Help! AX3 Fret Buzz

[Unquiet Earth]

I recently bought a Music Man Sterling Sub AX3 from an online shop in the UK. The guitar had excessive fret buzz all the way down the neck on the bottom 3 (E,A,D) strings. Because of this, I sent it back for a replacement. I received the replacement today and the guitar has the same problem with fret buzz (in fact it is actually worse than the first) has anyone encountered this problem before with new AX3s? If so, what can I do about it?
Thanks,
Mike.

 

[beej]

Are you sure it's set up correctly? Buzzing is normal if there's not enough relief in the neck.

Best bet is to drop the SBMM guys a line and ask their advice. The info is here:

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/42319-sterling-music-man-usa-contact-info.html

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Are you sure it's set up correctly? Buzzing is normal if there's not enough relief in the neck.

Best bet is to drop the SBMM guys a line and ask their advice. The info is here:

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/42319-sterling-music-man-usa-contact-info.html

It aught to be set up correctly as it's brand new. I have contacted Ernie Ball / Music Man and the UK distributor.

 

[SBMM]

Hello UE, and welcome to the thread.

First off, where did you purchase this from (store/online?)

You can email me directly at [email protected] if you like, or we can transparently handle this through the thread, either way, your choice. We'll get you taken care of

 

[beej]

It aught to be set up correctly as it's brand new.

That's true, but guitars are made of wood after all and are susceptible to environmental changes. It's not uncommon for a truss rod to need a small tweak or two after shipping (and with the change of seasons); it's usually a minor adjustment.

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Hello UE, and welcome to the thread.

First off, where did you purchase this from (store/online?)

You can email me directly at [email protected] if you like, or we can transparently handle this through the thread, either way, your choice. We'll get you taken care of

Thanks. I bought it online.

 

[SBMM]

Yes, I'll echo Beej on this, as wood is very susceptible to environmental changes.

Heat/Cold and humidity are major factors in the instruments' playability. Our UK distributor, Strings & Things, is very diligent with inspections of our instruments once they are received in the UK. There's no telling the length of time that this particular instrument has been stored at the dealer you bought it from, nor the conditions it's been exposed to.

I'm sure that you'll be well taken care of by them. Please keep me informed if you would.

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Yes, I'll echo Beej on this, as wood is very susceptible to environmental changes.

Heat/Cold and humidity are major factors in the instruments' playability. Our UK distributor, Strings & Things, is very diligent with inspections of our instruments once they are received in the UK. There's no telling the length of time that this particular instrument has been stored at the dealer you bought it from, nor the conditions it's been exposed to.

I'm sure that you'll be well taken care of by them. Please keep me informed if you would.

The retailer I bought it from ordered the guitar in specially for me then they say they checked the guitar themselves. So there was only a 2 day period between them checking it and it arriving at my door. Would it be possible that a guitar neck would warp in such a short period of time?

The retailer actually asked me to find out what you said about the guitar.

 

[DrKev]

Would it be possible that a guitar neck would warp in such a short period of time?

Yes.

The guitar may have gone from a dry heated office or retail space to a damp unheated shipping warehouse overnight, the shipping trucks are also unheated, the box could have been thrown around, or had other stuff on top of it. Lots of reasons why a good setup can be disturbed (I spent a year of my life setting up and testing guitars after they were shipping to the warehouse, and then shipping them to customers, so I do know what I'm talking about). Wood will change shape a little with changes in temperature and humidity but it's a resilient material and guitars handle this kind of thing very well. Frequently a one or two simple adjustments is all that is required.

But we don't know what their retailers "check" involved. Maybe they did a 1st class job and this is just a shipping/climate issue. Or perhaps a inexperienced guitar tech who did his own poor setup? Maybe they never looked at it? We just don't know.

Strings & Things will look after you. You could also just bring the guitar to a local tech/luthier and have them look at it. Maybe the online retailer can reimburse you the cost of the setup.

Good luck!

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Yes.

The guitar may have gone from a dry heated office or retail space to a damp unheated shipping warehouse overnight, the shipping trucks are also unheated, the box could have been thrown around, or had other stuff on top of it. Lots of reasons why a good setup can be disturbed (I spent a year of my life setting up and testing guitars after they were shipping to the warehouse, and then shipping them to customers, so I do know what I'm talking about). Wood will change shape a little with changes in temperature and humidity but it's a resilient material and guitars handle this kind of thing very well. Frequently a one or two simple adjustments is all that is required.

But we don't know what their retailers "check" involved. Maybe they did a 1st class job and this is just a shipping/climate issue. Or perhaps a inexperienced guitar tech who did his own poor setup? Maybe they never looked at it? We just don't know.

