Fret Buzz, adjusting action

I have a floyd rose, and strings are close to my fretboard as I like it. But lately the G string has started to buzz a fair bit, and it's rather annoying. I'm pretty much a n00b with all the technical aspects of having an electric guitar, and I've been told I shouldn't mess too much with the floyd rose as it can bring it out of tune (Don't know the english word... But you know. Like if open string and the 12th fret isn't an octave and so on, because you've adjusted something you shouldn't)

So how do I go about adjusting this without ruining anything? ;)

Personally, I don't own a single guitar with a Floyd Rose... I have worked on quite a bit of them though. The word I think you were searching for is "intonation" that's when the notes throughout the fretboard aren't completly in tune. You can mess that up pretty easily along with a host of other things on a Floyd Rose. It's been awhile since I've worked with a Floyd Rose so I'm not positive about your specific Floyd. But the saddles should have screws on them. These screws can be adjusted up or down (perpendicular to the body of the guitar... pulling the string farther away from the body or closer). That is how you adjust action... This will slightly mess with the intonation, but you probably won't be able to tell unless you hook a tuner up to the guitar.

With your specific case however, it sounds like you may have a bit of fret wear. Usually when a fret buzz developes it's not the bridge that has shifted. It's usually a case of either the neck warping, twisting, settling, or just a change in atmosphere can cause the wood to temporarily dry up or absorb more moisture... I believe yours is probably fret wear. If you inspect your frets and see noticable grooves being worn into the frets I bet this is your prob. Adjusting the action may fix the problem temporarily but if left unattended the frets will just get worn down more. There's my diagnosis... If you are uncertain about anything, just take it to a tech. Someone else that knows more about Floyds can correct me if I'm wrong about the action adjustment.

Thanks, I'll look into it. Maybe take it to some kind of expert, though I can't really afford it at the moment :P

I got guitars both with real floyds and with licensed by floyds. They can vary. The action is only adjustable on the ends that is close to both E strings. I'm talking about the big allen screws that also work as pivit points for the bridge to go up and down. The only way I know of to individually raise one is to shim it up. Don't try this at home. Alot can go wrong. Because G is in the middle I would sacrifice your low action by raising both allen big pivit screws I mean 3 or 4 millimeter big. Then after you save your money a tech is a good idea. Floyds are a hassel but for live whammy fun and stayin in tune thay are my favorite.

sorry for changin the subject, but its along the same lines and i didnt wanna make a new thread....

how would you go about changing the action by yourself?

i just bought a new electric and the low E and A strings both buzz. its a tunomatic bridge (if that has anything to do with it- i donno)

i dont wanna pay for a guitar checkup right now :p

I think along the way there has been a common misconception about the relationship of fret buzzing and action adjustments... An action adjustment in most common fret buzz cases won't single handedly fix the fret buzz... Fret buzz can be caused by many factors besides low action such as: Worn nut, low frets, high frets, neck warping/twisting/swelling, and/or a tight truss rod.... among some other less common ones. Most fret buzz problems generally have to do with something in that list of common causes and adjusting the action won't fix the problem.

With that being said... anytime your guitar develops a fret buzz don't automatically assume that you need to adjust the action. For the case of the e and A buzzing with a tune-o-matic... and you said you just got the guitar. I am curious to know if the guitar is new or used. If the gutar is used someone may have messed with the bridge and it may need to be adjusted back to factory specs. If it's new... it's probably not the bridge. Depending on the quality of the guitar depends on how well they set it up at the factory but all guitars get a setup that should make the guitar playable without buzz. I would look into it a little more than just cranking on the bridge.... But to satisfy your hankering for learning to adjust the action of a Tune-o-Matic here ya go............

Tune-o-Matics are different in that the saddles are adjustable only in back and forth (intonation adjustment)... the Tune-o-Matic itself sits on two studs.... with thumb screws for adjusting the bridge up and down. The way that you adjust this is by relieving string tension. Since you are adjusting up it's easier to do it without string tension. Next screw these thumb screws to the left (I believe... whichever way raises the bridge). Only give a couple turns on the screw otherwise you will mess up the intonation and the action will be too high.... That's basically it. Just remember though not all fret buzzs can be fixed by adjusting action.

Originally Posted by: aschleman I am curious to know if the guitar is new or used. If the gutar is used someone may have messed with the bridge and it may need to be adjusted back to factory specs. If it's new... it's probably not the bridge. Depending on the quality of the guitar depends on how well they set it up at the factory but all guitars get a setup that should make the guitar playable without buzz.

its a new guitar.

an Agile Valkyrie - a gibson rip off but its still a great quality guitar for the money. but yeah, i havnt brought it in to the music store or anything- ill wing it and try to fix it myself. if i screw up, heck ill bring it in and they can have fun with it lol.

thanks.

Originally Posted by: Brian H.I got guitars both with real floyds and with licensed by floyds. They can vary. The action is only adjustable on the ends that is close to both E strings. I'm talking about the big allen screws that also work as pivit points for the bridge to go up and down. The only way I know of to individually raise one is to shim it up. Don't try this at home. Alot can go wrong. Because G is in the middle I would sacrifice your low action by raising both allen big pivit screws I mean 3 or 4 millimeter big. Then after you save your money a tech is a good idea. Floyds are a hassel but for live whammy fun and stayin in tune thay are my favorite.

The fine tuners set the action too. They push the saddles up or pull down to change the height, not just allow you to perfectly tune your guitar.