RG370DX = First new guitar in 8 years ...

[efilflah]

Hey there peeps.

I just bought myself an RG370DX (from GAK) which arrived today. I've been playing the same guitar for 8 years so It's kind of a big step for me (as lame as that sounds). My old Guitar is a B.C. Rich Mockingbird with a fixed bridge and some Seymour Duncans I got from an old high school friend's Randy Rhoades signature guitar. I'll probably end up putting them in the 370 but I need to sort some things out first.

Firstly, my apologies in advance, my technical knowledge is limited when it comes to guitars, the most 'advanced' thing I've done is lower the action on my B.C. Rich which was a fixed bridge, so all I had to do was turn the screws. I have never really played on a guitar with a trem before so couple that with the Floyd Rose system, I'm a bit overwhelmed.

I think it's actually set up pretty well. The first thing I did was loosen the Floyd Rose lock at the headstock and stretch out the strings before retuning, and it hasn't gone out of tune once since (even with me going crazy with the trem). But the trem does sound pretty "creaky", is the best I can describe it as, and not being familiar with it I'm worried it might not be normal. Can anyone put my mind at ease?

Another thing I've noticed, I think the action is too low, there's a slight buzz in the lower string lower frets, however the strings aren't as loose as I'd thought they'd be (compared with one I tried before), about as tight as my fixed bridge on my Mockingbird, so you really have to force bends. I think, going on some info I've read in some posts on here, that the trem angle isn't quite neutral and as such everything is "tight". Could someone tell me how to sort that out please?

Finally, I've noticed that on the top E string at the 12th fret the if you fret that note and play any other notes on the same string directly after (like a shredded scale, or a simple hammer-on) the harmonic of the note rings through over the top, it's like that only fret has uber sustain or something which is really annoying. Is that a result of the above issues, or is it like a severe problem?

So sorry if these are easy questions, and for the long winded post, I just wanted to be thorough.

I found this link http://www.ibanez.com/support/howtos.asp via the a search which looks pretty useful, but it still gets a bit confusing for me, and obviously apprehensive given that it's brand new and I don't want to break anything.

Look forward to your responses.

Thanks in advance

[Praetorian]

Hey, welcome to the world of Ibanez guitars . The low fret buzz is easy enough to take care of, it's usually as simple as raising the action or adjsting the truss rod a tiny bit. Try raising the action first of course. As far as making sure the trem is neutral, just make sure that the bottom of the trem plate is parallel with the body of the guitar, you do that by adjusting the springs in the back. Since the springs are what keep the strings in tune, you'll have to keep re-tuning the guitar every time you adjust the springs. It's a pain at first but the results are worth it. The tightness is typical really, you're bending an already tight string against the springs in the back as well. Nothing to worry about there. About the harmonic issue, do you hear this when it's plugged in? If you only hear it when it's not plugged in, that's normal, but if you hear it when it's plugged in there may be another issue. I don't know a whole lot about this particular trem system, I'm more familiar with the Edge and LoPro trems than I am with the korean made Edge III. Anyway, I hope this helps some.

[gu1tar]

Originally Posted by efilflah

But the trem does sound pretty "creaky", is the best I can describe it as, and not being familiar with it I'm worried it might not be normal. Can anyone put my mind at ease?

I'm not familiar with your specific trem but it might just be "creaky" because it's new. It probably needs a proper setup as well. For some good info on setup, go to www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

Originally Posted by efilflah

Finally, I've noticed that on the top E string at the 12th fret the if you fret that note and play any other notes on the same string directly after (like a shredded scale, or a simple hammer-on) the harmonic of the note rings through over the top, it's like that only fret has uber sustain or something which is really annoying. Is that a result of the above issues, or is it like a severe problem?

It sounds like either you need a truss rod adjustment or the high E string is too low as well (or maybe a fret or two is high). Again, these are all setup issues. Setup is not that easy if you are a beginner. I'd recommend taking it to a shop and letting you watch while they set it up so you can learn.

[efilflah]

Thanks for the responses guys, it's appreciated.

