A couple weeks ago I bought an ESP M-1000 guitar from Pro Audio Star.
I really like the way the guitar looks, and I got a great deal on it, BUT after a couple weeks of truss rod adjustments, I realize I can't get the guitar set up with a reasonable action without buzzing. (This guitar is not nearly as good as the cheaper M-400 I bought prior.)
I relax the truss rod, the string distance gets greater, but inexplicably there is still fret buzz in the lower frets (3-7). And the open A buzzes, even though the nut appears to be relatively high.
There is alot of relief, strings are pretty far off the board, and yet there is still buzz. And even with buzz in the lower frets, if I lower the bridge to get a reasonable action up high, now there is also buzz in the higher frets.
Use the fret rocker to see if there are any high frets, and only found a very mild discrepancy way high up on the treble side of neck where there isnt a buzzing problem.
I've been adjusting truss rods and setting up guitars for 25+ years, this guitar has me stumped. Visual sighting (and string fretting) of the neck shows what appears to be gradual relief, yet there is still lots of buzzing. I think that there is some mild backbow built into the neck in the 1-5 range, that the truss rod isn't able to overcome.
Furthermore, this guitar shipped with a non-standard and used Floyd Rose bar which is always wobbly and leads me to believe it is a return.
SO... what are my options?
The guitar is still in the 30day return period, but PAS has a 15% restocking + return shipping, which would very likely be around $200 lost.
The other option is to get the guitar Plekked which will take a month and cost around $250+s/h. I dont think a normal fret level will solve the problem.
Another option is to try to pursue a warranty claim. I don't think it can be set up to factory spec without inexplicable buzzing somewhere.
I'm angry at ProAudioStar for selling me a customer return as new (and their crazy restocking fee), and myself for not identifying this problem earlier (because pretty guitar) and being lured into the sale because of a good deal.
I'm leaning towards getting the guitar plekked, although I'm concerned that this won't fix the issue.
I really like the way the guitar looks, and I got a great deal on it, BUT after a couple weeks of truss rod adjustments, I realize I can't get the guitar set up with a reasonable action without buzzing. (This guitar is not nearly as good as the cheaper M-400 I bought prior.)
I relax the truss rod, the string distance gets greater, but inexplicably there is still fret buzz in the lower frets (3-7). And the open A buzzes, even though the nut appears to be relatively high.
There is alot of relief, strings are pretty far off the board, and yet there is still buzz. And even with buzz in the lower frets, if I lower the bridge to get a reasonable action up high, now there is also buzz in the higher frets.
Use the fret rocker to see if there are any high frets, and only found a very mild discrepancy way high up on the treble side of neck where there isnt a buzzing problem.
I've been adjusting truss rods and setting up guitars for 25+ years, this guitar has me stumped. Visual sighting (and string fretting) of the neck shows what appears to be gradual relief, yet there is still lots of buzzing. I think that there is some mild backbow built into the neck in the 1-5 range, that the truss rod isn't able to overcome.
Furthermore, this guitar shipped with a non-standard and used Floyd Rose bar which is always wobbly and leads me to believe it is a return.
SO... what are my options?
The guitar is still in the 30day return period, but PAS has a 15% restocking + return shipping, which would very likely be around $200 lost.
The other option is to get the guitar Plekked which will take a month and cost around $250+s/h. I dont think a normal fret level will solve the problem.
Another option is to try to pursue a warranty claim. I don't think it can be set up to factory spec without inexplicable buzzing somewhere.
I'm angry at ProAudioStar for selling me a customer return as new (and their crazy restocking fee), and myself for not identifying this problem earlier (because pretty guitar) and being lured into the sale because of a good deal.
I'm leaning towards getting the guitar plekked, although I'm concerned that this won't fix the issue.
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