Adjusted tuno-o-matic bridge...now string buzz

[willmak]

my local guitar shop showed me how I could get rid of string buzz by adjusting the tune-o-matic bridge. After he got rid of the buzzes, I decided to try it out myself by moving one of th etune o matic posts until my strings buzzed. HOwever, I can't get it to stop buzzing....and I feel like I'm turning the posts a lot more than what I did to mess it up on purpose. Can I overturn a tune-o-matic bridge to cause damage much like a truss rod? And if my strings keep buzzing....I am suppose to turn counter-clockwise until they stop buzzing?

[Swoop]

Fret buzz could be a number of things. You may need to adjust the truss rod. You may have a high fret somewhere. The bridge might indeed be too low. If you're like me and don't have any fancy tools to check neck relief and string height, there are a few simple ways you can do it, if you have a ruler that has increments of 32nds of an inch. I believe Epi recommends 4/32" string height bass side at the 17th fret and 3/32" treble side at the 17th fret. You can adjust the action by adjusting the height of the bridge with the posts, like you've been doing.

 

You can also check your neck relief by pressing the first and last fret and tapping the string at the 12th fret (you might need a capo for this. I have long fingers) to see how big the distance is between the string and 12th fret. Should be about the distance of a credit card ideally. If it's too big, you need to tighten the truss rod. Tighten it no more than 1/4 of a turn at a time. If it's too small, you need to loosen the truss rod. Again, 1/4 of a turn at a time is plenty.

 

I will reiterate that these are certainly not the mostadvanced or accurate of methods. But as I said, if you're like me and don't have string height gauges and the like, you can still make a significant improvement with a ruler. I've set all my guitars up with nothing but a ruler and a hex key and screwdriver or two, and they all play very nicely.

[Strumbone]

Excellent advice Swoop! My only recommendation is on the neck relief, which is typically around .010 " at the 7th fret. Try using a playing card instead of a credit card.

[Red 333]

Her's a good resource:

 

Gibson Setup

 

Red 333