I have an Ibanez RG470 that has a FR Tremelo system. The thing has been strung up for a months or so with no problems. Now all of the sudden the A string is buzzing badly even when fretted all the way up to the 12th fret. It is not because the action is too low, the string isnt touching any frets down the line. If I fret a note and bend the string a little the buzz goes away.
I cannot figure out why this is happening. I have had this happend with fresh strings before but the buzz went away after an hour or so.
Any ideas on how to fix this because it is unplayable right now.
It could have to do with atmospheric conditions i.e. higher or lower humidity which will effect the relief of the neck resulting in some buzz. I’m a bassist, have done setups on basses, but I haven’t worked or guitars and I’m not familiar with the one you have, but if it has a truss rod it may need to be tweaked a little for you to get rid of the buzz.
Is the string sitting in the proper part of the bridge slot? You know, where the slot is on the saddle… sometimes these slots have a burr that prevents the string from seating properly, and the string can buzz on the burr. If that turns out to be the problem, a little very fine sandpaper folded just right can polish that bearing surface pretty well.
The first thing I thought of is either a high fret or the neck is warped, but then you say it happens even if you are playing on the 12th fret so I guess it’s not the neck.
Has anyone adjusted the pickup height lately? Is it hitting the pickup?
Has something come loose on your tremelo system? Usually the string sits on a piece that can move back and forth by an adjustment screw. Is that screw loose?
Well I gave up and tore the bitch down and rebuilt from the ground up. Couldn’t take it anymore. Put a new set of strings on and the buzz went away. I don’t think it was only the string though. The action was fine and the fret hieght was fine.
On a side note, I hate my floyd rose with a passion and it ruins an otherwise great guitar. If this thing could stay in tune for more than a few minutes at a time it would rule. (I am not just talking about with new strings, all the time the thing doesn’t like to stay in tune. Especially the G string. On all 5 of my guitars if one string is out of wack its the G everytime)
(with great effort restrains self from making another nut joke…)
I’ve known a few people who have locked their floyd rose into place for exactly that reason. Kinda ruins the whole reason for its existance, but it will prevent tuning problems. I don’t have any problems with the tremelo on my guitar, except when I first put new strings on it. Seems to go wildly out of tune for the first few days and I’m constantly loosening the damn nuts and re-tuning it. After the first few days the adjustments on the tremelo are sufficient.
I play a Warlock with a Floyd Rose and I’ve found a few things out over the years.
Keeping the locks tight on the nut will take care of quite a few problems
If you are using a very low tuning (like C# or even as low as B) there is very little that will be of any help whatsoever.
Heavier strings hold a tune better than lighter strings. When I have to do lead work I will typically play on .12s or higher, it’s a little tough on the fingers at first but the strings, especially that pesky G [insert joke here] will more often stay in tune.
Many years ago, back in the dark ages when I was taking my first lessons my teacher showed me a litle trick that works wonders. When you are putting a new string on your axe, after you get it to a reasonable tension, give it a few tugs upward (away from the top as oppossed to towards the head) to kind of “pre-stretch” the string. If you tune it first then stretch it you will find that the drop it close to the drop you usually experience between playins on a new set…I wonder if Cecil could explain why