the way whilst doing so. Annoyingly, I didn't quite judge the height of the ceiling properly and I knocked the guitar on the top of the headstock.

It was directly on top, therefore kinda shooting down the fretboard towards the body.

 

It was only a small hit, however, now the low E string buzzes. Every other string is absolutely fine

Prior to this, it was setup perfectly - about 2-3 weeks ago - and doesn't buzz at all.

 

The buzz is mainly when it's a open string, but doesn't have a little with fretted notes too.

 

I took the strings off and checked the guitar thoroughly and there doesn't seem to be an visible damage, or cracks or anything, on the frets, fretboard, nut and neck joint. I then put new strings on (the same gauge as previous).

 

Any thoughts?

[merciful-evans]

It doesnt sound good. That collision moved something. First concern is there a hairline crack at the headstock? realise it will be hard to see, but if was me I would very carefully pull the headstock back while plucking open strings. The sound will be your first indication. It should not be too easy to cause a rise in tone. If it is occurring too easily watch the joint point at the neck and see if there is any fissure appearing.

 

I dont know if the trussrod could be shifted this way?

 

There are luthiers here. They might be able to advise.

 

I assume the problem remained after the putting on new strings?

[HEADKNOCKER]

I think I would loosen the truss rod nut just a smidge, 1/16 of a turn or less, retune & see if that cures the problem, You'll be giving more relief to the neck.. The action will raise up ever so slightly..

Mark where you started with a marker on the brass nut so you'll know where you started at..

The adjustment will take some time to settle in, so notate what change was made & play the guitar..

 

Let us know if this helped you problem..

 

GOOD LUCK!!

 

"Slash Is God!!"

That's what Henry Juszkiewicz Said when Slash saved Gibson from bankruptcy in the early 90s

[Searcy]

I wouldn't do anything until I figured out where the buzz was coming from.

 

Is it fret buzz or a buzz at the bridge? If it's fret buzz then at what fret does it go away?

[kevinkjs]

The only other things that came to my mind were making sure the nut doesn't rock or move a little

 

and your tuning head screw is tight, especially the sleeve that threads down over the post. Be careful

 

not to over tighten this though, as they can snap when wrenched too far.

 

Good Luck and share your finding of the problem with us.

 

 

 

[GDC]

Any chance the tuning machine was knocked loose?

[brantobrien]

Post a couple pics around the headstock to the first couple frets (side and top). It's a great idea to check the tuners to make sure that they are tight. Go from there. Honestly though, just take it in to the guy that did your setup. It sounds like you were pleased with his work. Let him know what happened and he can give it a quick look and be able to identify it. Tuners, bridge, possibly a slightly lifted fret...could be many things.

[Slash Is God]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks for all the replies!

So I took it in to a friend of mine - he's not a luthier, but has a good amount of experience - and then he also showed a luthier a couple doors down.

The luthier couldn't actually figure out why it was doing it either.

 

Anyway, my mate gave it a good look over, tweaked the truss rod and set it up again, and said that he's find there's an ever so slight twist in the neck, but just at the bass end on the low string. It's so tiny that he's pretty sure that it'll sort itself out and, if not, there's always heat and a clamp (says the luthier). So, he's letting it settle down over night then he's going to sort the action out and give it another go over to check it all, but apparently he's got rid of the buzz.

 

I've not got it back yet, but he thinks it's all fine, and he also said that he's seen loads of LP's with slightly twisted necks - way more so than mine - and they've been fine (he works in a guitar shop).

 

All that said, he's struggling to find how the neck could've got twisted unless it was a really hard knock - which it wasn't - and there's no sign of a dent or a ding to suggest so either. Strange.

 

So, hopefully it'll be ok....

[Searcy]

So these friends have pinpointed the cause of the buzz and it's fret buzz? Which fret is causing the buzz?

[Guest Farnsbarns]

No knock will ever twist a neck. That's absolute nonsense. The neck did not suddenly twist due to a knock. Heat and a clamp is not the right way to approach a twisted neck.

 

I'm sorry to say it but there's no credibility in what you've been told at all.

 

My guess (very much a guess without having the thing on a bench) is that the knock has caused the fretboard to separate from the neck very slightly near the first fret/nut area and low e.

[Slash Is God]

No knock will ever twist a neck. That's absolute nonsense. The neck did not suddenly twist due to a knock. Heat and a clamp is not the right way to approach a twisted neck.

 

I'm sorry to say it but there's no credibility in what you've been told at all.

 

My guess (very much a guess without having the thing on a bench) is that the knock has caused the fretboard to separate from the neck very slightly near the first fret/nut area and low e.

 

 

Fair enough.

And what would you think is the best thing to do?

And do you think it'll get worse?

[stein]

Obviously, no one can really tell over the internet.

 

My best guess, is that the truss rod changed adjustment. Maybe the result of a slight bump, but maybe the weather too. Possible you didn't notice it until you bumped it. Both can happen, and it don't really mean there is anything wrong.

 

But also, truth is, with a relatively thin mahogany neck, the truss rod will need an adjustment every now and then.

 

I think maybe you are making too much of this. If you can't find damage, adjust it and move on. If there is damage and you can't find it, it will show up at some point, or it won't.

 

So long as the thing works. You can't fix what ain't broke.

[Zentar]

Take some dental floss to the nut and polish the slots. The bridge saddles too.

The knock may not have caused your buzz. One time my mototyle conked out in a torrential rain storm so I called a cab

and got a ride home thinking the rain had got in the carburators.. Turns out I had run out of gas. I left the bike at a gas station.

[Zentar]

Take some dental floss to the nut and polish the slots. The bridge saddles too.

The knock may not have caused your buzz. One time my motorcyle conked out in a torrential rain storm so I called a cab

and got a ride home thinking the rain had got in the carburators.. Turns out I had run out of gas. I left the bike at a gas station.

[capmaster]

No knock will ever twist a neck. That's absolute nonsense. The neck did not suddenly twist due to a knock. Heat and a clamp is not the right way to approach a twisted neck.

 

I'm sorry to say it but there's no credibility in what you've been told at all.

 

My guess (very much a guess without having the thing on a bench) is that the knock has caused the fretboard to separate from the neck very slightly near the first fret/nut area and low e.

I agree completely.

[american cheez]

Take some dental floss to the nut and polish the slots. The bridge saddles too.

The knock may not have caused your buzz. One time my motorcyle conked out in a torrential rain storm so I called a cab

and got a ride home thinking the rain had got in the carburators.. Turns out I had run out of gas. I left the bike at a gas station.

 

HAHAHAHA!!!! ive done something very similar myself!

[Hawkesman]

No knock will ever twist a neck. That's absolute nonsense. The neck did not suddenly twist due to a knock. Heat and a clamp is not the right way to approach a twisted neck.

 

I'm sorry to say it but there's no credibility in what you've been told at all.

 

My guess (very much a guess without having the thing on a bench) is that the knock has caused the fretboard to separate from the neck very slightly near the first fret/nut area and low e.

 

Seconded! You could hit it with a sledgehammer, and it wouldn't twist it (though I wouldn't recommend it!). Wood just doesn't work like that. If it really was fine before the bang, then I agree that maybe the fretboard could have delaminated slightly, although this ought to be fairly visible, even if it is slight. Or perhaps some of the frets weren't firmly placed and they moved a little under the impact. A decent luthier should be able to fix this easily. However, as others have said, what's most likely is that the impact shifted the seating of the truss rod, and a little tweaking with it should solve the problem.