Buzz from Hell!

[Thunderslut]

Hello, this is my firt post on these forums, not sure if I'm even in the correct section.

HELP! My '05 R8 is posessed with a demon...

It just got set up at a local shop (not guitar center) because of buzzing, then when they were done there was more buzzing then before. I brought it back and they tightened the rod a bit, and loosened the bridge screws and still buzz..

fret - strings that buzzes (e as in low E)
1- e-d-g
2- e-d-g
3- e-d-a-g-b
4- a-d-g
5- a-d-g
6- d-g
7- d-g
8- d-g
9- d-g
10- e-d-g-a
11- d-g
12- e-d
13- d
14- d
15- d
16- d
17- d
18- d
19- d
20- d
21- d
22- d

some information:
brand new ernie ball regular slinkys.

the neck relief is perfect, when I capo the first fret and fret the 15th, a piece of paper can pass through the 7th fret on both high and low E.

i put a straight edge on the middle of the d and g strings on the fretboard, and the neck bends ever so slightly under the straight edge at the 3rd-15th frets, at max it reaches the depth of a business card near the 9th fret.

I attached two picture of bridge height, and string height (unfretted at 12th fret.) Each line = 1 mm.

I did not bother to tack picture of saddles, as my intonation is perfectly in tune at 12th fret vs unfretted.

Can all you fellow les-paulians please help me with the excorsism, we must remove the demons from this guitar immediatly.

 

[airportbar]

First question is can you hear the buzz through the amp?

It may be that you just have a heavy hand, and have to accept that if you want absolutely buzz free action you have to raise it up higher than you'd like?

 

[Shadowplayer]

raise the action up a bit? Seems like that would solve the problem

 

[cherryles]

Well, i found that after the "Wow" factor had worn off after upgrading to a les paul from a guitar that was in no way as high quality, especially action wise, i started "listening out for things" and do you know what, the more i listened the more i heard, is it really that bad? Your specs sound good IMO. You never mentioned anything about the nut?

 

[WhippingPost]

I would really suspect a buzzing saddle for that D string, or that the string is buzzing off of the pickups/pickup rings.

 

[Thunderslut]

Plugged it in, and put headphones in the amp.

I can hear it, but its way less agressive then when its unplugged.

But yes, there is still buzz.

Also, I just raised the action a bit.

The E and A strings are fixed now, but the D and G still buzz.

When playing open strings, the D also buzzes.

 

[Thunderslut]

I'll post pic/specs of the nut.

 

[ryanmichael95]

I'm guessing also a heavy hand. All guitars will buzz if you have a heavy enough hand. Play lightly and see if the buzz goes away. Also if it does not buzz through an amp, rock on.

 

[Thunderslut]

I just starting picking around lightly with a thin fender pick, and yeah the D and G still buzz.

But the D doesn't in open anymore.

When I use my "normal" routine it buzzes open as well.

 

[Thunderslut]

I've putten some ground up lead in the D and G slots and saddles, and its still giving me problems.

Here is a picture of the Nut.

BTW, I know 100% its not a issue with the saddle, as I hear the buzz coming from the fretboard area when I pick unplugged.

Also, the frets are all level.

 

[Thunderslut]

And here is a pic of the bridge/saddles. They are all as tight as can be, no rattling going on in that department.

I'm not sure if this matters... but my tailpiece is very low, as in almost touching the body low. Can that be a issue?

Or maybe I got sold a @#$%ed up pair of strings?

 

[airportbar]

Try a wee more relief and see if that works.

Also, are any of the strings hitting the back of the bridge on the way to the TP?

Try topwrapping?

 

[Thunderslut]

No the strings are clear of the bridge, no topwrapping needed.

As for the truss, how many quarter turns do you recommend?

I'm very trusstrophobic.

 

[MaxStatic]

Yea I agree with the last post. On nearly all my other guitars I run the neck dern near flat with a low low action. On a Japan Ibanez or ESP this is no prob. I can never get this setup to work on Les Paul's.

I've tried the high action that typically comes stock and I just can't bare it. My solution is a compromise in that I allow a little relief in he neck and run just a hint higher than on one of my Ibanez. I do something very similar, to a lesser degree, on all my Fenders to. I think it comes down to hitting the strings hard and the fretboards of LP and Fenders not being as flat as say a shredder type guitar.

Don't know the science behind it but that works for me, so try raising just a hint and adding just a hint of relief to the neck. Best of luck, cheers!

 

[airportbar]

No the strings are clear of the bridge, no topwrapping needed.

As for the truss, how many quarter turns do you recommend?

I'm very trusstrophobic.

Try an 1/8th of a turn counterclockwise, and then let it sit awhile. Then check to see if it's better, the same, or worse. It may take a day or two to dial it in, so patience is key.

I just tried topwrapping a Traditional that was giving me some slight buzz grief. All gone now. I can't explain the science behind it, but it worked and I love the way it feels. First time was a charm.

 

[Thunderslut]

Okay, done. Lets see what happens.

 

[Thunderslut]

@shadowplayer
.. or anyone who would know about this type of stuff.

When you say raise the action.. is a half a turn on both the abr-1 bridge stud-wheel-thingys good enough?

I like low action, and I dont want to overdo anything if I can solve this with a simple truss rod turn.

 

[Thunderslut]

Also, if this matters... when I took it to the shop, I had it set up for reg slinkys.
Before I was using super slinkys.

 

[icantbuyafender]

I'm no tender touch player

I like low action, and I will always get buzz unplugged

As long as I can't hear it out my amp, I'm happy.

That's one reason I use 11s

 

[entresz]

I had buzz issues with my Gibson. The frets were too flat and had to be recrowned. That fixed it for me.