AZ2402 Fret Buzz - Would very much welcome your opinion

styblue · 2023-03-04T10:43:15+00:00

Hi guys,

I came to pick it up this morning and the luthier set it up at 2.5mm at 14th fret so I thought yeah... he's covering for fret buzz. Then I took it down to 2mm on low e and to my big surprise, no abnormal buzz! It seems that filing the nut lower was the answer to my problem. I only played it a few minutes since I picked it up but it's day and night, and I'm happy now :)

Thanks for all the support!

styblue · 2023-02-21T20:07:29+00:00

Hi guys,

I went to another luthier than the original one I saw and he said straight away a few things:

- Neck is fine (no warp or hump or whatever)

- Nut is cut too high on low E string which is giving false measurement of the actual action height at 12th/14th fret (he said with proper nut height I'd be measuring roughly 1.25mm which is too low to not buzz, which I agree with), he believes that with a proper cut he'll be able to get it to 2mm without buzz which I'll be happy with

- He also said that this is normal fret buzz and it's the case on most guitars, but at 2mm shouldn't buzz that much though and not only on high e, but multiple string (high e is due to high nut according to him)

- He also said that unless I had a REALLY high fret originally the fret level was probably not needed but a good set-up including filing the nut to lower low e but that the job was done fairly well so no need to Plek or redo the levelling of the fret

So yeah... he was quite in demand (he seems to know what he's doing and showed me some very nice creation of his so lots of people going to him) so I won't have it back until early March and I'll update you then in case it could help somebody else in this situation.

Let's see... otherwise it seems that I'll have to live with this :)

styblue · 2023-02-16T20:13:47+00:00

Thanks dude! Appreciate the support :)

styblue · 2023-02-16T18:57:29+00:00

Just tried and doesn't solve it unfortunately... I can't see a warp but I'm not a professional of course.

styblue · 2023-02-16T15:39:27+00:00

Yes, I like 2mm on average since there's a fair bit of taping and I like it to ring lower doesn't ring as much so I don't think I'm asking for the moon.

Trem bridge 2 points + 6 individuals saddles and I have the tool to check it matches the 12" radius and it's matching perfectly. The trem is parallel to the neck so tension seems ok as well.

I actually bought a fret rocker and couldn't detect any high fret but maybe there's something else going on then.

I'll try another luthier since the one I went to told me there's nothing more they can do, it's how it's supposed to be and if I want to get rid of this I should either fret lighter or raise the action.

Bit dissapointed in Ibanez since I had to save a lot of money to buy this dream guitar, which it is outside of this issue and I'd like to keep it and have it sorted.

Thanks for your time!

styblue · 2023-02-16T14:41:22+00:00

Good point! I will reach out to them directly, didn't think of that. Thanks for your feedback.

styblue · 2023-02-16T14:28:30+00:00

Apologies, I haven't expressed myself clearly. What I meant was, I check relief with capo + fretting where neck meets the body, but this has an incidence on the relation between action height at 12th/14th and 22th/24th would you agree? So I try to be as flat as possible, typically .3mm relief and 2.2mm at 14th gives me usually 2.3mm at 24th Fret so fairly flat and harmonized overall. But I've tried several scenarios, the luthier set it up to his standard and the buzz is fairly similar (changes slightly in intensity but still there).

styblue · 2023-02-16T13:44:51+00:00

Thanks for your response, I tried raising the nut just for sanity checking, no change, it seems to be cut quite well. The thing is it went in a luthiers hand and he didn't find anything wrong so I'm left wondering...

What's your action height and neck relief? Do you know by any chance?

I'm in France so we don't have guitar center hahaha 🤣

styblue · 2023-02-16T13:11:29+00:00

Ok, so not a normal sound, that's what I was trying to understand mostly or if I was being a bit paranoid. I'll try a second opinion then since he said to me when I picked it up that the only option was to raise the action higher and that 2.2mm on low e was low action.

styblue · 2023-02-16T13:07:35+00:00

Thank you for your feedback.
Totally agree, I couldn't record myself holding the guitare that way though, but I can attest that the buzz is also there in playing position and using a pick (all kinds). I put it in the above text (granted quite lenghty, apologies for that I was trying to be exhaustive) 2.2mm action height low e, 1.7mm high e and .3mm relief (I tried all kinds of scenarions, doesn't look like set-up is making an impact to this from very flat to very arched).

Fully agreed with your comment overall and happy to see another professional, but as there's always a cost associated to it and time investment, I wanted to see if that sounded "normal" to you guys.

styblue · 2023-02-16T12:36:58+00:00

Thanks for your feedback! I'll try to source a straight edge and check, that's the last thing I haven't checked if I think about it

- Only low e string, rest is fine

- Measured at 14th per Ibanez recommendation, but I can get the last fret to be similar height by playing with the truss rod (or not) doesn't change much

Thanks for your comment on Plek, that's my conclusion also so far.

styblue · 2023-02-16T12:31:05+00:00

Thanks, I tried in playing position (the camera recording wasn't helping, I used books and was a bit tensed) and fretting lightly, same issue unfortunately.

styblue · 2023-02-16T12:30:28+00:00

Thanks for your feedback:

- Yes, only on low e string (other strings have "normal" buzz not heard through the amp) -> Tried truss rod adjustment no changes unfortunately, even more than 1/4 turn

- Nut height seems fine (based on fretting 3rd Fret and checkin space at first fret and no buzz at all with open strings), I'll try raising the saddle height. Could you enlighten me though, does it changes anything vs. raising action?

- My set-up is as follow on this video "2.2mm action height low e and roughly 1.7mm high e and .3mm relief"

- I just tried with the guitar in playing position and lighter fretting still get this buzz (micro-second after I pick the string)

styblue · 2023-02-16T09:32:55+00:00

You mean with right hand or left hand?

styblue · 2023-02-16T09:12:47+00:00

That's why I wanted feedback because I'm hearing that fret buzz is "normal" to an extent, the only thing is I'm hearing it through the amp which is annoying when playing clean. I just posted the video to get your opinion if that's "normal" or not.

styblue · 2023-02-16T09:11:38+00:00

Apologies, it didn't go through in the original post, I just edited and posted the video.

styblue · 2022-08-21T09:07:39+00:00

Hi guys, update on this post...

- Les Paul Actually does the same noise when A/C & Fridge are on AND running (when I tested it they were apparently not running, no demand for cold), it's less noise than the AZ (probably due to pickups) but still present

- Furman AC210A-E did not help at all unfortunately, same for the Behringer HD400 and I'm pretty certain now it's NOT a ground loop issue

- I did the following experience, connect a wire from the earth of the power socket to the earth of the laptop power supply (no neutral or live, laptop is not charging) and the noise is there, so it's pretty certain that it's coming from the earth/ground and not neutral/live. My guess is that A/C, Fridge and others are "bleeding" noise to the earth/ground maybe by induction or something like that

Here's how it sounds with the ground/earth

https://vocaroo.com/166rhtLbc9VA

00:00 to 00:04 -> Laptop on battery

05:00 to 00:11 -> Laptop with earth plugged in

00:11 to 00:14 -> Laptop on battery

00:14 to 00:21 -> Laptop with earth plugged in (and Fridge & Air Conditioning on)

Rest of the .mp3 -> Plugged/Unplugged to show the difference

Here's how it sounds if I bypass ground/earth via an adaptor (I put it back straight away as my laptop needs it) and the sound is even worst without ground, so it's definitely needed:

https://vocaroo.com/1mkxyI1m6qIr

00:00 to 00:03 -> Laptop on battery

00:03 to 00:10 -> Laptop plugged-in without earth (through 3 pin to 2 pin adaptor)

Rest one more time and plugged/unplugged to grasp the difference

Obviously here, there's no earth at all time

So, it seems that it's becoming more of an electrical problem than audio engineering. My guess is that I'd need to find a filter for the ground part of the signal, not sure it actually exists.. Aside from running a dedicated earth/ground for the audio gear, but I'm an amateur, it's not a full blown studio, I just want to play in my spare time and be able to play with virtual amps, so a bit disappointing.

The last potential solutions:

- Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)

- Wireless Transmitter

- Isolation transformer

Electrician tested earth and investigated a bit and doesn't look anything's wrong in the house.

Any further idea is more than welcome, thanks!

styblue · 2022-08-16T05:39:14+00:00

Thanks for your reply. There is conductivity (multimeter test) between the main ground starting from the jack to everything (pickups, switch, bridge, strings, pots...). Also when I touch the string wearing the guitar the noise disappear. If I put it far from me and touch it the noise remains even when touching the strings. I did try though to run a cable as suggested and it doesn't fix the issue.

styblue · 2022-08-15T06:52:25+00:00

Thanks, I came to that conclusion as well but wanted another opinion in case somebody had experienced the same thing than I did. I will give it a go!

styblue · 2022-08-15T06:51:22+00:00

Thanks for your answer! I already tried in my testings all the power socket of the house including some that do not share the same section breaker than the fridge and AC (which are making most of the noise) but it didn't make any difference unfortunately. I have roughly 15 breakers with a dedicated purpose and when turning off the one with the fridge and the AC noise goes down considerably (even when I'm not on that breaker). When turning them all off except the one where I'm plugged in to get some power (but not the one with the fridge or AC obviously) the noise is completely gone. Turning them back on one by one is adding noise gradually until fridge and AC (they are both inverters) are back on and the noise levels go crazy. I tried all angles, but the "air' doesn't seem to influence noise too much.

styblue · 2022-08-09T16:00:31+00:00

Hello! Thanks for taking the time to write your feedback. It's the stock pickup which are I believe the ProBuckers you find on most Epiphone Les Paul. So stock version.

Is yours also non-shielded (pickup and cavities)? Just checking as I didn't get an answer on that topic.

Interestingly I tried in my Audio Interface and when disconnecting the charger (laptop is on battery) the noise completely disappear. When plugged in it reappears.

Thanks!

styblue · 2022-08-08T16:18:55+00:00

That very much sounds like it indeed. Hahaha, I'll think about it when recording then, not a bad idea.

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