electric guitar problem?

Question

i disassembled my electric guitar for modifications..when i attached everything back the D, G, and B strings has a buzz on the 1st and 2nd fret..i tried making the action higher but the 1st and 2nd fret of the said strings still hit on the fret bar of the next fret..i reattached the neck as perfect as it was before but i still get the same results..what is the source of the problem and how do i fix it..A.S.A.P.

Answer 1

I can't think of anything that would cause that problem assuming everything is the same, and you do have all six strings tuned up to full tension.

You did not say what modifications you were making that you needed to remove the neck for though.

Getting a buzz just on the first two frets leads me to think that it must be a problem at the nut end of the neck. Did you replace the nut? If so, this may be an installation problem, the nut slots are too low. That would only affect the strings when they are strummed open though.

Is this a Kramer or a Jackson/Charvel guitar? If so this is quite likely a problem caused not by the modifications that you made, but rather a change in temperature or humidity. These guitars are made with a scarf joint at the nut end where the peg head angles back. In this joint the wood grain is oriented in such a way that if the peg head piece swells due to humidity or temperature it pushes up on the bottom of the fret board causing a slight bulge at about the second fret. This is relatively common with these guitars and could very well be the source of your problem. If it is, unfortunately the only good solution is to have a skilled luthier level sand your fretboard and refret. Other options would be to have a new nut installed with a higher action at the nut end, but you would likely still buzz when fretting the first fret. Otherwise you can just wait and see if it improves in a lower humidity/temperature environment.

That's my best guess. If you think I might be right, take it to a shop to get a second opinion.

Answer 2

Hello there, You are a lucky fellow. Someone gave you an older Strat. The older models are better made than the new ones. Any problem you have with sound, will not be because it is an older model. I have guitars made in the 50s and 60s that still play well. Older MIM Strat is a great guitar. New Vox 20 watt practice amp is trash. You will never get a good sound out of that amp. You will need a decent amp. Now onto the problems you mention. Does not sound good with distortion. Not the guitar. If the guitar sounds good clean and with the distortion does not sound good, the problem is strictly in the amp. A small practice amp will not handle distortion and gain well. That puts too heavy a load on the amp (runs out of head room). You need a more powerful amp. A good basic distortion pedal will probably sound better than any built in distortion. But that amp is not going to be able to handle the load of distortion. So getting a pedal is a waste of money until you replace that amp. A good basic distortion pedal is the Boss DS-1. For a cheap pedal, it is about as good as there is for distortion. A compressor pedal won't help with distortion problems in your amp. A compressor will increase your sustain. But you don't need it; it does not solve your problem. Yep, you need distortion for most rock. You need a good amp and good speakers for distortion. You do not have a good amp; you have a small practice amp. You screwed what into the back of the guitar? You will not raise or lower the bridge on a Strat (well you can, but you do not need to do that). You need to adjust the saddles to get the string height playable. There are 2 height adjustment screws on each saddle. Turning those raises or lowers that saddle. There is also a screw that adjusts how far from the neck the saddle is. You use that screw to adjust the intonation. Could what have affected the tuning? By any change did you remove the cover over the tremolo springs cavity and tighten the 2 screws that hold the claw in place. If so, you probably have screwed up the tuning of the guitar. The springs pull on the bridge to counter the pull of the strings on the bridge. Properly adjusted, the bridge returns to the proper place so the guitar remains in tune after you use the tremolo bar. If you get the adjustment wrong, the guitar will not stay in tune. Is it a result of old age? Heck no. It is a result of the simple fact you have no clue how to set up and maintain a guitar. Graphite trick? Do you mean lubing the points of friction with graphite? If so, that is always a good idea. You need to take the guitar in and have a tech straighten up the setup of the guitar. Have him put on new strings and adjust the action for you. That vintage guitar in the proper hands will play just fine. If your Strat is only 7 years old, it is not very old at all. My main two Strats are a 92 and 95. Both are older than yours. Both play and sound great. You have a good guitar, you just don't know enough about how to set it up. However, you do seriously need a decent amp and decent speakers. Later, Hello again, I just read your older question about changing string size. You can ignore that Best Answer. She is just a poser. She does not know anything about guitars, but has several accounts to voter herself Best Answer. 12s are not light guage strings. 9s are considered light. 10s about normal for a Strat. 11s work well on a Strat also. 12s are pretty heavy. String bending is going to be tougher with 12s and really hard to do with 13s. SRV used 13s and they tore up his fingers. You will get good tone out of 12s and 13s, but they are hard on your fingers, they do not bend easy, and they are slower to play. Whenever you change strings, you need to readjust the tremolo spring tension so the bridge still floats level and returns to being in tune after use. You also need to readjust the saddle length to have proper intonation. If you are a newer player, you probably need to be using 9s or 10s on your Strat.

Answer 3

Hi,

A couple of possibilities. You can raise the action at the bridge to get the strings about 3/32 inch off the 12th fret.

The neck could be at a different angle from when it was on before.

The nut may have become damaged somehow. It might need to be replaced or altered.

Try Harmony Central. The folks at the Electric Guitar Forum could help.

Answer 4

taking the neck off of (i assume you have) a bolt-on neck guitar is always a little tricky. Intonation, action, tuning and string radius depend on this connection being as perfect as possible. whenever taking off the neck, be sure to be overly critical about how its put together. hopefully a truss rod adjustment would do it for you, but you may have turned one screw more than another to give the neck a slight imperfection when you put it back on the guitar. i say truss rod, then guitar tech.