SilverBlade Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 I live in greece and I am a beginner guitar player(nearly 1 year experience)! I bought about 2 months ago an epiphone les paul standard desertburst via internet. at the beginning i was dissapointed because the guitar was buzzing like crazy! i spent about 100 euros more for some set-ups. now the guitar is a little bit better but still makes the buzz sound:-S... i asked some friends of mine(who play the guitar) and said to me that the neck has a back-bow.Can i go the guitar back?and how can this happen ? P.S. I apologise for my bad english... and please help me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 SilverBlade, Welcome to the forum! Backbow will cause fret buzz. A good set up should have solved it. If the truss rod is working properly the person doing the set up should have taken care of it. Take it back to him and explain the problem. He should take care of it at no extra charge. If you care to try it yourself there are a number of good articles in the DIY thread at the top of the Epi Lounge . When adjusting truss rod, loosen strings, remember no more than 1/8 turn at a time. Re-tune. Let it sit for a few hours. Readjust if need be. No more than 1/4 turn in any given 24 hour period. The truss rod should turn easily. If not seek a professional. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade Posted October 30, 2010 Author Share Posted October 30, 2010 I had the conversation with him and he said that the guitar is not neck-through so he cant heat it up in order to come in place because he is afraid of the chance of a break at the connection between body-neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 Did he adjust the truss rod? If so, was he unable to get it adjusted properly? Heating up the neck is not a normal practice in setting up a guitar and would be considered a very extreme measure. Did you buy this guitar new? If the truss rod won't take the bow out and it is still under warranty I would contact the seller about returning it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade Posted October 30, 2010 Author Share Posted October 30, 2010 Did he adjust the truss rod? If so, was he unable to get it adjusted properly? Heating up the neck is not a normal practice in setting up a guitar and would be considered a very extreme measure. Did you buy this guitar new? If the truss rod won't take the bow out and it is still under warranty I would contact the seller about returning it. i ve read some books (p.e.dan erlewine) about guitar set-up and heatin up a guitar is not extreme... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 i ve read some books (p.e.dan erlewine) about guitar set-up and heatin up a guitar is not extreme... Ooooo - not something I would DELIBERATELY do in order to do a set up. I WOULD allow the guitar to "acclimate" to the local Weather, then do set-up. AND, Speaking of WEATHER - I just checked the "Local" weather for Athens. I see HIGH Humidity and Dewpoint, with temps in the low 60s. The high moisture in the air will cause the Guitar (Body and Neck) to "expand" as the wood SWELLS. This will cause the Neck to want to BACKBOW, resulting in the problem with fretbuzz you are experiencing now. I just went thru this at the beginning of summer where I'm at - our humidity and dewpoint were HIGH like yours is now, and my LPs started to buzz on the higher frets. So, I put my gits on stands, let the wood do it's own thing and absorb as much mositure as it "wanted to", then did set up again. All Good. Now, locally HERE, we're heading into the Colder months, and Humidity and Dewpoint have DROPPED to pracically nothing. And I already know that the lower humidity will cause the wood to "Shrink" a bit, so my Gits are on stands slowly adjusting to the lower moisture and temps. I know this will cause the neck to "FrontBow". I probably won't see much difference playing (won't affect Action much), but I know my previous Intonation will be off. Sooooo, another set up to adjust the Git to the "new" environment. Totally normal to do set ups a couple of times a year - more if you like to. Sorry if I'm long-winded! Here's a link that briefly discusses the effects of TEMP and Moisture on Set-ups... "Temperature and Set Up" http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/temperature.htm Link is also in Epi Lounge "DIY" thread under "Tech Tips" section. Confused Yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 oh.so you suggest me to leave the guitar on a stand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Leave it on a stand or in the case or whatever. Just don't let some guy "heat up" your guitar neck without adjusting the trussrod first!!! I think it is the general consensus on here that that shouldn't be necessary for a new/relatively new guitar or you should just take it back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The.Traffic.Lights Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't understand, but... Did the luthier adjust the truss rod or did he not try to do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't understand, but... Did the luthier adjust the truss rod or did he not try to do that? You're not the only one. There are at least two off us. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpplayer Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 What he told you about needing to heat up the neck is rubbish. Based on the info you provided, I would find a new service person ASAP. A backbowed neck should not occur after a "professional" does a setup. At any rate, given that the truss rod actually works and is not broken, it is easy to have someone fix, by loosening the rod. Or...you can do it yourself. The Erlewine book can guide you, as can YouTube videos or other tutorials on the Net. Too many are nervous about adjusting the truss rod, but it is easily done if you take your time and follow the directions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 What he told you about needing to heat up the neck is rubbish. Based on the info you provided, I would find a new service person ASAP. A backbowed neck should not occur after a "professional" does a setup. Agreed. I'm about to readjust/tighten my LP Classic neck about 1/8 of a turn to start "bending" mine to the front to remove the slight fretbuzz I'm getting now. I'll then re-tune, put on stand for a few hours, recheck. If needed, I'll do it a bit more. I also use an 18" metal machinist's ruler placed on the fretboard to check fret clearances (maybe heading into "advanced" techniques, but you'll learn if you decide to learn how to do your own). I shoot for as flat/straight as possible, but don't mind a very slight frontbow. THE EPI FORUM has a team of highly-skilled Guitar Tweakers on call, can answer any questions you may have regarding how/links to learn to do your own... Seriously!! The Epi Lounge "Do-it-Yourself" thread has SIX different links on the subject of setups in the "Guitar Set-Up Section". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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