New Vintera 50's Modified (Baja) Won't Stop Buzzing!

[fenderbender69]

Hi all, just bought my first Tele new from a guitar store off reverb, and I'm beginning to wonder if there's something seriously wrong with the neck or frets... (or me)

I set the guitar up with about .011 of relief at the 8th fret, and set the action pretty high at over .080 (~5/64ths) at the 17th fret with a capo on the 1st. Despite this, I have string buzz across most of the fretboard, except for my high e and only a little on the B string. The issue is worst on the bass side, specifically the low E, from the first fret to the 17th. The nut is untouched and pretty high at over .025 on the first fret. I also did the credit card fret-rocking test and it passed with no issues there... Pickup height is 1/8" on the low E and 3/32" on the high e. It doesn't buzz open unless you really wail on the low E or A, and it's still less buzz than if you fret a note.

When I first began to set up the guitar, the truss rod wasn't even engaged and the buzzing was much worse. It improved a fair amount with the adjustments I made but I'd really like to get the buzz totally dialed out, so any insights or experience you guys have on what the issue could be or what my next steps should be would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

P.S., Should mention this is my first time setting up a guitar so I could totally be missing something obvious.

 

[Fretting out]

5/64 at the 12th should give you enough clearance for no buzzing
That may be the lowest you can get

I usually have my relief at .12 and measure action at the 12th without fretting

I can usually get it to

E 5/64 A 5/64 D 5/64 G 4/64 B 4/64 e 4/64

Is this your first guitar?

It sounds like you’re doing everything right

 

[bftfender]

Kinda considered my set up an ongoing process. Get em close initially & then always hone them in. Have never been afraid to take em down pretty far then come back up. Gradually move my Gibson's relief over time..Multi tool is in LR & bandroom..always tweaking. Once they are on..what a joy. Pickup heights make huge tone dif..Kinda became a fun thing to do while wasting time watching TV. Soon as i get new new one , don;t even play it..set it up first always..

 

[RobDaglish]

Mine arrived this morning. I haven’t done anything with it except take it out of the box and play it, but the Low E is quite buzzy, and the action is a little high for my taste. I might be brave and try doing some tweaking myself on this one...

Incidentally, @fenderbender69, what did you make of the “deluxe” gig bag? Underwhelmed?

I bought a new Ibanez bass a few months ago, and it came with a set of instructions if you wanted to set it up, and a set of tools to do it with, and a lead to plug it in - it just felt a bit more like they were pleased you’d bought it than the feeling I got unboxing the tele! Especially when I could have bought two basses for the same price.

 

[Sea Devil]

I know you bought it new, but that doesn't always mean "untouched since it left the factory." So....

Did you put on new strings? Notches and dings on the strings can make them buzz even with a perfect set-up.

The saddles can cause buzzing as well if there are rough spots or uneven wear.

The butt end of the neck could be the culprit. If there's too much relief, the strings can buzz against the higher frets. Ideally, one should remove the strings and set the truss rod so that it's snug when the fretboard is dead flat with no string tension. You need a straight-edge with notches cut out for the frets to be really sure, but if you know your frets are of uniform height you can just use a straight-edge over the frets. (Ace builder Ron Kirn doesn't bother with notched straight-edges, so there's room for difference of opinion.) When you string the guitar up, you can change the relief to taste, but you'll be starting from a better place.

Last of all, your pickups may be high enough to exert some magnetic pull on the strings. That's unlikely, but it sounds as though they're a little high anyway.

 

[Jimmy-rigged]

I'm glad to have found this thread, I've begun to acquire everything I need to build my first partscaster and have never done any setup myself, so I'm apprehensive about it. I have an Epiphone Dot that has a little buzz on the 6th string around frets 3-5, but I've done nothing to adjust the action since I bought it and paid for a setup in '14. I was thinking of switching from 10s to 9s, but since I've just changed the strings and they haven't been played much, I might experiment a little on the Epi, consulting books/internet/etc as necessary. It should be close enough to give me a little experience, just hoping I don't mess up the intonation entirely! If it goes well, later I'll set it up for 9's.

 

[moosie]

First attempt at a setup, no joy, and now you're at a loss.

Get a Pro Setup. Not only will the guitar play well, but you should be able to either watch, or ask about some stuff they did vs what you did. And you have a target result. Your next setup needs to get it at least this good, or you haven't practiced enough.