80daytripper Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Hi all! First post and a beginner here so be gentle please. I purchased Epi Casino this week from Thomann, Germany. I have been playing and tuning it for a few days now and have noticed there is a buzz coming from the tune-o-matic bridge. It is that little retainer wire, that is causing the problem. The guitar has been manufactured in China, this year July 2017. More about this and some tips too here: http://guitarless.com/2010/06/buzz-kill-resolve-rattle-from-your-gibson-bridge/ What is the right method for dealing with this? Is it possible to just take off and remove the wire? The guitar is under full warranty and money back option is possible. So now some good advice from you experts is needed please. So much love the guitar that I would not like to send it back. The buzz though, is more than annoying. Thanks and greetings from a land of Santa Claus, Finland EP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Hi all! First post and a beginner here so be gentle please. I purchased Epi Casino this week from Thomann, Germany. I have been playing and tuning it for a few days now and have noticed there is a buzz coming from the tune-o-matic bridge. It is that little retainer wire, that is causing the problem. The guitar has been manufactured in China, this year July 2017. More about this and some tips too here: http://guitarless.co...-gibson-bridge/ What is the right method for dealing with this? Is it possible to just take off and remove the wire? The guitar is under full warranty and money back option is possible. So now some good advice from you experts is needed please. So much love the guitar that I would not like to send it back. The buzz though, is more than annoying. Thanks and greetings from a land of Santa Claus, Finland EP It is very difficult for myself to get the 2 ends of that retaining spring back in the 2 holes on the bridge thing after it is taken off. But , I have bent that wire thing , only a little bit , so the bend in it would have more holding power or be a little stronger to push against the bridge and saddles . I used a little knife blade and a small pair of needle nose pliers , and then put it back in the saddle travel/adjustment screws with a little bit of patience , then I stuck the ends back in the holes . I may have stuck the ends in the holes first , then put the wire into the screw slots where the wire originally was . It did take a lot of patience , and I did bend it only a very little. But , after doing that , and getting it all back together , the annoying buzz was gone , but it was frustrating and took a while to put it back together properly but I did it and it is better :) :) I suppose you could take it off and just use a little locktite stuff to hold the screws in place after the intonation and saddle/bridge height is also properly set and and adjusted , if you do not mind seeing a little bit of that stuff on the screws :) Also , welcome to the forum :) do not be a stranger . If you do fix it , some how , let everyone here know what you did :) peace :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Is it one string or multiple strings that are buzzing? Improperly cut notches in the bridge saddles can cause string buzz. If its under warranty let the folks you bought it from deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80daytripper Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 Thanks for your replies folks. I believe it is not just one point of the retainer wire that keeps buzzing, so multiple points in there, although this is tricky to pinpoint. Anyone removed the wire completely - success with this and any issues? Best thing would be to change the whole cheap bridge. If someone has done this and can suggest replacements that fit in 100%, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 I've heard of some folks that have had good results applying a bit of clear nail polish to each point where the retaining wire contacts the saddles. It keeps the wire from vibrating, so no buzz, and is easily removed should you ever so choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Thanks for your replies folks. I believe it is not just one point of the retainer wire that keeps buzzing, so multiple points in there, although this is tricky to pinpoint. Anyone removed the wire completely - success with this and any issues? Best thing would be to change the whole cheap bridge. If someone has done this and can suggest replacements that fit in 100%, please let me know. The retaining wire is just that, it holds the bridge saddles and screws in place when there is no string tension there, like when changing strings. I really don't believe this is what's buzzing since the wire is tensioned over the saddle screws (that's why its such a pain to get off and back on) , but to prove that can you pick the open strings that are buzzing then touch the retaining wire to see if it stops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Jerry Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 Hi all! First post and a beginner here so be gentle please. I purchased Epi Casino this week from Thomann, Germany. I have been playing and tuning it for a few days now and have noticed there is a buzz coming from the tune-o-matic bridge. It is that little retainer wire, that is causing the problem. The guitar has been manufactured in China, this year July 2017. More about this and some tips too here: http://guitarless.com/2010/06/buzz-kill-resolve-rattle-from-your-gibson-bridge/ What is the right method for dealing with this? Is it possible to just take off and remove the wire? The guitar is under full warranty and money back option is possible. So now some good advice from you experts is needed please. So much love the guitar that I would not like to send it back. The buzz though, is more than annoying. Thanks and greetings from a land of Santa Claus, Finland EP Are you sure the buzz is coming from the bridge? My Epi guitar had a buzz that I sounded like it was coming from the bridge, but it turned out to be the frets were uneven and the guitar needed a fret level. I heard the buzz only when playing fretted notes, not open strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish_Rover Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 Try and find a local luthier and have him (or her) check it out. Explain that it's a new guitar and under warranty and he will be able to tell you if it should go back or it just needs a good setup. Back at the start of this year I bought an ES339 Pro from Thomann that had a really bad fret buzz, I left it with my luthier and the next day he phoned to say that the neck was actually twisted. I immediately called Thomann and within 7 days I had a brand new guitar. Please don't try and fix it yourself if you're not sure what you are doing, you'll waste a lot of time that would be better spent playing guitar and you will probably void the warranty as well. Best of luck and keep us posted on the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80daytripper Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 I purchased this from my local music store to replace the total crap stock bridge: http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/All_Hardware_and_Parts_by_Instrument/Electric_Guitar_Parts/Electric_Guitar_Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Tune-o-matic_Bridges/Gotoh_Tune-o-matic_Bridge_with_Standard_Posts.html All buzz and rattle gone as soon this dropped in, such a major upgrade! Little bit of file was needed with saddles, but everything was dead easy. Another thing I noticed today is jack input had become loose, tried tightening the nut but the socket inside the guitar spins at the same time. :( Guess I need to learn how to deal with this. I wonder how "normal" are these kind of issues I have witnessed with China-made Epi's like Casino? I know there is always the option of returning and using warranty, no probs. Love the feel, sound and easy playability of Casino. Action been sorted for a little over 2 millimeters, few frets to check where there is a bit of a buzz - nothing coming thorugh the amp though. I guess I need to use fret rocker and see if there is a possibility of couple of high frets causing the buzz. Merry Chrimbo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Jerry Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 I purchased this from my local music store to replace the total crap stock bridge: http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/All_Hardware_and_Parts_by_Instrument/Electric_Guitar_Parts/Electric_Guitar_Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Tune-o-matic_Bridges/Gotoh_Tune-o-matic_Bridge_with_Standard_Posts.html Another thing I noticed today is jack input had become loose, tried tightening the nut but the socket inside the guitar spins at the same time. :( Guess I need to learn how to deal with this. I wonder how "normal" are these kind of issues I have witnessed with China-made Epi's like Casino? I know there is always the option of returning and using warranty, no probs. Love the feel, sound and easy playability of Casino. Action been sorted for a little over 2 millimeters, few frets to check where there is a bit of a buzz - nothing coming thorugh the amp though. I guess I need to use fret rocker and see if there is a possibility of couple of high frets causing the buzz. I can't speak for all Epi's, but I have shared some of your experiences with my Epi Riviera Custom P93 semi-hollowbody guitar, and perhaps a few you didn't mention (pots had no tapper and acted more like on/off switches, poor tuning stability, strings getting caught in the nut slots). I replaced the tune-o-matic bridge with a Wilkinson Locking Roller Bridge, which initially fit on the stock bridge posts, but then I eventually had the post holes bored out to accommodate the posts that came with the Wilkinson bridge. The nut on my input jack also frequently came loose no matter how hard or how many times I tightened it. The first I noticed it was when the nut came off and the jack almost fell into the cavity of the guitar body. I wound up replacing all of Chinese made electronic components (ex. pickups) with USA made components, including a Switchcraft input jack and the nut on the Switchcraft jack has not come loose, not even once. I also had uneven frets on my guitar and eventually got around to having a fret level done. Having said all that, I think these are great guitars for the money. Mine always sounded great and sounds even better since I switched out the electronics. I initially paid about $400 including tax for my guitar brand new a few years ago in the days when GC not only price matched a competitor's price, but also gave you back 10% of the price differential. In the end, you get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolution Six Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 Some of my Gibson have ABR-1 bridge with retainer spring, no issue. Of course this is not the same quality. I suggest a Faber metric bridge : http://www.tokaiguitar.de/xtcommerce/index.php?cat=c13_Fits-Metric-Studs.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Another thing I noticed today is jack input had become loose, tried tightening the nut but the socket inside the guitar spins at the same time. :( Guess I need to learn how to deal with this. I don't know how many guitars you have, but that loose jack will happen on just about every one of them over the years. If you have a number of guitars or even just one, I strongly suggest that you plunk down twenty bucks and buy this incredible little tool: the String Swing Guitar Jack Tool An amazing gadget that tightens up any loose jack and does so by not allowing the inner socket to spin (which can lead to severing the wires to the jack...then you have soldering to do...a mess). The way the tool works is very clever; it actually opens up to hold fast the inner jack while you tighten the nut outside. I would say just buy this tool and keep it forever...it comes in handy and prevents many headaches. I bought one years ago. Best twenty buck guitar tool I ever bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyHollywood Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I applied clear nail polish to the retaining wire on my Casino's bridge and it stopped the buzzing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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