NGD! First 7 string, with some questions about set up.

[mikeYekim]

I picked up a used Ibanez Rga7 yesterday. I was initially impressed how sweet this thing looks, it just seems classy to me. The binding is a nice cream color (they should have followed suit for the neck, it's paper white). The finish is nice and even, and there was almost no wear and tear on it, this thing looks mint.

The neck feels smooth and extremely playable, it's a very fast guitar. The jumbo frets are a breath of fresh air for me, the hardware seems to be fairly good quality, it stays in tune well, it's a solid guitar. It's also really light compared to my PRS SE Custom 24. The pickups are pretty weak, although chords are surprisingly articulate even with a hell of a lot of gain, they just lack dynamics and they don't respond to pick attack as well as I like them to. There's an EQ switch that's useless (to me anyway) it just makes everything sound like mud.

I have a question in terms of string gauge and set up. It came with 09s, I replaced it with 10s, the B string being a .58. There was a LOT of fret buzz. I checked the neck relief and it's fine, JUST smaller than a credit card. It seems when I raise the action it gets better (not perfect) but by the time I'm kind of satisfied the action is just too high. I don't think it's the nut because the buzz is pretty uniform throughout the neck. It's not terrible anymore, but it's there and it's annoying. Any suggestions?

 

[lewstherin006]

 

[mikeYekim]

Sorry, I'm on my phone and it seems to be giving me issues loading pics, I'm working on it!

EDIT: It's only letting me upload one at a time, I hate computers.

 

[Daf57]

Hey! Congrats on the 1st 7! My first was a RGA as well. Couldn't live with the stock pups and swapped them out for some passives.

Not sure what to tell you about the buzz - my local tech set mine up and I had no problems running the 10-58 set. Good luck with it!

 

[Mik3D23]

HNGD! It's kind of odd that going to a higher gauge did that. Did you happen to check the neck relief before? Also, was there any buzz with the smaller strings?

You say the buzzing is pretty uniform throughout the neck, but can you be more specific? does it buzz more in the first 4-5 frets? Does it buzz more in the middle of the neck? The end of the neck? Are there spots where it doesn't buzz? And is it on all of the strings?

What are you doing to check neck relief, btw? Also, a 58 might be a tad small for a low B on a 25.5" scale.

If it's buzzing mostly in the first 4-5 frets, most likely you need to loosen the truss a tad. If it's okay in the first couple frets, but buzzes a lot in the middle of the neck, which might make sense from going to a higher gauge string set, you need to tighten the truss rod a tad. If it's buzzing all around the neck, but not on every fret; usually on the same fret but adjacent strings, you need to check to make sure the frets are level. You can use a credit card or something similarly stiff/straight as a makeshift fret rocker. Have it span three frets, and try and rock it back and forth over the middle fret. If you hear a click or see it rock, the middle fret is high. Check that all over the neck. I wouldn't imagine that to be the problem though, unless you have frets unseating, or this guitar was played a ton already.

 

[mikeYekim]

I checked the neck relief by using a capo on the first fret and fretting the 17th fret, checked the gap between the 8th fret and the string and it's about a molecule smaller than a credit card, which has always worked for me, I think I may need to raise the action a little bit but I really just don't want to. It seems like the fret buzz is worse on the B string, getting better on the E, A, D so on until the high B and E strings have almost no buzz. I think I do need a thicker B string, the other 6 seem fine but a lot of the buzz I get from the B could be from the small gauge, I think?

 

[Mik3D23]

yeah I would definitely try a thicker B string. too low of tension usually equals more fret buzz

 

[msalazar]

fat strings and medium action should solve your problem.