Truss Rod- 7621

[Shooter]

So I just got me an RG7621. I really like it... feels good, sounds ok, lighter on the shoulder than my K7. But of course, being second-hand, it has some set-up problems. The action's a little low, and there's quite a bit of string buzz. I brought the saddles up, but they're pretty much as high as they can get at this point. I'm usually pretty good at setting up my guitars, but I've never adjusted the Truss Rod, and after hearing a lot of warnings about possibly snaping a neck, I just wanted to make sure I've got a good idea of what I'm doing before I go tweaking it. I plan on adjusting it when I swap those crap pickups for some Dimarzios.

So, what I've found so far is basically:

Adjust a 1/4 turn at the most before letting it sit for a while (30 mins?).

Check to see what's happened to the neck before continuing (i.e. if it's starting to look like a U, you may be a screwed.)

Anything else I need to know? I'm almost sure there is. Thanks guys! Oh, and I'm using 9-54s if that helps (Yup, member of the Light-Ass Strings Brigade.)

 

[djpharoah]

Fret buzz doesn't always mean you adjust the truss rod. It might mean your rg7621 needs leveled frets or tweaked bridge.

 

[Shooter]

I know, but the frets look pretty good. How would you tweak the bridge besides adjusting the saddles?

 

[Ryan]

Wheres the buzz coming from? The lower frets? Open notes? Upper registers? Each one could mean different adjustments.

 

[playstopause]

Imo, a little neck "forward bow" sounds like what you need, that is if the strings buzz is all over the neck. Adjust, wait a bit, try the guitar again. I'd go 1/8 of a turn at first as a very subtle change might do wonder. Truss rod adjustements "accidents" are over-exagerated imo. It's quite simple to do and to break your neck, you would have to turn that truss rod a LOT.

That beeing said, Ryan is right and we would need further infos to help you more precisely.

A few links :

FRETS.COM
http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/trussrods.html
Guitar Tip 118 - Truss Rod Adjustment

 

[Apophis]

Give us more info

 

[Shooter]

The string buzz is pretty much just on the lower 4 strings, mostly on the open notes, but it continues a ways up the fretboard, mostly stopping around the 12th fret. The action also feels "tight" if that makes sense... I mean that bends and such are a little more difficult than on my other guitars. The neck looks pretty much dead straight to me, with maybe a VERY slight forward bow (bowed towards the fretboard), though that may be the angled headstock playing tricks on my eyes. Hope that's enough info. Thanks for the advice. I love this guitar so much already, and getting rid of that string buzz would make it PERFECT! (besides some new pickups, of course.) Oh, and should strings be removed and such before adjusting the truss? I only ask because you say you should tweak, check, tweak, check and it would be pretty time-consuming to remove strings, tweak, re-tune strings, check, remove, tweak, re-tune, check, etc. Thanks again!

 

[ibznorange]

did you try raising the bass side of the bridge a little? sometimes thats all it takes

 

[Apophis]

You need to tweak using truss rod for sure. Maybe there were some temperatrures changes in you place??? If buzz is everywhere from the nut to 12th frets the neck is wrong adjusted.
To do that don't do anything with strings, you have to move the rod in that direction witch make the tension even smaller, so don't worry

 

[playstopause]

You're sure your neck is straight? No warp at all?

 

[Shooter]

I just got the guitar, second-hand, so it couldn't be from temperature changes (at least not at my place). The previous owner said he'd had issues with string buzz. The neck doesn't LOOK warped, but that angled headstock could be playing tricks on my eyes. It looks dead straight to me though. It's a fixed bridge, so I can't just raise the bass or treble side, but I have raised the saddles. Those are almost as high as they can go at this point, and I do want fairly low action, of course. The other thing that kinda worries me is that the post office had some major issues getting it to me for some reason. It took over a month to ship, and the box had a big dent in it when it got here... probably dropped, which could account for more string buzz. The dent was so big that it banged up the hardcase that the guitar was in. I don't know, I've never adjusted a truss rod so I'm not sure what to look for that might mean I even NEED to do it, and I'm used to working on floyds more than fixed bridges too. Thanks again for the help.