buzz and action HELP!

[TS Anderson]

I need some action advice from some of you experts!

I have a Guild Starfire 4. I purchased it used about 3 months ago. It buzzed a bit but I figured it only needed a little tweeking so I had it set-up by a reputable store. I still noticed some buzz but thought it might be getting used to a new guitar... Unfortunately I'm still catching buzz up and down the neck. I leave it cased so I sure it hasn't been exposed to any super dry or hot/cold conditions. My acoustic (which was my first and only git) is set-up with low action and I can make it pur w/out buzz. The action on my Guild electic is set-up with 2/32" at the 12th fret.

So, does that seem really low to any of you? I am a little intimidated by the prospects of raising the action myself. I'm hoping that the buzz is not the nature of this particular guitar.

Any input / advice would greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
TS

[jeremy]

Re: buzz and action HELP!

thats pretty low, not un-heard of, but low. when does it buzz? on what strings and frets?

[TS Anderson]

Re: buzz and action HELP!

It really buzzes on most of the neck... most notably on the 6th and 5th strings (but I swear the 4th and 3rd can be heard at times). It just kind of rattles.

Frankly, I think it looks low to the eye. Would I be completely crazy to attempt to raise the action myself? Messing with the truss rod freaks me out... and I'm also concerned about screwing with the intonation. I've been playing for a year and don't completely trust my judgement, if you know what I mean.

Out of curiosity, when I had the setup done I asked for medium action. I guessing now that the tech didn't raise the strings (although I never measured them). Is there a range for medium...perhaps 3/32" or 4/32" ?

Thanks!

[Fresh_Start]

Re: buzz and action HELP!

You might want to check out the "Buzz Diagnosis" at Frets.com. There's a ton of useful info there about setting up a guitar properly.

Dan Erlewine's book "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" is another great resource.

IMHO it makes more sense to learn how to do your own setups than to rely on a tech (except for fretwork, which still scares me ).

Chip

Good luck -

[TS Anderson]

Re: buzz and action HELP!

I bought Dan Erlewine's book... what a great resource! Just to update: I read the book and have since reduced the amount of relief in my neck... raised action 1/64th, raised my stop tail to keep my strings from hugging the edge of the bridge and got my intonation spot on. Not to mention, I had a blast doing it.

Thanks for the great advice, Chip.