kirkwylde Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 i like to play with a low action. I am getting some fret noise on my low e string and the a string . What might help. I play #10 string guage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Mess around the the bridge, see what you can do. Move the little saddles around and etc. Dont touch the truss rod to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 It's a simple matter of adjustment. More buzz than you can stand? Raise the bridge slightly. Is the guitar properly set up to begin with? Also, if you play quietly you'll notice it more. Crank your amp, and you'll find you don't notice it as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rax Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Dont touch the truss rod to! I wish someone had told me that about 10 years ago! We just get the willies the first time, but don´t worry after snapping a couple of necks you´ll get the hang of it. Just kidding, I still haven´t messed up an ax by grabbing at the truss rod. Just stop if it feels tight, and never ever do more than 4 quater turns. This monday I had a hard time with some fret buz on a Hamer Sunburst, I had traded in my keyboard for the ax. It had really high action but I figured that I could just set her up in a jiffy. Boy was I wrong, she really gave me a hard time. I had always set my guitars up by feel but I just couldn´t get this one so I googeled it, went by precise measurements and wallah! I got it right. This is the page I used for the meassurements, and they worked. There´s probbly some better ones out there but I just used the first one I found. Hope this helps dude. http://www.icepoint.com/guitar/Setting%20up%20your%20electric%20guitar/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Nothing wrong with touching the truss rod if you know what you're doing. How low is your action anyway? All guitars have their limit. You could try adding a touch more neck relief (loosen the truss rod no more than 1/8th of a turn at a time) and see how that goes, or just try and play lighter. The best setups are when you have specifications to guide you, i.e. no guess work. I found that the standard LP action (6/64 low E to 4/64 high E) at the 12th fret was plenty low enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Nothing wrong with touching the truss rod if you know what you're doing. How low is your action anyway? All guitars have their limit. You could try adding a touch more neck relief (loosen the truss rod no more than 1/8th of a turn at a time) and see how that goes, or just try and play lighter. The best setups are when you have specifications to guide you, i.e. no guess work. I found that the standard LP action (6/64 low E to 4/64 high E) at the 12th fret was plenty low enough. Dont say that! If you say things like that. In peoples minds it makes them think they can do it. Trust me... i took a class on this stuff man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdntac Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I used to obsess about buzzing. Now I just accept the fact that if you can't hear it through an amp....all is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Same here. Action is where I like it, if I hit it hard they will buzz. Can't hear it through the amp, so... B) Nothing wrong with touching the truss rod if you know what you're doing. I have to agree with Dem00n on this one. WTF? Gibson + broken truss rod = fire wood. I've seen too many horror stories involving guys thinking "It's easy - just get a wrench and turn that thing..." I suggest the new guys watch a couple times and make sure they can actually SEE the results for themselves. Thirty years into this guitar habit, I don't even touch my truss rods. If I think it might need a slight twist, I take it to my guitar guy. 40 bucks is nothing on a $1,000 guitar - or $2,000, or $3,000, or $4,000.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Nothing wrong with touching the truss rod if you know what you're doing. How low is your action anyway? All guitars have their limit. You could try adding a touch more neck relief (loosen the truss rod no more than 1/8th of a turn at a time) and see how that goes, or just try and play lighter. The best setups are when you have specifications to guide you, i.e. no guess work. I found that the standard LP action (6/64 low E to 4/64 high E) at the 12th fret was plenty low enough. Let me clue you in on something, mcmurray. The whole "neck relief" hokum is a rationalization made up years and years ago by a few hack guitarists who didn't know how to set up a guitar with a straight neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I dunno XD... Mac knows a thing or two about 'em. I fear that knowledge doesn't transfer well via the internet, so truss rods snap, babies cry and kittens die... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Let me clue you in on something, mcmurray. The whole "neck relief" hokum is a rationalization made up years and years ago by a few hack guitarists who didn't know how to set up a guitar with a straight neck. Let's agree to disagree then. A straight neck will not work in most situations. A tiny bit of relief is necessary, and I mean a tiny bit. Look in nearly all guitar manuals and there will be specifications for appropriate neck relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Yep. Straight neck isn't ideal. Would certainly simplify things though, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 ..............Truss rod phobia .........yall kill me........Mc M is right of course about a certain amount of relief as the strings vibrate in an elipticle manner ..........now the gauge comes in to play and the lowest action will be achieved with an almost straight neck........this will be so fine an adjustment that you can not do it by eye consistantly. The reason you need a straighter neck for the lowest action is if you fret a note in the middle of the neck with a lot of relief and have the action low on the upper register .........it will buzz fret out..........it is a balance. The nut of the guitar is also very important to obtaining the lowest action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 ...............lets see how many licks a Gibson truss rod will take before some type of catastropic failure................. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P-63kdTp3Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 ............................UH OH !!!!!....................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I gave the truss rod about 7/8 ths of a clockwise turn.........to visually straighten it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uP78tFEGPM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 ...................Then the neck broke off..............:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Gibson + broken truss rod = fire wood. This is true, but the key words were "if you know what you're doing" Some people try adjusting action with the truss rod, this will end in catastrophe every time. To those that want to diy, there's plenty of free info on the net regarding correct guitar setup. Alternatively get a luthier to show you how to do it. Truss rod adjustments (and intonation) are necessary any time you change the string gauge, or change the tuning. btw cool vids Blackie, but I hope you loosened the strings before you cut them off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahKeen Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I used to be "afraid" of the truss rod. I read a book on guitar repair and I have to say mcmurray is right. If you know how to do it it's a snap... NO! Not like that. It's nothing to be afraid, but get some guidance if you're unsure. Now, if yer an eediet and turn that thing like a screw, yer gonna be cryin' like you've been pepper sprayed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Yeah - what they said!! Having the right amount of neck relief is critical if you want low action. You can't really properly address a buzzing problem unless you're prepared to adjust the trussrod if necessary. You can mess with the bridge height a little bit without adjusting the trussrod, but it doesn't always work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Mess around the the bridge, see what you can do. Move the little saddles around and etc. Dont touch the truss rod to! Missed this before. You took a class but you're suggesting moving the saddles to help eliminate buzz? They're for adjusting intonation, nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Dem00n's quite worldly among his peers - even for his advanced age. Been there/done that/bought the t-shirt - all with his own money via his substantial income. He's now allowed the luxury of sharing his wealth of knowledge with those who need it most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I dunno XD... Mac knows a thing or two about 'em. I fear that knowledge doesn't transfer well via the internet, so truss rods snap, babies cry and kittens die... sometimes all in one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdntac Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 The truss rod is nothing to fear. I tell people to envision it like a clock face and give it an initial turn of five minutes and _never_ more than 15 at one time. Let it sit for a few hours (or even overnight) and take a look at it the next day. The key thing about truss rods is not to be stupid with them. Tiny adjustments have a bigger effect than you may think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Problem is, the newbies don't know what they're looking at - no matter how hard they try. That's why my position doesn't budge on this. Go to a GOOD guitar guy, not the Beavis & Butthead guys at Guitar Center. When a guy who knows what he is doing makes an adjustment and then shows you what he's seeing... Once you know what to expect ahead of time, it's easier to recognize it when it appears. I'm telling you guys, I've made friends with a few luthiers in Phoenix with probably 100 years experience between them, and they've seen more fxcked-up necks and broken truss rods than you can imagine. 9 times out of 10 it was completely avoidable, on the tenth they might have made Gibson eat it. Instead, they get a guy expecting a cheap miracle repair on their baby or top dollar for a sale. What does nitrocellulose-finished fire wood sell for these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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