RG1527 fret buzz - please help!

[Meelo]

Greetings, forum dwellers.

I've got an Ibanez RG1527 with a terrible, terrible fret buzz all around, plus some dead notes.
Specifically, i remember the 6th string (low E) and 5th are buzzing around the 5th fret,
and there's something between a buzz and a dead-note between the 4th and 6th frets on the top 2 or 3 strings.

The guitar has been set-up professionally, including a (allegedly) comprehensive fret-job. He says he tried filing them normally, and when that didn't work he took a 40cm filer to make sure they were all straight.

Strings are 0.60-0.54-0.44-0.32-0.17-0.13-0.10 - neck should be properly set up.
I must admit i got it back from the tech better than that - only the bass strings were buzzing, and the action was a tad high.
Several weeks later, it deteriorated. I adjusted the truss-rod a little, and since then i can't get it right no matter what.

I'm basically looking for suggestions - are frets to be filed in a certain angle? Could my tech have f***ed up?
Could the guitar be un-repairable? What else can be fixed other than filing frets or a truss rod adjustment?

The action is verging on too high as it is.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[kmanick]

Impossible to say without actually seeing the neck ,b ut I've had many Ibanez 7's and I can get the action nice and low on them. They all needed neck shims to correct the neck angle but wood settles, that's a given to me with a bolt on.
If the frets are level adn the nut is at the right height and the neck relief is correct you should have no problem bringing it down nice and low.

 

[Meelo]

Impossible to say without actually seeing the neck ,b ut I've had many Ibanez 7's and I can get the action nice and low on them. They all needed neck shims to correct the neck angle but wood settles, that's a given to me with a bolt on.
If the frets are level adn the nut is at the right height and the neck relief is correct you should have no problem bringing it down nice and low.

Shimming! Brilliant!
Never occurred to me. Now i've got something to argue to my guitar tech who billed me 150$ after calling me to say he can't fix the fret-buzz.
Thanks a bunch, and if anyone has any more ideas or personal stories to share, i'll be more than happy.

 

[rfseet]

nothing much except kill that tech. he has no business acting like one if he can't even set action nicely.

 

[MJS]

Since the first guy didn't know what he was doing, there's also the possibility that he made something worse in the process of not fixing it. So, just keep in mind that shimming (or anything else) might not help if he screwed anything up with the file.

 

[Meelo]

Since the first guy didn't know what he was doing, there's also the possibility that he made something worse in the process of not fixing it. So, just keep in mind that shimming (or anything else) might not help if he screwed anything up with the file.

I called him up and said i wanted the job done, so it's back with him -
i can't decide if i'm hoping he'd finally fix it or give me my money back :/

Other then over-filing them, which would require that i refret the guitar, what damage can he cause?

 

[MJS]

I called him up and said i wanted the job done, so it's back with him -
i can't decide if i'm hoping he'd finally fix it or give me my money back :/

I probably would have just gone for the refund, since there's a chance the guitar will get worse each time he touches it.

Other then over-filing them, which would require that i refret the guitar, what damage can he cause?

Who knows if he did it right at all. Since he couldn't do a basic setup, I wouldn't even feel confident that he made sure the neck was straight before filing.

 

[Meelo]

I probably would have just gone for the refund, since there's a chance the guitar will get worse each time he touches it.


Who knows if he did it right at all. Since he couldn't do a basic setup, I wouldn't even feel confident that he made sure the neck was straight before filing.

Unfortunately, i can't ask for a refund. There are three or four (allegedly) pro guitar techs in the whole country, and i can't afford to pick a fight with any of them even if i thought i'd actually get my money back.

For general knowledge; are frets to be filed to a level?
Basic logic says they should be filed at some downward slope towards the guitar's body. Am i getting it wrong?

EDIT: i don't mean the individual frets, i am aware of crowning. I mean the total fret height.

 

[MJS]

They should be filed level/straight. Then, any adjustments in relief, angle, etc... would be done through adjusting the truss rod, bridge height, nut, neck shimming, etc.

Basically, someone that knows what they're doing should be able to tell which things are needed to make it all fall into place.