Back in August I bought a guitar – a Squier Strat. It’s played like a dream. I haven’t really had time to play it much in the past month or so, and I just picked it up.
It sounded… funny. The strings buzz. The G string playing a B hardly plays at all, as if the string is hitting another fret or two. Checking the pitch against another guitar, the whole thing is about a half step sharp. If I bend the neck slighly forward, notes ring true again. Sighting down the neck, there does indeed seem to be a slight convex bow.
In all my years of playing, this has never happened to me. Is it something I can correct on my own, or should I seek professional help? There seems to be some sort of adjustment in the headstock, maybe for a hex wrench. Can I get one at Daddy’s or Guitar Center? Which way do I turn, and how do I know when I’ve gone far enough?
**tdn **- what they said. It is a truss rod thing - as the winter dries out the air, the wood of the guitar dries out a bit. So the wood is *less *flexible, and provides *more *resistance against the pull of the strings - hence your convexity (wow - that’s a cool phrase! ;))
And yep, a tweak of the truss rod - the length of metal inside a channel in your neck, which has a screw on one end. You set up a guitar so the truss rod is under tension via that screw, so you have a little room to tighten it further if you want to resist the strings a bit more, or loosen it if you want to resist less, as in this case.
Since this is all about getting the ***action ***right - the distance between the strings and the neck - an electric guitar is more likely to be truss-rod sensitive, simply because electrics typically have a closer/tighter action; it’s easier to throw off the tolerances. If more of your experience is with acoustics, well, that’s why you haven’t experienced this. It is quite typical, if you live in an area with a varied climate, to take your guitar in twice a year for a set up.
Should you adjust the truss rod yourself? Obviously, you certainly can - but frankly, I would have a tech do it. Even someone at GC who doesn’t know much more about guitars than you, but has played with a truss rod a few times, is more likely to get it correct. Some truss rods require about 1/4 turn; others a lot more; up to a full turn. My only concern is that you want to try it gradually - give it a 1/4 turn and let it rest - play it a bit and let the “system” settle for a bit. If you can’t tell the difference, then after a few minutes, go for another 1/4 turn, and so on. If you have, in total, gotten to a full turn and still aren’t happy, STOP and get it to a guitar tech, okay?
Great stuff, guys. Dio, that was a very informative link. Thanks to all of you.
Actually, I’ve only owned one acoustic in my entire life. I got it as a Christmas present way back in… well, let’s see. I remember playing it when Nixon pulled the troops out of 'Nam. The next year I got my first electric. The one in question is my fifth.
I remember reading about warping way back in those early days, but I’ve never experienced it, nor have I known anyone else who has. And having spent four years at Berklee, I’ve met a metric shitload of guitarists. Warping is one of those things that happens to “other people”, like cancer or getting arrested.
I think I’ll take it into a shop, and request that I watch them do it.
I have a Takamine 12-string acoustic that I can’t use because it appears that the “saddle” has worn at the higher string positions such that that same thing happens (string buzz). I assume that the saddle’s the problem. Every time I’ve contacted the local music store about it via email I get no reply and the local GC’s luthier only comes in on Thursdays which just isn’t convenient.
Any thoughts? Am I all wet regarding the cause of the problem? If not, can I just send the defective saddle here and get it replaced? I’m so confused…I miss the sound of my 12-string.
First - sight down the neck, using your guitar strings as straight-edge “plumb line” - does the neck appear to be straight/parallel with the strings on both sides of the neck - i.e., on the high-string side and the low-string side? If you see it curve either up or down in an obvious way, your problem may be similar to **tdn’s **and NOT a saddle issue.
If your neck does NOT appear bowed, then you can try this easy test - although a pain since it deals with 12 strings:
Loosen the strings enough so you can get at the saddle.
Pry the saddle out - GENTLY. Use something like a plastic knife or toothpick - something to give you some leverage, but that won’t hurt the wood.
Take a business card or playing card - i.e., a piece of thick-stock paper - and create a shim: a piece that can fit inside the groove where the saddle sits. Put a piece of the paper - or maybe a shim TWO layers thick - but ONLY ON THE HIGH SIDE of the saddle groove. Basically, you are tilting up the saddle so it is a tad higher on the treble side - got it?
