Ball Family Reserve KOA Luke Fret Buzz!

[Giancarlo81]

For apparent weather reasons my Luke has fret buzz on the High E, G, B strings on the first 4 frets!
What can I do to fix this problem? I really do still need my guitar at this moment and cannot have it sent to EB for maintenance (Which I would like to do at some point for a proper setup but I bought this guitar from someone and do not know if it still qualifies for warranty service)
Can someone please help???

 

[Hougie]

If you like low action and you deal with any weather changes that is normal. Just give the truss rod a slight turn toward you from playing position (right handed). You can't hurt the guitar with minor adjustments. That is what the truss rod is for. Give it a small turn and see if it helps.

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[DrKev]

Yep, fret buzz on the lower frets, loosen the truss rod a little. Try a 1/8 or 1/4 turn.

 

[Giancarlo81]

@Hougie & DrKev - I attempted the counterclockwise (toward the body {right handed}) turns as you have suggested but no change. I then proceeded to turn that direction until the guitar buzz is mostly gone. My one major concern about this is that, the truss rod was VERY loose when I began but after turning and turning the truss rod has now tightened to the point where I am afraid to tighten it anymore. A friend of mine mentioned that the truss rod may be broken. ??? Is that even an assumption to make?

 

[Benji Peterson]

Has the guitar always buzzed while in your possession or has it just recently started to buzz? If it has just started recently then the truss rod adjustment should get your neck back to where it was before it started buzzing. Most likely temperature or humidity change is the culprit but this is completely normal.
I really don't want to confuse the issue here but when you say the trussrod was almost completely loose that seems to me that it had the most amount of relief or in other words, turned completely COUNTER clockwise, which would impose the opposite kinda of bow to the neck than what we were assuming was the case. So is the bow in your neck bringing the center of the neck (12th fret) closer to the strings than first fret or further away from them?

 

[Giancarlo81]

@Ben Peterson - The guitar did not buzz on arrival But did have me concerned about the truss rod due to its looseness.
The truss rod was really loose before I started turning it counter-clockwise (i.e. guitar body below and neck above, turned to the left). Now the ring is VERY tight.
The neck when looking straight up the guitar is straight/flat now more than before. It has never had buzzing in around the 12th fret only now at the 1,2,3,4 frets.
Can truss rods be broken by turning too far one way or another without breaking or extremely bending the guitar neck?

 

[Benji Peterson]

Did you recently install new strings by chance?

 

[DrKev]

Sounds to me like you've loosened it all the way and the adjustment nut as far back toward the neck pickup as the rout will allow. Get in touch with customer service. They'll help you out. That's what they are ere for.

 

[Giancarlo81]

@Ben Peterson - No, they are old strings. I did down tune to CGCFAD. But it has been in that tuning for over 3-4 months. I'm pretty sure it was the recent weather change and the humidity that has risen.
I'm still concerned with the truss rod looseness though.

 

[Giancarlo81]

@DrKev - Will Customer service help me for free even though I bought the guitar from someone personally?

 

[DrKev]

Customer Service will advise you for free on what the problem might be, how you might be able to fix, and what your options are if you can't fix it. Give them a call, in the US and Canada you can call them toll free! 866-823-2255

If the guitar needs to go in for repair, yes, without a warranty, you'll probably be paying for that.

 

[Giancarlo81]

@DrKev - Thanks for the info.

 

[jmp220478]

Did You fix this issue as I have developed the fret buzz problem on a Luke III with full rosewood neck ...

 

[beej]

If you're getting buzzing on the lower frets, you need to loosen the truss rod to give the neck more relief. That's usually the cause of fret buzz.

 

[jmp220478]

If you're getting buzzing on the lower frets, you need to loosen the truss rod to give the neck more relief. That's usually the cause of fret buzz.

Thanks Beej ..

Is there a useful guide to doing this specific to MM guitars ?

 

[DrKev]

Not really. There are FAQs on the music Man Man website (click here) but it's a guitar and a truss rod and it works the same way any truss rod works.

 

[mudf00t]

I exchanged a Luke III HSS Sunburst for a Black HH yesterday because the fretjob on the HSS was jacked up. When I first got the guitar, all notes at the 14th fret and up were dead. I paid for a pro setup and they were able to get the notes to ring but they were still kind of dead with no sustain. I took the guitar back to GC and they told me it needed a fret job. I just got the guitar on July 3... so I just exchanged it for the HH model they had in stock. Kind of sucks... I liked the Rosewood neck and the sunburst but the HH model does sound better to me.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Is there a useful guide to doing this specific to MM guitars ?

A truss rod works pretty much the same way on any guitar model. The differences are whether they have an adjustment screw or wheel, and placement. I'd recommend you to read about how a truss rod works internally.