Complaining that your electric guitar sounds bad when it's not plugged in is like complaining that your car handles poorly with the tires removed.
It's got to be the action. Mine buzzes when it's set too high. You just need to adjust it just right, or take it in to a shop for a tune up.
Are you getting buzz on certain frets, or on the open string? If it's only on certain frets, check your fret board for excessive wear. You should also check the bow of your neck and make sure it's not bowed excessively outward or inward. To check this, hold the guitar face up with the head pointing straight at your face. Adjust the pitch of the guitar so you can see straight down the neck. Check for excessive outward or inward bowing. A very slight bow either way is okay. If there is too much bow, you can adjust the truss rod to straighten this out. However, be VERY careful when adjusting the truss rod. One turn, then let it have a day to adjust. Adjusting the truss rod will make a big difference in the action of your guitar as well. The action is the hight of your strings from the fret board. However, you should never use the truss rod to try to correct for overly high/low action. Overly high/low action should only be adjusted by raising or lowering the bridge. If you aren't comfortable adjusting these things, please do not attempt. Take it to a pro and have them show you how to do it. You should be able to do it yourself after that. Hope this helps.
I am only getting buzz on the 3rd and 4th open strings. I think I will try to carefully play with the action/bridge height a little more. Maybe I lowered my bridge too much.
JoLLyRoGer
Diamond Member
- Aug 24, 2000
- 4,153
- 4
- 81
Try this, don't be such a pu$$y and fret those strings like you've got a pair! j/k 
I get that same buzz with my tele. It seemed like lighter strings helped out a bit and you may try to lower your action some. But for the sake or argument, and back to my opening statment, mashing the sh!t out of the strings with my fingers made the buzz go away completely. A little painful though. Could just be Fender for you too. Neither of my Gibsons nor my Ovation do the buzz thing unless I intend for it to happen (sometimes it can be a pretty cool effect when you're playing acoustic).
I get that same buzz with my tele. It seemed like lighter strings helped out a bit and you may try to lower your action some. But for the sake or argument, and back to my opening statment, mashing the sh!t out of the strings with my fingers made the buzz go away completely. A little painful though. Could just be Fender for you too. Neither of my Gibsons nor my Ovation do the buzz thing unless I intend for it to happen (sometimes it can be a pretty cool effect when you're playing acoustic).
Oh man... Blind leading the blind in here. :Q
Read the Mr. Gearhead page that someone linked. It sounds like you put a heavier gauge of strings on judging by your "the new strings are pulling the bridge a lot" comment), so you'll need to readjust some things.
Basically, fret the low E string on the first and last fret and check the string height at the 9th fret. It should be about .10" above the fret. Adjust the truss rod accordingly. Then you want to adjust the tremolo tension (the screws behind the rear plate that control the tension on the tremolo). If you have an American Standard-style two screw trem, I recommend the rear of the trem be approximately 1/8" off the body of the guitar. If it is a vintage-style 6 screw trem, it should be flat. Then adjust the string height at the bridge. Then adjust intonation.
Again, the Mr. Gearhead site is a great resource for setups. It may need more serious work, but that would be my first plan.
WHoever said an electric will always sound crappy when it is not plugged in probably doesn't have their guitar setup right.
Read the Mr. Gearhead page that someone linked. It sounds like you put a heavier gauge of strings on judging by your "the new strings are pulling the bridge a lot" comment), so you'll need to readjust some things.
Basically, fret the low E string on the first and last fret and check the string height at the 9th fret. It should be about .10" above the fret. Adjust the truss rod accordingly. Then you want to adjust the tremolo tension (the screws behind the rear plate that control the tension on the tremolo). If you have an American Standard-style two screw trem, I recommend the rear of the trem be approximately 1/8" off the body of the guitar. If it is a vintage-style 6 screw trem, it should be flat. Then adjust the string height at the bridge. Then adjust intonation.
Again, the Mr. Gearhead site is a great resource for setups. It may need more serious work, but that would be my first plan.
WHoever said an electric will always sound crappy when it is not plugged in probably doesn't have their guitar setup right.
KaBudokan, thanks for that reply, I was getting increasingly distressed at the ignorance of each new post as I scrolled down.
Adjust the tremelo to where you want it to sit (1/8" is typical, you need to be able to pull it back a bit to handle the thing going out of tune after you use the whammy bar). Then adjust the truss rod accordingly. If you don't know what a truss rod is, you should just take it into the shop.
Adjust the tremelo to where you want it to sit (1/8" is typical, you need to be able to pull it back a bit to handle the thing going out of tune after you use the whammy bar). Then adjust the truss rod accordingly. If you don't know what a truss rod is, you should just take it into the shop.
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
KaBudokan, thanks for that reply, I was getting increasingly distressed at the ignorance of each new post as I scrolled down.
Adjust the tremelo to where you want it to sit (1/8" is typical, you need to be able to pull it back a bit to handle the thing going out of tune after you use the whammy bar). Then adjust the truss rod accordingly. If you don't know what a truss rod is, you should just take it into the shop.
lol Yeah, I was kind of worried about the shape his guitar would be in before too long, tweaking this and tweakign that without any idea what was going on.
Seriously rpc, check out that site - it's not rocket science, and once you do it a few times you'll realize how worthwhile it is to take the time to learn to do a setup and do it right. I've bought guitars from Guitar Center that were on clearance because they were set up terribly, only to come home and take 1/2 hour and make them play just about perfectly.
My Yamaha EG112 (Fender Strat clone) had problems with buzzing due to a warpable neck. (not necessarily warped, just too flexible). I switched from XL (9's) to L (10's), and I not only love the new feel of them, but I also enjoy less buzzing. (Yes, the heavier strings require more neck tension, but the decreased string movement seemed to more than cancel that out.) I no longer have any of those problems after the mods I did to it, though.
BTW, I should have a link in my quote with all the stuff I did to that thing. It's so far from stock I'd say it sounds better than a full-fledged Strat. I think the wood of the body and neck are the only pieces left that are stock. I'm looking for good pickups, though... any suggestions?
Distortion doesn't care, but it sounds like junk if you do it as acoustic. That's basically because buzzing is the same thing as distortion: clipping the edges off the wave.
Bill Lawrence
Killer noiseless strat pickups that retain a sweet vintage tone at an amazing price. If you want something more "traditional" (in design, not sound), check out Fralin pups, though they're expensive.
Originally posted by: KaBudokan
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
KaBudokan, thanks for that reply, I was getting increasingly distressed at the ignorance of each new post as I scrolled down.
Adjust the tremelo to where you want it to sit (1/8" is typical, you need to be able to pull it back a bit to handle the thing going out of tune after you use the whammy bar). Then adjust the truss rod accordingly. If you don't know what a truss rod is, you should just take it into the shop.
lol Yeah, I was kind of worried about the shape his guitar would be in before too long, tweaking this and tweakign that without any idea what was going on.
Seriously rpc, check out that site - it's not rocket science, and once you do it a few times you'll realize how worthwhile it is to take the time to learn to do a setup and do it right. I've bought guitars from Guitar Center that were on clearance because they were set up terribly, only to come home and take 1/2 hour and make them play just about perfectly.
Hahaha don't worry too much. I was not just tweaking stuff with reckless abandon. I have been very careful and would never adjust something if I didn't know what it was supposed to do. I was actually going off of my guitar's manual before.
I adjusted the action on my 3rd and 4th strings a tiny bit more and they sound right now, no buzzing. Thank you to everyone for all the advice. Very good information in here.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 23K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter