fret buzz - above 12th fret

nat1201 · #1 04-05-2002, 05:39 PM

hello everyone,
*I'm having some very noticable buzzing problems from the 12th fret to the 24th on my Jem7VWH. The strange thing is it never used to be like this. I've had the guitar for about 8 months. I've tried raising the action by raising the bridge but when I get it so there's no buzz the action is way too high. This buzzing problem started when I took all the strings of and took the bridge of to tighten the tremolo arm holder. When I assembled everything back together the buzzing was more than it used to be. Does anyone have any Ideas on what to do? Is there a possibility that my neck is defective? When I hold the guitar up and look at the neck to see how straight it is I noticed it is not perfectly straight near the upper frets.
* * Please help.
* * * * * Thank you,
-Nat

littlegreenman · #2 04-05-2002, 05:46 PM

Hmmmm, what way is it not straight? *does it look to bow forward? or backwards, you want the entire fretboard to be pretty much flat, or bowed very slightly forward, if it's bowed back even a little, loosen off your truss rod. *If it just happened, and hasn't been long since you had all the strings off, give it a couple days, it may pull back, otherwise, loosen the truss rod off a bit. *also, check all the neck bolts, it's possible they weren't tightened properly and when all the tension was off, it allowed the neck to move in the pocket a bit, but it sounds like you have a bow in your neck a little bit, hopefully, if the neck is totally straight say to the 12th fret, and then it's got a bow from 12 to 24, it's going to be harder. *If it's a new guitar, and that is the case, I'd get Ibanez to replace the neck, it's fixable, but on a brand new guitar with warranty, you might as well use the warranty.

nat1201 · #3 04-05-2002, 05:56 PM

My neck is very slightly bowed near the upper frets. The neck bows up toward the frets from the 12th to the 24th fret. This is probably why I get the buzz. *If I were to get a replacement neck from Ibanez how much would it cost and how long would it take(about)?
* *

nat1201 · #4 04-05-2002, 05:58 PM

I meant to say the neck bows up toward the strings

littlegreenman · #5 04-05-2002, 06:06 PM

if the headstock is pulling forward, toward the strings, that is ok, if it is pulling away from the strings, that is what is causing the buzz. * If it's a kink in the neck (it is dead straight for a while, and all of a sudden bows away) then it needs to be repaired. *A new neck from Ibanez for a VWH will probably set you back around $600 I would think, and you'd be waiting for a while, you can get it repaired for much cheaper. *I could be way off on the price, but I think the VWH necks were really expensive, I think the DBK was like $450 for a new one. *if you don't have a local guitar tech that can look at the neck, email me, I can do the repair as well, but I'd look for someone local first. *

Jeremy
lgm_guitars@hotmail.com

Rich · #6 04-05-2002, 06:23 PM

If you're still in your warranty period DEFinately go that route.

rgr · #7 04-11-2002, 01:29 AM

It sounds like the fretboard has swelled for it to be raised in the higher frets, a truss rod adjustment won't help. *Take it to a competent luthier or guitar tech to verify this. *If that is what is going on, definitely check on the warranty. *If it's not covered you'll have to have the frets pulled and the fretboard replaned and refretted. *That's still alot cheaper than a new VWH neck. *

Roger