Buzz on Low E of new Zavh Myers - normal?

Jomolungma

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Jun 13, 2016
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Hi there,

I took delivery of a new 2014 Zach Myers about two weeks ago, but I've only been home about 4 days in those two weeks to play it :-(

When it arrived, it had the factory .9s installed and I noticed it had a lot of what I would call fret buzz, particularly on the low E string. It didn't seem to matter where I fretted the string, the buzz was still there. It seemed to be more pronounced closer to the nut. It was particularly pronounced when I played the open string. I took it back to Guitar Center (I bought it from Guitar Center online but had it shipped to my local store) and explained the issue. They found some up bow on the neck, which they fixed for free. In the store, it seemed like it was better, but not entirely gone.

I didn't press the issue, however, because I wanted the guitar restrung with .10s. I had them do this and then do a complete new setup on the guitar to make sure everything was straight. When I picked the guitar up, I played it in the store and everything seemed to be great. No buzz, .10s were nice, it was good to go.

I took it home and after playing the guitar for a day the buzz returned on the low E string. If I strike the open string moderately hard it generates buzz, again appearing to come mostly from near the nut. I should note I'm playing it accoustically, not plugged in. When I fret the string, the buzz is definitely diminished, but still present if I'm just fretting somewhere in the first 3-5 frets. Above that, it's pretty much gone. I've checked the tuning on the thing constantly and it is staying in tune, it's just buzzing.

I've never had a semi-hollow guitar before and I haven't had an electric guitar in many years. I have no idea if the buzz is normal. It is, however, disconcerting. It doesn't seem to affect the sound of the guitar much when it is plugged in, but strumming accoustically you can definitely hear it. I've thought maybe it was a nut or tuning peg problem. I'm about to take it back to Guitar Center and just have them order me a new one (I'm within my return window), but I wanted to check here to see if I'm being crazy and this is how it should sound.

So, if you have any thoughts on if this sort of buzz is to be expected or completely abnormal, I'd love to hear it. I really want to embrace the guitar and post my NGD pics!, but this issue is giving me pause - don't want to become too attached if it's getting replaced :-(

Thanks!

Stu
 
I have a 245 and had exactly the same issue. I opened the truss rod cover and gave it a very small left hand turn, and the buzz is completely gone. Effectively I'm just bowing the neck extremely slightly by doing this.
 
Most likely it just needs a truss rod adjustment. That's what they did to fix your guitar at GC. Necks are supposed to have some bow in them because if they're too straight you get fret buzz. Conversely, too bowed and the guitar becomes difficult to play. The guy at GC probably set your action low, which is fine if you have a really light touch. If you hit the strings harder (such as when trying to make an electric sound louder acoustically) a low action will buzz a lot.

Use the truss rod tool that should've come with the guitar to adjust the neck bow. In your case, loosen the nut (turn the nut counter-clockwise) to create more bow. Do it in 1/8th of a turn increments until the buzz goes away. Remember to retune your strings between each adjustment.

Truss rod adjustments are something you'll want to get comfortable with. Necks may shift periodically due to weather and a simple adjustment will keep your guitar playing optimally.
 
Yep - sounds like the neck is adjusting slightly in your house. Quick truss rod adjustment should take care of it.

I had a Hamer neck do that to me once - went to a store about 3.5 hours away from me. Loved how the guitar played, so I bought it. Nice low action, no buzz. Played it a little at home that night - no issues. Two days later, completely fretted out. Had to adjust the truss rod a couple times before I got it dialed in, and haven't touched it since.
 
Hey, thanks for the replies guys. I've been fearful of messing with the truss rod because 1) I'm not a guitar tech and have never even adjusted a truss rod before and 2) it's still in the return period and I didn't want to do anything crazy to void that if the adjustment didn't work.

But I see your point - it's probably something I just need to get over and get comfortable with. I've read about how to do it and how to take it incredibly slow, i.e. just an 1/8th of a turn at a time or so, so I'll just have to give it a go and see what happens. I intellecually know I'm not going to snap the guitar neck by adjusting it that slowly, but I have an irrational fear of it nonetheless. Time to conquer my fear, I guess!
 
Hey, thanks for the replies guys. I've been fearful of messing with the truss rod because 1) I'm not a guitar tech and have never even adjusted a truss rod before and 2) it's still in the return period and I didn't want to do anything crazy to void that if the adjustment didn't work.

But I see your point - it's probably something I just need to get over and get comfortable with. I've read about how to do it and how to take it incredibly slow, i.e. just an 1/8th of a turn at a time or so, so I'll just have to give it a go and see what happens. I intellecually know I'm not going to snap the guitar neck by adjusting it that slowly, but I have an irrational fear of it nonetheless. Time to conquer my fear, I guess!

Totally agree with what everyone has said. They ship half way around the world so a neck that needs a little tweaking after it reaches its destination and acclimates to it is not unusual. I have a couple that I need to give a little nudge to in the fall and in the spring when the climate in the Chicago areas goes through a big swing. And, I've got several that never need to be touched.

Learning is a good thing. It's not that tough. Remember, small steps, and You Tube is your friend.
 
Learning is a good thing. It's not that tough. Remember, small steps, and You Tube is your friend.

This.

I have a 60min lesson every other week. My teacher is also a pretty good tech, so for my last lesson I just had him walk me thru his full setup routine.

We took my SE Singlecut which I had been trying to get to work in drop-C (adjustable bridge almost got it there...) back to standard tuning b/c I now have an SE Holcomb.

