Buzz on Low E,A strings -- New Legacy

[Tuco]

Hi, I have a new Legacy guitar and I cant get the low E and A strings from buzzing. I have gone thru the adjustments many times. I set the relief, bridge, string height and intonation. Even with very high action, the low strings buzz on nearly all frets except when plucked open.

At this point Im thinking there is something wrong with the frets, maybe they are not quite level. Even with the truss loosened way up to get the most bow in the neck, it still buzzes on low E and A.

What should I do next? I dont feel that I should have to pay a tech to fix this since its a new guitar. Not to mention that in my small town I dont have anyone to take it to. Would GL take this one back and check it for me under warranty? Is there an adjustment that I am missing?

Thanks for any tips.

Jim

[yowhatsshakin]

Hi Jim,

Just to get some more info, did you by any chance change the string gauge or does your Legacy still have (the factory provided) 10's on it?

- Jos

[smurph1]

Hi, I have a new Legacy guitar and I cant get the low E and A strings from buzzing. I have gone thru the adjustments many times. I set the relief, bridge, string height and intonation. Even with very high action, the low strings buzz on nearly all frets except when plucked open.

At this point Im thinking there is something wrong with the frets, maybe they are not quite level. Even with the truss loosened way up to get the most bow in the neck, it still buzzes on low E and A.

What should I do next? I dont feel that I should have to pay a tech to fix this since its a new guitar. Not to mention that in my small town I dont have anyone to take it to. Would GL take this one back and check it for me under warranty? Is there an adjustment that I am missing? Out of curiosity does it buzz through an amp, or just when you play it acoustically? I had a Les Paul years ago that buzzed like crazy when I strummed it when it was not plugged in, but amplified it sounded beautiful!!

Thanks for any tips.

Jim

[smurph1]

Out of curiosity does it buzz through an amp, or just when you play it acoustically? I had a Les Paul years ago that buzzed like crazy when I strummed it when it was not plugged in, but amplified it sounded beautiful!!

[Tuco]

Im running the same gauge as factory. It buzzed right from the factory but we live in a very dry climate and so at first I figured it just needed to be adjusted. Im using Ernie Ball super slinky 10, 13, 17, 26,36,46, the buzz is the same with these strings. The buzz comes thru the amp some but not all the time, depends on the settings and how I am picking/plucking/strumming the strings. Im okay with a little acoustic buzzing, but this seems rather extreme compared to my other guitars.

My Yamaha SG2000 buzzes a little but it doesnt come thru the amp, its also 32 years old and I havent adjusted it in years.

[Tuco]

I spent some time changing the truss rod adjustment and measuring relief and checking for playability and for the buzzing sounds. I started with about .012 in as stated in the instructions manual. Measured with feeler gauge and a caliper to double check. Measured from top of 8th fret to bottom of string while pressing on 2nd and 22nd frets. When I loosen the truss, the most relief I can get is about .025in and this is with no tension on truss rod. So I have very little adjustment, but at least it has enough gap to be within the specs listed in the manual. The buzzing seemed to be the same for all adjustments. When I put some force on the neck while playing to force a little more relief, the buzz goes away.

[Craig]

I spent some time changing the truss rod adjustment and measuring relief and checking for playability and for the buzzing sounds. I started with about .012 in as stated in the instructions manual. Measured with feeler gauge and a caliper to double check. Measured from top of 8th fret to bottom of string while pressing on 2nd and 22nd frets. When I loosen the truss, the most relief I can get is about .025in and this is with no tension on truss rod. So I have very little adjustment, but at least it has enough gap to be within the specs listed in the manual. The buzzing seemed to be the same for all adjustments. When I put some force on the neck while playing to force a little more relief, the buzz goes away.

If this is a new Legacy (2009 and up) you should use this post for your setup: Current Factory setups for DF vibrato G&L guitars.

Also, if you have not seen this post yet, it might be of some help: Set-Ups, answering some questions.

Hope this helps.

[Tuco]

Hi Craig, thanks for those links. I had already been using those very helpful guides. I contacted G and L and after email and phone discussion, we suspect there is something wrong with the guitar. They are going to do a warranty evaluation and send it back to me.

I was very impressed that (1) the service manager sent me an email response in one day (2) he actually answered my phone call and helped me for several minutes (3) issued an RMA promptly so that we can get the problem investigated and taken care of. While I havent got the guitar back, Im sure they are going to make it right.

G and L Customer service rocks! Just like their guitars