A little help from Guitarists.

[Ray]

Hi,

I brought myself a Yamaha Pacifica 012 (http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/products/productdetail/0,,CNTID%253D60152%2526CTID%253D600003%2526CNTYP%2 53DPRODUCT,00.html) the other week with a Roland amp, so that I could start playing.

It's all going well, except one problem I cant sort out, the bottom string (the thickest one) rattles when I strum it. It rattles against the frets when played even slightly hard.

I've tried adjusting the height of the bridge for that string, but no luck, it still makes that horrible noise when playing it.

I want to be able to adjust the trust rod to make the neck slightly more concave, but I don't think my guitar has access to it to adjust it.

Anyway, I needed you help, to see if anyone knows the answer. Thanks.

[CheeseMonkeys]

Make sure it is in tune. It may just be the guitar. My old shitty guitar did that but my new one dosn't.

[Pat The Baker]

The truss rod is at the top of the neck, right above the nut. That little hole? It should be in there. Turn it counter clockwise... SLOWLY, retune if needed, and then check. When I say slowly, maybe a quarter turn each time. To get that bow in it, you will loosen it, righty tighty, lefty loosey and all.

Also, the nut might actually be worn down, you can shim it with tape or paper or something.
My strat copy's nut is worn down so far I need to replace it really, too lazy though. You might want to look into lighter strings aswell.

I actually just adjusted the truss rod on my Schecter in the opposite direction. The allen wrench I used was 4 mm I believe. My neck was too concave for my liking and I finally decided to adjust it, lowering the action around the mid-range frets aswell.

[Squibbles]

Also, try thinner gauge strings if what Pat said doesn't work. Im gonna assume that the stock size strings are 10's so try a pack of 9s

[Liquid Tension]

Also, try thinner gauge strings if what Pat said doesn't work. Im gonna assume that the stock size strings are 10's so try a pack of 9s

I wouldnt suggest this. If your having a buzzing sound it means that your current strings are too close to the frets. Therefore, you want to increase the distance between the strings and the frets. Heavier strings will be tighter and have more pull on the neck. This will cause the neck to bow forward slightly which increases this distance. Also, tighter strings tend not to buzz as much because they arent as flappy.

Are you in a lowered tuning?

[Pat The Baker]

As long as the guitar is setup correctly, there is nothing wrong with lighter strings. I have 8's with the action just above the buzz level on jumbo frets. But this isnt the case with him, so yeah...

Just adjust the truss rod with the strings you currently have. In some cases you might need to adjust the truss rod after going up or down in guages.

[Squibbles]

I wouldnt suggest this. If your having a buzzing sound it means that your current strings are too close to the frets. Therefore, you want to increase the distance between the strings and the frets. Heavier strings will be tighter and have more pull on the neck. This will cause the neck to bow forward slightly which increases this distance. Also, tighter strings tend not to buzz as much because they arent as flappy.

Are you in a lowered tuning

notice how i said if what pat said to do doesnt work try this

[Slug Moses]

Nice advice, Pat. :cool:

Here's a few things that pop into my mind, Ray:

It could be a combination of problems. You can look down the neck and tell if it's warped. If it looks pretty straight, the truss rod may not be the main problem. The frets may be rising, the low frets may be worn, the nut may be worn.

Remember, if you tweak the truss rod and pull your strings too high, you may run into intonation problems.

Also, it may not be a string only problem. Could be rattling in the nut or saddle, or the tuning head is loose. Take it to a shop.

[Liquid Tension]

notice how i said if what pat said to do doesnt work try this

I was saying it wasnt going to fix his problem, doesnt matter when you do it....

And Pat, I wasn't implying that changing to a lighter string guage was bad, I meant that it wasnt the right advice in this case.

[Squibbles]

Sometimes it is though, that was the case when i got my first acoustic

[Liquid Tension]

I would like you to explain to me why a lighter string guage helps with string buzz.

[Pat The Baker]

At first I though: smaller string, therefore not as close to the frets. But it really doesnt matter because the nut holds them in the same spot.

[Ray]

Thanks for all the help guys. I've tried the trust rod, tweaking it a little. If that doesn't work, i'll take it to the shop.

Cheers.

[RickJamesGhost]

the notch in the bridge might not be even. It may be down further than it's supposed to be. loosen up the string to pop it off, and put a foil gum wrapper in that little notch to make it even, until you can get to the store to buy some epoxy. then buy some epoxy and some plastic powder and fill the uneven part of the notch w/ that. Make sure the gum wrapper is off when you put the epoxy on though. and make sure the epoxy is dry when you put that string on, or it will NEVER come off.

[Squibbles]

I would like you to explain to me why a lighter string guage helps with string buzz.

its sort of like adjusting the trust rod because it makes the distance from the frets higher, making them be able to vibrate without hitting the frets, causing buzz. The reason i said to do this is because a person who is new to guitar might have trouble by adjusting the trust rod because just a little too far might be too much distance or too close

[Smooth]

http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/5363/guitar1zx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Take an Allen Key and put it right there and you can adjust the curve of the neck. I'd suggest taking it your local music store and talking to someone in there because a beginner can easily fuck up a guitar if they try to work on it on their own.

[Squibbles]

The curve of the neck? I think you mean the hight of the strings from the frets. Not trying to be an ass or anything but thats what you meant right?

[Liquid Tension]

The curve of the neck? I think you mean the hight of the strings from the frets. Not trying to be an ass or anything but thats what you meant right?

The truss rod adjusts the bow of the neck, NOT the action (distance between the strings and the frets). However, normally by adjusting the bow of the neck, it will end up changing the action. Anyway, switching to lighter guage string adds relief to the neck which reduces the bow (it bends backwards slightly). Since the bridge remains stationary and the headstock/nut moves backwards a bit, the string get closer to the fret INCREASING buzz.

[Squibbles]

Shit im confused now ahrgh yall are makin my thinking get all messed up lol

[Liquid Tension]

what don't you understand?

[Squibbles]

I just read it wrong and..er nevermind i just read it wrong