Some of my takeaways from his setup:
- Use the most accurate tuner you have - but if it's super-accurate you can make yourself crazy trying to get that last 2 cents of accuracy
- String up low E and high E first, and use those to set bridge height (this was an adjustable wraparound)
- String up G next b/c in his opinion it's hardest to estimate, then the rest
- Make sure intonation is correct for fretted at 12th, harmonics not as important
 
Be careful though to adjust not too much: Even with moderate low string-action some buzz when hitting the strings harder is perfectly normal for any e-guitar as long as you don't hear it through the amp. Of course you can always raise the action but that hinders playing fast and makes playing more uncomfortable. It's always a compromise between action height and fret buzz.
 
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I`m sorry, Ovibos, but I respectfully disagree. I find it`s possible to get the harmonic and 12th fret note in tune with each other. That`s part of why I got into PRS. I`ve never been able to get any other brand to play in tune as consistently as my PRS. I`m an Earvana compensated nut endorser, but I don`t have any on my 7 PRSi. They`re on everything that isn`t PRS.
 
Hey folks, I'm back. So I acquired a straight edge and a string height tool so that I could get a sense of what was wrong and fix it, and it turns out the neck is pretty good. There's a slight bow in it, certainly not a hump, and without getting any buzz on the other strings I decided that maybe that wasn't the problem.

So I watched a YouTube video of "Inspector Tom" from PRS doing a factory check on a 2014 Zach Myers before it goes out to the store. One thing he mentioned caught my attention and I think this may be the problem - string pinch at the nut.

I had no idea what this was - this is really my first legitimate electric guitar - but he mentions something about how on the model he was checking the low E was sitting a bit high in the nut and it should actually rest comfortably in there at the bottom of the nut groove. I looked at my low E and, sure enough, it is stuck about half-way into the nut groove. It's so tight I can't even push it down to the bottom of the groove using pretty solid force. In re-checking the buzzing, it is pretty much locked in that it is coming from right around the nut and first fret. There is no buzz when I finger any of the frets, just when I hit the open string, and it's entirely near the nut.

So would this be my problem? In the video, he demonstrates how to file the nut groove to ease the pinch. Has anyone had to do this before or tried? Any suggestions on tools I might need or websites/videos I could watch as a guide? I'd rather give it a shot at home than get a new nut, because if I screw up I'll just get a new nut but if I do it right I'll save myself some money and learn a thing.

Thanks!
 
When I got my SE custom 24, I was getting fret buzz on the lower strings around the 3rd and 4th frets and also at the 11th fret.
Corrected the action and the truss rod, didn't solve the problem.
Finally I took a fret rocker and checked every fret.
Found 4 frets that were uneven (rare for a prs).
Took it to my luthier for a fret level and dress.
Problem solved and now plays like butter.
 
When I got my SE custom 24, I was getting fret buzz on the lower strings around the 3rd and 4th frets and also at the 11th fret.
Corrected the action and the truss rod, didn't solve the problem.
Finally I took a fret rocker and checked every fret.
Found 4 frets that were uneven (rare for a prs).
Took it to my luthier for a fret level and dress.
Problem solved and now plays like butter.

Ugh. Hope it's not that. Now I'm leaning on just giving this one back and asking for a new one. Hmmm.
 
Setups are very important, if you don't want to learn luthier tech stuff to be able to do it on your own, find the best guy in your area because let's face it, GC is never going to hire a top notch guitar tech for minimum wage.
I'd go that route before I'd take a file to the frets, I've been doing fret dressings since the early 90's and it's an art that has to be mastered. I practiced on beater guitars before I went at a PRS.
 
Setups are very important, if you don't want to learn luthier tech stuff to be able to do it on your own, find the best guy in your area because let's face it, GC is never going to hire a top notch guitar tech for minimum wage.
I'd go that route before I'd take a file to the frets, I've been doing fret dressings since the early 90's and it's an art that has to be mastered. I practiced on beater guitars before I went at a PRS.

You're absolutely right. I was talking out of frustration I guess. I live pretty close to PRS, so there's gotta be a good PRS-experienced luthier in my area. I think I'll go that route if I can't resolve it with just basic stuff. I already noticed my neck pickup is way too low from what their setup video says, and my action is probably a touch high too. So I'll make those adjustments and then see where I'm at. I like my guitar. I'm gonna keep it. I waited forever for it and don't want to start over. I'll just find the right tech - GC was convenient but you're right - and start a hopefully lifelong relationship with my instrument. Thanks for talking sense into me!
 
I`m sorry, Ovibos, but I respectfully disagree. I find it`s possible to get the harmonic and 12th fret note in tune with each other. That`s part of why I got into PRS. I`ve never been able to get any other brand to play in tune as consistently as my PRS. I`m an Earvana compensated nut endorser, but I don`t have any on my 7 PRSi. They`re on everything that isn`t PRS.

Totally; the point was meant to be - if you can't get both to intonate, choose fretted over harmonic bc it reflects 97% of playing.
 
You're absolutely right. I was talking out of frustration I guess. I live pretty close to PRS, so there's gotta be a good PRS-experienced luthier in my area. I think I'll go that route if I can't resolve it with just basic stuff. I already noticed my neck pickup is way too low from what their setup video says, and my action is probably a touch high too. So I'll make those adjustments and then see where I'm at. I like my guitar. I'm gonna keep it. I waited forever for it and don't want to start over. I'll just find the right tech - GC was convenient but you're right - and start a hopefully lifelong relationship with my instrument. Thanks for talking sense into me!
if you`re near the factory in Maryland, I`ll suggest Philtone Music in Baltimore. Phil worked for Paul, and does all my setup work for me. I don`t expect my new guitars to be perfectly to my liking, I start with the knowledge that they start off better than anyone else`s. Then I go to Phil if necessary.
 
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