Originally Posted by Praetorian

About the harmonic issue, do you hear this when it's plugged in? If you only hear it when it's not plugged in, that's normal, but if you hear it when it's plugged in there may be another issue.

Yes it happens when it's plugged in.

Originally Posted by gu1tar

I'm not familiar with your specific trem but it might just be "creaky" because it's new. It probably needs a proper setup as well. For some good info on setup, go to www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

Thanks for the link, looks like I got some reading to do

Originally Posted by gu1tar

It sounds like either you need a truss rod adjustment or the high E string is too low as well (or maybe a fret or two is high). Again, these are all setup issues. Setup is not that easy if you are a beginner. I'd recommend taking it to a shop and letting you watch while they set it up so you can learn.

So it's not broken, it's fixable with adjustments then? (lol sorry, I'm just so paranoid). Given that you both mention the truss rod, I guess that might be the root of the issues.

How difficult would you say adjusting the truss rod is? I'm a technical guy, I do a lot of work on PCs, I've just never had to learn about guitars at this level before.

[Roland]

Originally Posted by efilflah

How difficult would you say adjusting the truss rod is? I'm a technical guy, I do a lot of work on PCs, I've just never had to learn about guitars at this level before.

Not difficult in the least. Just be careful on how much you turn - twist the screw one quarter turn at a time. Half a turn at most. (I only do ˝turns when changing string gauges.) On a right handed guitar, turning towards the low E straightens the neck. Turning towards the high E loosens the neck.

[lyconxero]

Yeah, I would definitely take it to a shop for a good setup and ask to watch what they do. Most of those problems sound completely fixable with just a basic setup but as far as the trem "creaking" that might be a symptom of something else. I remember reading a post on here before where someone described hearing a noise like that and it was tied to the nut of the guitar being loose. If that's the case, then to fix it properly you'll want to loosen the nut and THEN tighten it back up. You could also apply some sort of lubricant in between the guitar and the nut which a guitar tech would surely have. I know that I played a brand new S520 in a store the other day and it made a creaking sound when I used the trem so I'm guessing it had a similar problem. Good luck with the guitar, man!

[efilflah]

Again thanks for the responses guys.

Originally Posted by Roland

Not difficult in the least. Just be careful on how much you turn - twist the screw one quarter turn at a time. Half a turn at most. (I only do ˝turns when changing string gauges.) On a right handed guitar, turning towards the low E straightens the neck. Turning towards the high E loosens the neck.

I don't actually know what a truss rod is for, so I'm guessing that whe you say "straightens the neck" you mean rotates the neck in the Z axis slightly? or am I way off base?

Originally Posted by lyconxero

Yeah, I would definitely take it to a shop for a good setup and ask to watch what they do.

I wish I could but I don't have a case or a car, and I wouldn't want to take it on an hour long bus journey. Not to mention that all the music shops in my area are a rip off.

[jdsony]

Yeah without a case it would be a pain to take around. I would expect around $50 to get it setup but it's been a long time and I've never taken a guitar with a floyd in for setup.

Adjusting the truss rod adjusts the angle (curve) of the neck. Basically the neck isn't perfectly straight There is a slight curve going from the nut to the body and adjusting it usually fixes bottoming out on your lower to mid frets (upper frets are usually fixed by adjusting the action). There are some excellent tutorials on this site.

[efilflah]

Argh so complicated!

Heh I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought it. To go from a laughably simple fixed bridge setup to a floyd rose locking trem setup was always going to be confusing to me.

I think I'm finally understanding all of the lingo and what everything does. I'm not gonna risk screwing something up, so I'm gonna arrange a lift to a shop and bite the bullet. I'll get it set up just the way I like it and make sure I pay attention, especially when the guy changes the strings.

Awesome guitar btw, run through guitar rig2 and my pedals it sounds really impressive, and I just can't get enough of wailing with the Whammy!

I'll update the thread when It's all done (don't know how long it'll be though, arranging a lift will take time).

Feel free to leave any quick tips for me, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers for the responses.