Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: preston on January 05, 2008, 04:55:03 PM

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: preston on January 05, 2008, 04:55:03 PM

Hello all.
I've got some nasty buzzing on my Series I beyond the 12th fret... mostly on the E and G strings. Is this a forward bow issue?
Thanx.

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: preston on January 05, 2008, 04:57:34 PM

BTW. E string buzzing begins at about 12 and G buzzing begins around 15th.

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: David Houck on January 05, 2008, 06:45:36 PM

I tend to think that it may more likely be bridge height.  But it wouldn't hurt to try loosening the truss rod nuts an 1/8 of a turn just to see what happens.  If you haven't already, you may want to review Joey's Setup Post (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=311) in the Must Reads section.  And for further illucidation, try this classic (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=303) from the Must Reads.
 
(note: I'm not actually sure illucidation is a word)

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: dfung60 on January 05, 2008, 08:45:33 PM

I'd agree with Dave on this one.  The most likely problem here is that the bridge height is too low.  The other possibility is that you have a high fret or warped fingerboard in the high fret area.
 
Getting the action to be the height you want and buzz-free is a delicate combination of relief in the neck and bridge height.  If you don't have enough relief then it doesn't matter how high you raise the bridge, you'll still buzz.  Conversely, if you have the bridge too low, it won't matter how much relief you dial in, it will still buzz on the higher frets.  The buzz is coming from the vibrating string hitting a fretwire somewhere above where you're fretting.
 
I'd try raising the bridge first to see if you can eliminate the buzz that way.  If you have to move it a long way (more than 1/8) then the problem is probably more serious.  If the high fret action seems reasonable after raising the height, but the low and middle ranges have action that's too high, then you need to reduce the relief to bring things back into alignment.
 
If you really have to crank the bridge up a long way or even the high register of the neck has high action when you eliminate the buzz, then you probably need to look at the fretwork to see if there's a high fret or bump in the fingerboard, something that will probably require a pro to fix.  If you're lucky, it may just be a matter of reseating a loose fret or filing the high fret down a bit.  If it's really a bump in the fingerboard, then you'll probably have to refret the instrument to fix this.
 
In this case, you probably want to attack the bridge height first and not tweak the truss rods.  If the problem was that the bridge was just sitting too low, then you'll probably end up tightening the trussrods rather than loosening them.
 
Good luck,
 
David Fung

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: David Houck on January 05, 2008, 08:55:49 PM

Agreed.

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: cozmik_cowboy on January 06, 2008, 08:24:07 AM

Close, Dave - the act of making clear is elucidation.
 
Peter

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: David Houck on January 06, 2008, 08:39:13 AM

Hah!  Thanks Peter!!

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: lbpesq on January 06, 2008, 08:57:37 AM

Illucidation:  noun -  Learning something new that makes you realize you made a big mistake.
 
Bill, tgo

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: David Houck on January 06, 2008, 09:06:20 AM

IllucidationTM

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: Bradley Young on January 06, 2008, 10:04:13 AM

Thanks goodness I'm not the only spelling bigot here.  I'm glad, too, that most people here are accommodating about corrections-- I thought I was going to be in big trouble the first time I sent a correction for the web site.
 
Whew!

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: preston on January 06, 2008, 10:33:42 AM

Ah...
I so appreciate your elucidation
It has greatly augmented my edification
As I am no longer wrapt in consternation
I move forth, ready to vanquish my, uh...
BUZZIFICATION!
 
Thanks all. I'll let you know who it goes.

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: preston on January 06, 2008, 10:35:31 AM

Dang it!
who = how

Title: Forward Bow?
Post by: David Houck on January 06, 2008, 11:26:25 AM

LOL!  Nice response Preston.
 
BTW; for a short period of time, you can edit your posts by clicking on the little icon at the top right of the post.