question for all the guitar players

[cleofus1]

I just put new strings on my Epi EJ-200. Before I changed the strings I kept getting a buzz on my hi E string down around the 13th fret. After I changed the strings I still had the buzz.
I removed the Gibson plate and found the truss rod to be kinda tight so I loosened it up. The action is now very high. Playing is now a little more difficult, but the volume has nearly doubled. The truss rod is as loose as it can get (can this damage the guitar?) and I still have the buzz on the hi E string down at the 13 fret...any advice...DR FATE where are you!?


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[unblock]

1. is the guitar new?

i mean, have you ALWAYS had this buzz, or is this a fairly new development?


assuming it's always been there (i had an otherwise VERY nice handmade acoustic guitar with this exact problem once -- got it for $250 from a ship that lists nothing for under $1,000, and that was about 15 years ago), well, here's what i did. your mileage may vary:

pinpoint the offensive fret: you said "around" the 13th fret. hold the guitar as you would be playing it and look down to the 13th fret. tilt the guitar slightly so that you are looking squarely down the length of the 13th fret. pull the offending string (hi e) and release, or do whatever it is that generates the buzz. do this repeatedly. you will see the vibrating string appears fat in the middle. eventually you will notice that the fat part comes in contact with the 13th fret. for the hi e string, it may help to remove the other strings or hold the guitar lefty-style. if you do not notice this, look down the length of the 12th fret and repeat. eventually you will notice the string making contact with a fret.


get some sandpaper. tear a tiny piece off and fix it to your index finger with elmer's glue. GENTLY AND CAREFULLY file down the offending fret at the intersection of the offending string. try to avoid marring the fretboard itself. repeatedly attempt to recreate the buzz periodically so as to not go too far.

once the buzz from the offending fret is removed, you may find that a neighboring fret now generates a buzz. this is because the first fret had been 'blocking' it. you will have to then repeat the operation for the newly offending fret. i ended up filing down 3 frets.

a cleaner fix would be to remove the offensive fret(s) and file them down and replace them, but that requires more and better tools to do properly.


all this could have happened due to a manufacturer's defect; or, over time, your guitar could have warped ever so slightly.


best of luck.

disclaimer: i'm not a licensed guitar repairer, ...

[ET Awful]

2. My advice . . .

Most likely the groove for that string at the nut (the plastic string guide near the head of the guitar) is too deep and not giving the string enough clearance. Having a new nut fitted (probably around $35 or so at a decent guitar shop) would most likely fix the problem without the need to modify the frets. I would tighten the truss rod back up, and check the nut (or possibly even the saddle which could also be a problem).

[cleofus1]

3. thanx for the tips

will a loose truss rod damage the guitar? And If the guitar is slightly warped is there any remedy?

[ET Awful]

4. A loose truss rod won't damage the guitar

but it will make it more difficult to keep in tune and play, as you won't get an even and low action across the entire fret board.

As to a "warp" there's really no easy way (or in most cases any way at all) to fix it. The best you can do is usually compensate for it. BUT, warping isn't very likely unless the guitar has been stored in some kind of extreme environment (extreme for guitars, not extreme for humans, by this I mean rapid changes in humidity, rapid changes in temperature, extended periods in very high humidity, etc.)

I'd say tightening the truss rod back up (which will give the proper "curve" to the neck, since you want it curved a bit to compensate for the stress that the strings put on it which is enormous), and checking the nut and saddle will most likely fix the problem. If not, a touch-up on the frets is a good next step. I'd just take into a local guitar shop and have them take a quick look. Odds are it's lesss than 30 minutes work to get it back in shape.

[cleofus1]

5. thank you

your a prince ET thanks for the advice

[ProfessorGAC]

7. I Agree With Everything ET Said, And. . .

. . .it's possible that the action that you're now experiencing can be adjusted by letting the 2 main bridge adjustment screws down. Once the neck has been loosened and neck is less arched to the headstock, the action everywhere would come up.

So, if you now lower the bridge a little at a time, the strings might lower to your desired action and still avoid the neck buzz.

If that isn't possible, i'd take it to a guitar tech and have him/her identify the point of the buzz and lightly file down the offending fret. The whole fretboard may not need to be redressed. Just one or two frets and the whole thing may be as good as new.

Nice work ET.
The Professor

[ET Awful]

10. Thanks . . .

Most of my knowledge comes from high end acoustics, but alot of it is universal.

[cleofus1]

6. adjusting the truss rod

Should it be adjusted without the strings? Or can I adjust the truss rod with strings on? I loosened it up after I had taken the strings off..

[ProfessorGAC]

9. I Wouldn't No

What you're trying to do with the truss rod is balance the tension of the rod against the tension of the strings pulling the neck up and toward the bridge.

If the strings are off, there's no way to know if you're tightening or loosening more than you need. Both my guitar player and i do all adjustements with the strings on and at pitch. Then, we retune and check things again.

Sometimes you have to go back and forth a few times. This might happen in the spring when there is more absolute humidity in the air than we've had all winter. The whole guitar changes size a little bit until it equilibrates to the new conditions.

In the case of my main guitar, i have to also adjust bridge height and spring tension on the floating bridge. So, it's adjust the rod, retune, adjust the bridge angle with spring tension, retune, adjust the rod, retune, . . . It still only takes about 30 minutes.
The Professor

[cleofus1]

8. bump

Any more thoughts on the truss rod thing?