Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Mark,

I suspect that that's what I'm dealing with on my 4003S. I'm encountering buzz at frets 4 thruu 7. I have changed strings from GHS Brite flats to Elixir 45-105 Rounds.

How does one deal with this?

Many Thanks,
Garry

This goes back to 'SET-UP 101'

1- tune to pitch using your standard brand and gauge of string
2 -adjust truss rod(s)
3- check nut slot depth
4- set bridge height
5- lower pickups
6-Strobe tune/intonate
7- re set pickup height ,start with the bridge pickup first , then the neck .If you have three , then balance the neck and bridge first , then set the middle to your preference.Meaning ...if you never play it alone , then perhaps you may need it lower for more picking room , or for less 'out of phase tone' .


I think that you may have a truss rod /fretboard radius issue .

After checking all of those things , there is a slight possibility of a grain situation that may be causing this.
I am seeing more and more of this due to the quality of woods available and clear maple is not in the supplies that it once was .
Fender is also having troubles with this.

However...This may NOT be the case , but lets check everything.

Things to look for;

A continuous circle of dark grain in the middle of the neck .This appears like an island ... very noticable .

Next thing , look at the grain pattern at the body end .The neck area only ...
does it curl in a tight circle? is it straight?
does it have a gentle bend in the dark grain lines ?

If you have a tight circle pattern , this comes from the center of a tree or from a very young tree.
This wood may be 'clear' but the strength of such a tree is well know .
Ever see what a young tree does in the wind?

Let me know what you see ...Hopefully you have long grain lines .

...nuthin' but JetGlo, sorry.

In that case , Lets start here .

When you hold down the E string at the first fret , and the last fret,at the same time (you might use a capo it makes this easier ) do you have any kind of a gap between the bottom of the string and the 12th fret ?

What about at the 5th fret?

You MUST check this with BOTH ends pressed down .

The string is a straightedge , and pressing it down shows how much of a dip in the neck there is.

If the string is touching at either point , then the truss rod(s) must be backed off.

If the string does NOT touch either place , then it should in theory be fine .However , you could have a loose fret .

You could have frets that are not level.

Does this buzzing happen when you are NOT plugged in?
Does it happen when you are plugged in?

So I have been thinking about this and there are only a few possibilites that this can be .

on the down side ;

1- the truss rods need to be loosened, or
2- you have loose frets, or
3- there is a hump in the neck at the 8th to 12th fret , and that is a surgical fix only.

On the up side ;
1-you just need a slight dressing of the frets , and some new strings
2- a complete set up
3-you need to plug in and just play (playing an unplugged instruments WILL buzz )

Worst case that it could be , you have a hump , it's out of warranty , and to fix this , the fretboard needs to be planed under string tension .This simulates the 'hump' that is there WITH strings tuned to pitch, then sand this hump out of the fretboard , refret , respray the fretboard and set it up .

Sound like a horrible thing , but in reality ...this isnotthat uncommon from any maker .Wood has a mind of it's own .It move where it wants to.

This is why I will NOT make a neck from figured maple.Where does the grain think it is going?

Resolution…

Cause: Unevenly tightened truss rods. I detuned, loosened both, gave each 1/8 turn, tuned up, tried it out, repeated till it just started to audibly buzz, and closed it up.

Dodged the bullet on the Rick Root Canal!!

Garry