A Little Luke Help

[guitardan]

Hey all,

Noticing a slight string buzz on the open high E.
Almost like the string vibrating in the nut a bit.
It tends to deaden the open string a little bit, much more noticeable when playing un-plugged. Fretting is fine anywhere on the neck.

High E is an .009

Thinking maybe it was setup for 10's or 11's and the slot is opened a bit too much.

Anyone else experience this on a Luke or any EBMM for that fact?
Suggestions welcome!

Thx - Dan

 

[beej]

Hey Dan,

If you're sure it's not the truss rod (no buzzing on frets 1-5), then I'd have a look at the nut slot and make sure the string is sitting properly. I've had a few guitars come my way that had gunk built up, in most cases a slight rub with a folded piece of high grit sandpaper smoothed the slot and fixed it up.

Beyond that it could certainly be nut height/slot size.

You could shoot the Customer Service guys an email, I'm sure they could help you out.

 

[DrKev]

How would you describe the buzz? Is it sitar-like or more fret-buzz like? Any idea how old the instrument is and did you buy it new? Is it an EBMM compensated nut? If not, do you know if it is original or not?

I would indeed get in touch with customer service and see what they suggest before you do anything. A local tech could perhaps look at it too.

If it's not an issue plugged-in I'd leave it be, but that's just me; it's your instrument you should decide what's important to you.

 

[guitardan]

Thanks guys...

It's an 08' and yes, has the compensated nut, and it sounds more like fret buzz to me.
I inspected the neck and nut this morning, the neck is straight and there is clearance at the 1st fret.
I did notice that the string was not in the channel on the saddle so I reset that, but it didn't change.

It's due for a string change, so I'll inspect the nut real good and clean if needed.
If I can't resolve it, then I'll certainly send off an email to EBMM support.
Might be worth while to also record a little sound clip of whats going on there.

- Dan

 

[guitardan]

Changed the strings, cleaned up the nut, there was some black stuff in there, possibly just from the string.
It didn't help at all. The buzz is still there. Well it's really more like the string is deadened a bit.

I was trying to dial in a little relief on the neck w/ the truss rod, but it's fully CCW and the neck stays flat.

Planing on calling customer service this week.

 

[guitardan]

I called and spoke w/ AJ and he suggested a few things:

Possible nut wear:
Fret the string at the 3rd. fret and test for clearance of the string at the 1st fret.
If it's touching the 1st fret, then the nut has worn or too low.
Not touching, but it's real close, like you can slip a piece of paper under there.
Remedy = Replace the nut, or try to shim it w/ a layer or two of super glue.

Regarding the neck relief:
W/ the truss rod fully CCW, there should be some relief, but because mine has none, the suggestion is that the truss rod may be bound up inside the neck.
Remedy: Try to exert some pressure on the fret board while holding the head stock to see if the truss rod will break free, or to manually force some relief into the neck.
I tried this but didn't gain too much ground and I didn't hear or feel any thing happen w/ the truss rod.

So, I'm going to leave well enough alone for now, at least the neck is straight which I like anyway. And I'll probably order a replacement nut and or try the shimming trick to see if it make any difference.

Peace - Dan

 

[guitardan]

Update:

I ordered and replaced the nut.
But, there is still some work to do.....

The nut slots are factory cuts, and will need to be filed to get to the desired height.

Most important, replacing the nut did NOT fix the problem of the high E string sounding a little dead or muted when played open.
Spoke w/ a friend who builds and fixes guitars, and he thinks it's because the nut (new and original) is filed flat instead of on a downward angle (following the string angle to the tuning key).
When filed flat, the back edge of the nut is the fulcrum point for the string and it can move in the nut slot from that point towards the fret board.
When filed on an angle, the front of the nut is the fulcrum point and the string should not move in the slot.

Makes perfect sense to me from a physics stand point.
Going to take it to him on Monday to get some custom nut filing and setup.

Will report back.

- Dan

 

[guitardan]

Okay, got her done yesterday and she's all fixed up!
We filed the slots on an angle towards the headstock.
Marked the depth by placing the file in the slots of the old one and marking w/ a pencil.
Filed down till we hit the mark, then tested and tweaked till it felt right.

No more deadened high E string, open notes are crisp an clear.

Peace - Dan

 

[FantasyMetal]

Congrats on getting that all fixed up. I've had similar problems with guitars in the past and its no fun. Glad to hear you are all taken care of now though!