Re-tighten the strings - if that works, then yes, you had a low saddle problem - but you don’t anymore! If it doesn’t work - there may be something more going on - get it checked out.
and yes, if it does work, you can just leave it that way. More guitars that see a lot of use are shimmed than not, I would venture to guess…
The problem with getting a mail-order saddle is that it still has to be fitted to your particular guitar - you’re not going to get something that automatically has the exact right height. If the saddle is worn, it should be replaced. It’s not a certainty, however, that it’s the only problem. The ideal solution would be to have a luthier do a setup.
If you want to try diagnosing the buzz and doing the setup yourself, a great information resource is frets.com. Go to the index page, then “Of Interest to Musicians” and check out relevant items under “Instrument Setup” and “Acoustic Guitar.” It may also be helpful to Google on guitar setup for further insight.
In general, in setting up a guitar the first thing to do is check/rectify the relief (truss rod adjustment), then check/rectify the nut and saddle.
A few thoughts on some previous comments:
My only concern is that you want to try it gradually - give it a 1/4 turn and let it rest - play it a bit and let the “system” settle for a bit.
Yes, except - 1/4 is sometimes a lot. I wouldn’t start with more than 1/8 turn.
3) Take a business card or playing card - i.e., a piece of thick-stock paper - and create a shim:…if it does work, you can just leave it that way.
Yes, except - the transmission of vibration is more efficient through one solid piece (saddle) than through two pieces (saddle + shim). The shim will work if the saddle needs to be raised, but the sound won’t be as good as with a saddle of the correct height.
Yes, except - the transmission of vibration might be more efficient through one solid piece (saddle) than through two pieces (saddle + shim). Apparently luthiers have different opinions on this matter - the guy at frets.com doesn’t think shims affect tone noticeably, my local luthier (who has done some splendid work for me and who also makes guitars) thinks it does, to where he made me three different height saddles for my guitar to use in different climates. A shim of solid material may work better over time than one made of compressible material, such as paper stock.
I found this place. It’s on the way to my dentist apointment on Thursday. $10-15 for a truss adjustment, $45-50 for a full setup. But he said that the problem might be more complicated than that. I guess we’ll see.
**tdn **- they kinda *have *to say “there may be more to it” because, well, there may. But hopefully this is just a truss-rod tweak and an intonation check.
**Gary T **- good additional comments, and I appreciate your circling back about shims. Regarding whether they dampen vibrations:
if the poster is just trying to get his 12-string to function again, this is a quick check. If the shim works, but he/she hears a drop off in sustain or tone, then he/she can attack the saddle issue equipped with more knowledge.
however, I would suspect that if the shim does work, he/she won’t hear a sustain/tone issue. Shims are a workingman’s fix-it, and after a while, you just freakin’ do it and let your tone sort itself out. On-line guitar geeks will make lofty claims about the horror of shims, and then hear from guys who have 50’s Strats and Tele’s - many, many of which have been shimmed. Do what works, I say.
Agreed. I’m not very familiar with electrics, but I wouldn’t expect a shim to affect tone on a solid-body or semi-hollow-body. I could see where it might on a hollow-body or acoustic.
Yeah, I’m just trying to get the thing playable again. I’m just a hack, goof-around kinda player…just when I’m sitting around doing nothing, or want a little down time. I have a Strat I’ve been playing instead.
I pulled all the strings off years ago (I’ve not played this in ~9 years), so I’ll have to get a new set and give the shim thing a try. I don’t require perfection in my tone
I would have said the same thing. Relief- if that is indeed the problem- can be arrived at in a variety of ways. Simply adjusting the truss without considering other factors can make things worse, and I have made good money on such repairs when the rod breaks. If you are determined to try it yourself, I’ll reiterate what was said above; make minute movements, restring to pitch, and allow hours to pass prior to assessing.
It’s fine, man. Unless your neck is twisted, there ain’t a damn thing on a strat that can’t be fixed. And if the neck IS twisted, just get another one. Problem solved.
Two observations about what you state about his reaction:
Squire Strats can be built shoddily and require more work to get “true” - many are just fine, but quality control is not guaranteed in a <$150 guitar
Strats have a floating bridge - you know how they have a whammy bar that can de-tune the strings for cool vibrato or dive-bomb Van Halen affects? Well, that can add complexity to your guitar’s “system” - so truing up the guitar can be complicated. That is likely not a big deal - as **Ogre **said, no tech should balk at a Strat, there an industry standard and modular by design for a reason…
