I recently bought my dream guitar Cutlass RS HSS last year for my Birthday. Initially I was over the moon about the playability and the tone. Out of all the guitars in the Platinum room this one just really came to life. It was I couldn't get over that experience and it stayed with me for weeks until I decided I just had to have it. After several weeks of playing it I began noticed that it buzzes all over the neck. It buzzed when I first bought it but the store worker said that it was because I play to but that's not the case at all. I said no big deal I'll just get a setup and it should be fine. But even afterwards there was still buzzing. A few weeks later I noticed the volume know was cutting around 9-10. It eventually got so bad that the slightest touch on the knob from playing will completely wipe out the signal with a very loud pop in the middle of live performances. Today I was going to practice and now the pickups are putting out a horrific sterile plastic sound. After checking cables, pedals, and amp it is indeed the guitar itself. Within a few months this guitar has become a nightmare.I don't want to take it to a guitar tech at GC because I don't feel they truly care judging from past servicing. Does anyone have any advice?
- Thread starter Treyguy09
- Start date
DrKev
Moderator
You should also call or email Music Man customer service directly (866-893-2255).
Contact | Ernie Ball Music Man
Contact | Ernie Ball Music Man
Your instinct is likely correct about the service you would receive at GC. They would likely tell you anything to make you go away. I can tell you from personal experience that I have played 4 different MM Cutlasses, and never found one to be of poor quality.
I think you have two solid options
1) Return it. Despite all of GC's failings, they do have a kick ass return policy and you should still be within it.
2) Invest in a few tools and learn to do the setup yourself. No basic guitar store setup will be able to give better results than you can with a bit of research and experimentation. There is no magic or rocket science in it.
Get one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Neck-Straight-Notched-Luthiers/dp/B00DALF966
and some feeler gauges including a .25mm one for the truss rod. Lay the ruler thingy on the neck. try to stick the .25mm feller gauge between the ruler and the neck at the 8th fret. Is it too tight to fit? Turn the truss rod to the left. Too big a gap? Then tighten the truss rod by turning it to the right. Do this until the feller gauge is able to barley scrap through, but without too much friction.
Next, buy one of these. String Action Gauge | stewmac.com
lay the gauge on its edge on top of the frets where the body meets the neck (usually at the 17th fret)behind each string, one at a time. Lower/Raise the saddle until the BOTTOM of each string is touching your desired action. I usually stick with 2.25mm at the 17th fret. Some like lower, some like higher depending on how hard they pick the strings when they play.
Still buzzing? It could be you're just being a bit anal. To take your personal bias out of the equation, plug a good set of over-ear headphones into your amp. Pick the string at the fret that's giving you trouble with similar force as you would when playing. Can you hear the buzz through the headphones? If you can, then you have legitimate string buzz. If you can't, then the string buzz is not being transmitted through the pickups anyways, rendering the "problem" totally irrelevant.
EDIT: I reread your post and saw that you are having troubles with the guitar's electronics as well. If that is the case, I would certainly return it.
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