I always wanted to say that...
Anyways,
I have an old Squier II Strat, had it for about fourteen years, and somewhere along the way an nameless 15 or 16 year old misunderstood when someone gave him the bit of advice, "find a sound you like and use it." Apparently he thought that meant if there is a screw or an adjustment, just get out the screw driver and fiddle around until it sounds kinda different and neat. Luckily he was not dumb enough to fiddle with the neck bolts or truss rod.
So after pulling it from behind the bookcase, tuning it, and gaining some calluses, I got to the point of setting it back up the right way. I have readjusted the pick up height, changed strings, gave her a through surface cleaning and reset the intonation. Those things seemed easy enough, BUT I'm not really sure of the action. I can't remember if I, err uh, IT was fiddled with...
It sounds good with a proper amount pressure on the strings, but at light pressure, or when I'm stretching for a chord, I get some fret buzz. Also now that I'm actually not actively ignoring barre chords, I'm hearing it alot more, I also went to a lighter gauge string.
So to sum up.
I have ignorantly messed with all sorts of things on it before.
I have changed to lighter strings.
I have an allen wrench and I'm not afraid to use it.
I'm not getting buzz on most easy chords.
I'm not getting buzz while doing scales.
I'm not getting buzz while playing with different riffs I've picked up.
I'm not as ignorent as I once was.
I am getting buzz on spread out chords.
I am getting buzz on some barre chords.
I am getting buzz on some practice exercises.
I am getting buzz while using my ring and pinkie finger.
I know it's probably a strength and flexibility issue, but I'd like a second opinion. I've begun to really fall for my guitar, and if there is something she needs I want to take care of it, also I like to fiddle around with things, but am now wise enough not to fix it if it ain't broke.
James
"Sometimes I slumber on a bed of roses, sometimes I crash in the weeds, one day a bowl full of cherries, one night I'm suckin' on lemons and spittin' out the seeds." -- Roger Clyne
James
Welcome back to playing guitar and welcome to GuitarNoise. I dont know the answers to your questions but I bet someone will. I will leave you with something I have always believed, if they didnt want you to turn the screws then they wouldnt have put the little indentions in the top. LOL
JIm
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
I would guess that all that buzzing is coming from your "newness" to the instrument again, & simply not applying enough pressure on the strings. But you can check a couple things simple enough;
*Does it buzz if you strum it "open"? If so, the action is way too low.
*Measure the string height to check the action. It should be (generally speaking) close to the following;
1rst fret -
1rst string - 1/64
6th string - 2/64
12th fret -
1rst string - 3/64
6th string - 5/64
Further than that, I guess you could have high frets here & there, but I'm willing to bet that you just need to build up a bit of hand strength to firmly get the strings pressed down onto the frets to get the clean sound.
Hope that helps a bit! :)
Oh, & welcome back to the wonderful world of guitar playing!
Hi and welcome back to the guitar, I share you're renewed interest!
The first thing I would do is take it to a pro and have a setup done and fiddle from there in the future. It wasn't the first thing I did, but its in progress now and I should have it back this Friday.
"...I don't know - but whasomever I do, its gots ta be FUNKY!"
High action is a curse for guitars (unless you are playing slide).
Get it straight out fast, man !
Seems the consensus is going towards a wait and see approach. So I'll put the allen wrench down. Other than that my axe has really surpassed how well I thought it would have held up through it's long storage. It stays in tune very well, and the electrical parts don't seem to crackle much at all.
Katmetal thanks for the tech specs, no buzz while playing open. I don't notice any high frets while playing, and when I had the ancients strings off for cleaning I spent a good bit of time on the neck didn't notice any then either. One more question am I measuring from the the fret to the string open? 1/64 doesn't seem like much at all, I think thats almost feeler gauge small.
Geoo I completely agree with you, I'm of the mindset that if it is not able to be adjusted, then the quality is in question from the start.
BmanCV-60 I do plan on taking it to a pro to have it checked out, mostly electrical, I must find one first. There aren't any Indy Guitar Shops around here anymore. I would also like to have a back up by then, or at least loan one from someone.
Rahul Trust me when it first rears it's head as a serious issue, I will do it to it. Not sure it's serious though.
Thanks for all your help on my questions, the problem will probably become mute at a later part this sumer. I'll just start a new thread for all that instead of derailing my own topic.
James
"Sometimes I slumber on a bed of roses, sometimes I crash in the weeds, one day a bowl full of cherries, one night I'm suckin' on lemons and spittin' out the seeds." -- Roger Clyne
Iron Feliks - Yes, those measurements are done from the the fret to the string open. Plus, they are just general numbers to get you in the ballpark. Actually, those numbers are for a very low action. It is easiest to lay the guitar on a table & get down & eyeball it so you are looking across the fretboard at "eye level".
http://www.wikihow.com/Set-Up-a-Guitar - Look at #5.
However, there are variances, of course. Different guitars may have a different setting, depending on nut depth & also how deep the neck is set into its' pocket.
My Ibanez & Jacksons are set very close but a friend's Fender is noticeably higher than mine & looks like it would require some nut filing to get it lower. If you have a bit of patience & some mechanical skill, I feel you could do the settings yourself. Obviously, a good guitar tech may notice other problems, such as a high fret or a flat spot on them.
Good luck! :)
