Guitar neck buzz

[rwn]

Hey all, this is my first post here :]

I'm relatively new to guitar playing (~7 months now) and recently my Yamaha, which played perfectly for around 2 months, started buzzing in the neck. I took it to my local guitar center to get it checked out as well as replace the strings, and the guy there confirmed it was coming from the truss rod, but said there was nothing he could do. He went on to say that my guitar neck/truss rod was too straight and is therefore making it vibrate. It only vibrates on the 6th, 5th, and 4th open strings (the 4th being the most apparent). Could I not just adjust the truss rod (not sure if I should tighten or loosen it) to make it slightly bowed? I've also read about putting some type of glue around the place where the truss rod is to stop it from vibrating, but that process looks a bit tedious.

Any help on how or if I can actually fix this is greatly appreciated,

Thank you!

[charles Tauber]

Start by determining if the neck of your guitar is, indeed, too straight. Fret the 6th string at the first fret with your left hand. Using the baby finger of your right hand, depress the 6th string at the 15th or so fret. The bottom of the string provides you a straight edge. There should be about .010" of clearance between the top of the 7th fret and the bottom of the 6th string when fretted as described above. You can use the index finger of your right hand to depress the fretted 6th string and test the amount of clearance there is at the 7th fret. There should be clearance, but minimal.

If there is not at least .005", it is too straight. If it is too straight, loosen the truss rod, turning the nut on the rod counter-clockwise when viewed from the end from which you are turning it. Turn the nut about 1/8 of a revolution and re-check the results. You do not need to wait to check the results. If still too straight, turn it another 1/8 revolution and recheck.

A by-product of the curvature of the neck is that it affects the distance from the bottom of the strings to the top of the first fret. If this distance is too small, the open strings will buzz/rattle against the first fret. The purpose of adjusting the truss rod is NOT to purposely adjust the string height at the first fret. Adjusting the string height at the nut (first fret) is a separate, independent adjustment.

From your description, adding the correct curvature of the neck, MAY be the solution to the buzzing of the open 4, 5 and 6th string. If the neck curvature is set correctly, and the open strings still buzz, likely, the groves in the nut for the 4, 5 and 6th string are slightly too deep and are what are causing the buzzing you are experiencing. If that is the case, take it to a repair person who is well reputed. Guitar Center is a hit-and-miss in terms of knowledge and repair skill: some Guitar Centers have skilled people while others have those who are entirely without skills.

Based upon what you've described, it likely has nothing to do with the truss rod being loose.

[Alan Carruth]

Truss rods can buzz when there's no tension on them, and sometimes even tightening the rod a little will cure the buzz. It may be that doing so won't cause a noticeable change in the relief.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Alan Carruth

Truss rods can buzz when there's no tension on them, and sometimes even tightening the rod a little will cure the buzz. It may be that doing so won't cause a noticeable change in the relief.

Very true.

I assumed that the guy at Guitar Center would have already ruled that out since he stated, "there was nothing he could do". I'm assuming that he would have been able to apply tension to the rod.