Strings & Things will look after you. You could also just bring the guitar to a local tech/luthier and have them look at it. Maybe the online retailer can reimburse you the cost of the setup.

Good luck!

Thanks very much for this information.

The retailer assures me they had experienced guitar techs checking the neck and intonation before it was sent out to me. It sounds like it may have occurred in transit or overnight in the delivery depot.

I have been unable to get a response from Strings and Things.

The retailer has advised me to gradually loosen the truss rod, using an 1/8[SUP]th[/SUP] turn at a time, then letting it settle.

 

[DrKev]

Seems reasonable if there is a buzz on the lowest frets, closest to the nut. But if you are buzzing on the 15th fret or higher, you will need to raise the saddles too (the truss rod has no effect where the neck and body join).

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Seems reasonable if there is a buzz on the lowest frets, closest to the nut. But if you are buzzing on the 15th fret or higher, you will need to raise the saddles too (the truss rod has no effect where the neck and body join).

The buzz is definitely at its worst closer to the nut but there is still some buzz beyond the 15[SUP]th[/SUP] fret.

 

[SBMM]

Again, I agree with everything that Beej is saying. Also, it's the absolute craziest time of year in music retail, so I'm sure Strings & Things is quite slammed but will get with your supplier ASAP.

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Again, I agree with everything that Beej is saying. Also, it's the absolute craziest time of year in music retail, so I'm sure Strings & Things is quite slammed but will get with your supplier ASAP.

Well I've been loosening the truss rod by 1/8[SUP]th[/SUP] turn at a time and giving it a good few hours to settle in between. I have now loosened it by 1/2 a turn in total now and it is still buzzing excessively. I'm not really sure how far to keep going.

 

[Bob123]

Its possible the nut is too low, that can wreck all kinds of havoc on a guitar.

 

[DrKev]

Its possible the nut is too low, that can wreck all kinds of havoc on a guitar.

NO. A low nut could certainly cause buzzing open strings (and can make the open strings quite unplayable). But a low nut cannot not cause buzzing when playing any fretted note.

Many a good guitar has been messed up with well-intentioned advice, either misunderstood, misapplied, or sometimes just good old fashioned wrong. Which is why, being the official company forum, when warranties are involved the standard response around here has to be "Call your dealer or customer service".

Right now, this is in the hands of of his dealer and the UK distributor to do their thing (and European dealers have a legal responsibility to do so at no cost to the customer). We leave it with them.

Thanks.

 

[Unquiet Earth]

NO. A low nut could certainly cause buzzing open strings (and can make the open strings quite unplayable). But a low nut cannot not cause buzzing when playing any fretted note.

Many a good guitar has been messed up with well-intentioned advice, either misunderstood, misapplied, or sometimes just good old fashioned wrong. Which is why, being the official company forum, when warranties are involved the standard response around here has to be "Call your dealer or customer service".

Right now, this is in the hands of of his dealer and the UK distributor to do their thing (and European dealers have a legal responsibility to do so at no cost to the customer). We leave it with them.

Thanks.

I have now loosened the truss rod by 6 x 1/8[SUP]th[/SUP] turns. I think the buzz may of lessened slightly on the lower frets but it is just as bad and worst at the 12th fret.
The retailer seems to have run out of advice and Strings and Things still haven't replied.
The guitar I fell in love with in a guitar shop is now the bane of my life!
I'm wondering now whether this guitar was part of a 'bad batch'.

 

[SBMM]

Do you have a trusted technician that you can take the guitar to that you have used in the past with other instruments?

 

[Unquiet Earth]

Do you have a trusted technician that you can take the guitar to that you have used in the past with other instruments?

I am quite new to the area but I do know a local luthier. I actually took the first guitar to him and it was him that advised me to send it back as he described it to be 'unacceptable' for a new guitar to arrive in that state.

I didn't expect the replacement guitar to have the same issue. I am wondering whether he would say the same thing about this guitar.

Is it common to have to have a new guitar setup by a local guitar tech? I have never had to do this before.

 

[ksandvik]

Do you have a trusted technician that you can take the guitar to that you have used in the past with other instruments?

Yes, I would recommend this, too. A good technician could take any guitar and make it extremely nice as an instrument. I've done that with other low-cost brand guitars with good results. I would not expect a low-cost guitar to be perfectly set up compared with a made in USA one (long shipping from Asia with temperature and humidity changes, less time for final polishing and so on...). There's alway one in four low-cost ones that actually are perfect.