Low nut issues

[gandlove]

Hi, i'm new to the website!

I've been playing new G&L's since February 2019, when I bought my first one. I own a 2016 Legacy, a 2018 Standard ASAT Classic, a 2019 Standard ASAT Classic and a 2020 Deluxe ASAT Classic Alnico. I think they are all great and I play them a lot.
The only issue I have experienced is, they all came with a generous neck relief from the factory and that's ok, I don't expect to get a perfect setup from a guitar that travels overseas from California to northern Germany. But after I set the relief to my taste (I like it almost straight, I measured 5 to 8 thousands of an inch around the 8th. fret) and and the action relatively low (around 1,25 mm. for the 1st. string at the 12th. fret and 1,5 mm. for the 6th. string on the 12th. fret) I began to experience a lot of fret buzz on open G and D strings. I don't have a strong touch. And I know that G&L recommends a higher relief and action but, isn't the nut cut too low on some G&L's? I mean, when you press the 3rd. fret and check the space between the string and the 1st. fret, sometimes there's no room at all, you cannot see it or hear it when you tap on it. Needless to say, the fret job is very good from the factory and with a nut cut so low the guitar plays like butter. But I made new nuts for 3 of my 4 G&L's because I couldn't set them to my taste without experiencing buzz on open strings.

Does anyone of you experienced this kind of problem on new G&L's? Do you think this is an issue or am I being too picky? I went to a local store this week to try a 2019 Legacy and I loved it, but ended up not buying it because of the same thing. The nut was cut too low for my taste.

I would like to know what you think. Thanks everyone.

Regards

Pablo

[BoogieMK2]

I don’t have a USA G&L guitar so can’t speak from that experience.

Three things to ask -

1. Have you changed the string gauge from what was on the guitars from the factory?
2. Have you checked the gap between the top of the first fret and bottom of the strings? I think you did, what was the number?
3. Did they buzz before reducing the relief?

Lighter gauge stings could buzz if too loose in the slot, maybe could lay low in the slot. The slot depth, width, back angle could also be factors, of course. Your action is low but doesn’t seem low enough to cause open string problems unless the saddles for D and G strings are really low. Check the action on all strings.

[gandlove]

Thank you for your reply!

1. No I didn't change the string gauge, I play them with 10 to 46's in standard tuning.
2. Yes. I measured the gap between the 1st. fret and the bottom of the strings. It goes from 7 to 10 thousands of an inch.
3. No, they didn't buzz before adjusting the neck relief.

To set set the action I adjusted the height on the high and the low E strings and the used a 9,5" radius gauge to achieve an even flow between strings. The fretboard radius is also 9,5", consistent across the neck.
If I give the neck a more generous relief (say about 10-12 thousands) the buzz disappears, and it's still playable, so it's not a big issue, but I just would like to be able to set the neck straight and the notes wouldn't choke out against the 1st. fret, that's all.

Thanks again.
Regards
Pablo

[Kit]

I also like my neck to be almost straight as far as relief is concerned. How about setting the neck to almost straight like you prefer, then adjusting the saddle height on the D and G strings up a bit until the buzz goes away. See if you like how it plays that way. I have noticed the on certain guitars if I try to have the string saddle profile across all six strings to be the same as the neck profile certain strings can buzz. Now I don't worry as much whether the saddle profile is 'perfect,' but adjust the heights on each saddle to be buzz-free. Most of the time my guitar will play very well this way.

[gandlove]

Thanks again for your posts:
Kit: I'll try your approach on one of my G&L's this weekend and let you know how it went. It sounds like a very good idea.
Have a nice day!
Regards
Pablo

[avalonpb]

Adding to this post:

I have a large collection of USA made G&Ls and have also noticed that the newer instruments, particularly PLEK'd instruments, have nut slots that are cut very, very low. I've found this is such a common issue that it is now the first thing I look at on any G&L guitar.

I have multiple G&L guitars with build dates ranging from 2014-2021 that have had one or more nut slots cut so low the strings were buzzing on the first fret. When fretted at the 3rd fret the strings are resting on the first fret. Several of these guitars were purchased new and had this problem directly out of the box.

Most commonly it is the high E and sometimes B string. One guitar had all but one string slot cut so low the strings were riding on the first fret. I ended up temporarily shimming the nut on that one until I can get it in the shop. I have mentioned this issue to Memo but, other than sending me a new bone nut blank for my 2014 Invader, he didn't comment.

I bring this up because the string spacing at the nut on the G&L Modern Classic neck is very difficult to match with an off-the-shelf nut like Tusq. Maybe this is one of the reasons they stopped using the Plek?