Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

75lespaul

New member
What the he double hockey sticks is going on with this thing? Should I be worried, or is it divine intervention?

Remember this purple sunburst Jay Turser Serpent I got about a month and a half ago? When I got it, it played great with only a chorus like buzz on the fat E. Then a month later, it was buzzing and fretting out badly all over the place. Well, I didn't do anything to it, not even new strings (thought I put them on, but I didn't) and when I just now pulled it out to play it, no fretting out, no more buzzing except on that E string and some light buzzing that doesn't come through the amp on the first fret, which was one of the things that developed later. That was a heavy buzz, but is now hardly noticeable. Is this a guitar that is so subject to weather changes that I'm going to have these problems all the time, or will a new nut and a twist of the truss do some good? By the way, clockwise or counter-clockwise on the truss rod? I aways forget which way is relief.

AgileandJT-200Serpent008.jpg
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

sounds like it was just settling in and adjusting to the heat/humidity levels.

as for the truss rod...

clockwise = neck gets stiffer, and straighter
counter clockwise = neck gets more flexible (and therefore, bows towards the strings more)
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

Could also be you playing with a lighter touching unknowingly since the last time you played it it buzzed all over the place. Maybe the action just needs to be raised.
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

I was thinking it was the settling in thing, but I didn't think it would change a few times. I thought once; who knows. I definitely spent a lot of time with it since this morning and I've adjusted the truss, raised the action etc with no differences. I think once I have the new nut put on, it will a lot better. Crazy stuff, lol.
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

sounds like it was just settling in and adjusting to the heat/humidity levels.

as for the truss rod...

clockwise = neck gets stiffer, and straighter
counter clockwise = neck gets more flexible (and therefore, bows towards the strings more)

+1. Even older guitars will expand and contract depending on temp and humidity. Turn on the heat in the winter, and the relative humity inside drops to something like 10%. Then you get rainy spring days with the humidity very high. Any piece of wood is going to swell when that happens, especially one with a long, thin extension (ie. neck).

Newer guitars are more subject to this as the whole instrument is still settling in, but fret buzz, string height, neck relief, etc are always changing to some degree. It may or may not be enough to notice. I can tell the change of seasons with my guitars.
 
Last edited:
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

Man those things are probably made with some very green woods so expect some settling for a while, especially with the candy coated poly finishes,
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

Man those things are probably made with some very green woods so expect some settling for a while, especially with the candy coated poly finishes,

You think so? Most companies use kiln dried wood. Turser makes a pretty decent guitar for the money, it's just the hardware and pups that blow. The Turser guitars are very light weight and I am thinking the type of mahogany used is more sensitive to atmospheric moisture. Since my profession is hardwood flooring, I have a moisture tester. Might be something to look into if the problem continues. I had a Warlord a long time ago and once the strings were stretched, the thing rarely went out of tune (I changed the tuners as well as all the hardware). Turser bridges are always suspect, once I changed it to a Nashville, it eliminated the occasional buzziness

I have heard the fret wires themselves move a bit so the problem may lay therein, it's the fretboard and not the neck reacting to atmospheric humidity levels. When it's dry, the wires loose a bit and "float", when it's humid, everything swells back up and the wires are tight. Just a thought

I will watch this thread with interest
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

sounds like it was just settling in and adjusting to the heat/humidity levels.

as for the truss rod...

clockwise = neck gets stiffer, and straighter
counter clockwise = neck gets more flexible (and therefore, bows towards the strings more)

What would you use each to accomplish and why?
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

What the he double hockey sticks is going on with this thing? Should I be worried, or is it divine intervention?

Remember this purple sunburst Jay Turser Serpent I got about a month and a half ago? When I got it, it played great with only a chorus like buzz on the fat E. Then a month later, it was buzzing and fretting out badly all over the place. Well, I didn't do anything to it, not even new strings (thought I put them on, but I didn't) and when I just now pulled it out to play it, no fretting out, no more buzzing except on that E string and some light buzzing that doesn't come through the amp on the first fret, which was one of the things that developed later. That was a heavy buzz, but is now hardly noticeable. Is this a guitar that is so subject to weather changes that I'm going to have these problems all the time, or will a new nut and a twist of the truss do some good? By the way, clockwise or counter-clockwise on the truss rod? I aways forget which way is relief.

AgileandJT-200Serpent008.jpg

How does your JT Purple Serpent work now? I've had mine, which by the way is the one in your picture I assume lifted from my Facebook page, 4 years now and have never had any trouble with it in fact I find the quality to be almost as good as my Les Paul Studio. Just for ****s and giggles here is another pic of the same guitar laying on my girlfriends bed purple serpent.jpg
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

I was thinking it was the settling in thing, but I didn't think it would change a few times. I thought once; who knows. I definitely spent a lot of time with it since this morning and I've adjusted the truss, raised the action etc with no differences. I think once I have the new nut put on, it will a lot better. Crazy stuff, lol.

Umm... this is raising a red flag to me... ideally, you should mildly detune before tweaking the truss rod, maybe an 1/8 of a rotation at a time, then bring it up to tune, and check, wash rinse repeat...
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

What would you use each to accomplish and why?

bridge height governs the action from the fret at the body join up. Set that as low as you like to either eliminate fret buzz up there, or have whatever your "acceptable" level of fret buzz is depending on how hard you play.
After that is all done, you set the neck relief so that you have a similar amount of fret buzz along the rest of the neck.
If it buzzes too much in the middle region of the neck then release the tension slightly.
If you want to get the strings lower, tighten the tension.
Easy way to remember.....righty tighty, lefty loosey.
Try not do do more than a half turn in any 24 hour period.
 
Re: Turser guitar fixes itself--read all about it!

sounds to me that the straight neck was buzzing
and whilst it set up the string tension bowed it up
raising your action slightly

maybe you just had your action too low

maybe the bridge is pulling off
 
Back
Top