String buzz all over the neck.

[man-in-moon]

Ok guys this one has me puzzled. For some reason my ltd bk-600 has developed string buzz all over the neck and will not stay in tune. All of this just started today. I have tried everything and nothing works. The action at the 22nd fret is right at 2.5mm at the 12th fret it's around 1.5mm. When I check the relief for the truss rod I can slide 2 pieces of notebook paper between the low Evans the 7th and 8th frets.
The tuners are locked down good as is the bridge and tail piece. I spent a few days adjusting everything when I first got it. The strings were actually laying on the frets. Everything was fine until today.
No matter what I do or adjust it doesn't help.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

https://youtu.be/opmg6lK8FkY

Do the string locking knot at the tuner so your strings don't slip. And maybe try some more neck relief so the measurement at the 12th fret is closer to the measurement at the 22nd fret. When strings get worn out, their intonation starts to suck.

 

[VinceT]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

I should think it's due to humidity - this is the one you just bought, I think - so it's moved out of the shop environment.

I was about to ask about trem, but it's stop tail, right? So that's out.

Are the pickups too close to the strings? (particularly the neck PUP)

Whatever it sounds like truss rod/bridge height should get you there - assuming it played well in the shop.



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[baritone]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

I would raise the bridge, loosen the truss rod, & then re-do th whole setup. It could be warping due to change in temperature or humidity. If the guitar is still under warranty, look into a refund or a free setup.

 

[thebingopete]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Don't know how drastic the change is in Alabama, but season change on top of being removed from the store environment can be a *****. You may need to adjust near daily for a couple weeks. Here in upstate NY I expect to have to adjust all my guitars for the summer in the next month. Cold, dry, winters, and hot, humid, summers up here. Hard to keep my girls happy during these seasonal changes.

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[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

I did some more adjustments they still didn't help. I took it to a friend that is a tech at a local ESP dealer. He tried everything he could to stop the buzzing but couldn't. He admitted that he was stumped. The frets are level the neck isn't warped. The action is real high about slide guitar height and it still buzzes all over the neck. Every string on every fret some aren't as bad others. But a lot completely fret out.

 

[Thundermtn]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

That sucks! Especially considering this is the second axe that had a problem. Did you take it out of E standard?

Go get yourself some feeler guages, capo the 1st and fret the highest and adjust your truss rod for about .02 at the maximum relief spot. If it's still doing it standard tuning with that much releif it may neck angle.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

That's what the tech adjusted it to. We put it in standard but it came from the factory tuned down a whole step. I haven't given up on it yet. It just too cool of a guitar. One thing we did notice is for some reason the seat for the nut is cut deeper on the low e side into the neck. But the nut still gets lower on the high E. I'm not sure why they did it like that.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Sounds to me like the neck HAS to be back-bowed. If the strings aren't too low and the pickups are not adjusted too high, that is the only thing I can think of that would make it buzz all over the entire neck. Unless ALL of your frets are coming loose and you don't have a level fret on the fretboard... Did he check it with a fret-rocker? I would look at that nut again too and make sure the strings have enough clearance there, but that shouldn't be a problem if you are fretting chords.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Are the fret tops rounded?

 

[Diego]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Sounds to me like the neck HAS to be back-bowed.

+1 to this.

Did you already try releasing some tension off the truss rod?
You've mentioned the string action from the bridge a lot, but I don't think that's the issue.

Try pressing your 3rd or 4th string at the first and last fret at the same time, and check if there's any space left between the string and the top of the 12th fret.
If the string is sitting on top of the 12th fret when you press it from both ends of your fretboard, then the neck needs more relief.

FYI and IMO, if this turned out to be the case, then I'm sad to inform your tech is no good.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Sorry about the pic quality I don't have any gauges here. So I used jazz 3 1.14mm picks for a comparison.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

This is with a capo at the first fret and pressing on the 22nd one pic is around the 7th/and 8th fret the other is the 12th.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

its hard to tell from the pics but I can put 3 sheets of paper between the fret and string. I have noticed the buzzing is about 80% gone from the 17th fret up which I know is from the bridge height. When I chord from the 7th to the 15th fret the end of my finger goes under the open strings and the string slides up my fingernail.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Sorry for all the posts my lap top is messed up so I am having to use my phonethese are of the nut. It's hard to tell in pics and I couldn't tell well by looking. But when he measured the nut from the shelf to the fretboard the low E side was about 0.03 lower than the high E side. Not sure if that will effect anything or not.

 

[Thundermtn]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

I'd give it a hair more relief, looks a little too flat to me. My stuff gets picked pretty hard and that's not enough for me. Maybe double check the pup height too, they look pretty high but it's hard to tell from the pic. I wouldn't think the nut would be the problem, it was fine before.

 

[baritone]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

I'm not an expert in this stuff, but my strings are lower than yours, but my neck is bowed forward a bit more than yours. Now I'm wondering if I need to redo my setup..

 

[AlexR]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

Can you check if the neck is twisted. One of the pics from the nut end gives that appearance.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

If I back the truss rod anymore the nut on it is actually loose. It came completely off with my buddy. He put it back on and did 1 full turn. The pickups are about 1/4 inch away from the strings when I fret at the 22nd fret. When I got it there was so much back bow the strings were touching the frets on the first 12 frets. We looked up what esp said the specs should be and we have just about had to double them.
We are at a little over 3mm at the 22nd fret and a little over .20 at the 8th-10th frets. One thing I just noticed is adjusting the truss rod isn't effecting anything past the 10th fret really. The only real changes are on the lower frets. I wondered about the neck having a twist but as far as we can tell it does not. Another thing I have noticed if I do big bends or vibrato it pulls the neck flat or sharp. Just like if I grabbed the headstock and pulled or pushed.

 

[cato]

Re: String buzz all over the neck.

If I back the truss rod anymore the nut on it is actually loose......

.....Another thing I have noticed if I do big bends or vibrato it pulls the neck flat or sharp. Just like if I grabbed the headstock and pulled or pushed.

i have a strat with a dead rigid slightly backbowed neck that won't even front bow at standard or sharp tuning with 10's, even with the truss nut loose and almost falling out of the heel. with a proper relief check the high E sits dead on neck across all frets, but lucky me, with a proper setup, it plays beautifully. i tell you that just so you can consider that even with your neck, similar to mine, your guitar shouldn't necessarily be all outa wack. it's obviously multifactorial. not much help, i know. fyi there's nothing wrong with leaving your nut loose, as i do with mine; your guy didn't have to put it back on and give it a full turn. leave it loose but in place for aesthetics if anything.

also, if your going flat/sharp with bends/vibrato, could that just be related to a floating trem, which i assume yours is if that's happening?