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Thread: I Am Such A Dunderhead

  1. #1
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    I Am Such A Dunderhead

    A little while back I wrote on another thread that my new-ish (April, 2018) G&L Tribute Legacy had developed fret buzz on the top three strings (GBE). It's apparent everywhere (open to 12th fret) but more so closer to the neck.

    Well, I bought this as a "cheapie" guitar, even though it looks, feels and sounds great. Until now, that is. So, I decided to see if I could fix it myself. My first attempt was to see if the saddles needed adjusting. Nope. So then I thought maybe a truss rod adjustment.

    Ooh. As I recall, the G&L included some Allen (hex) wrenches.

    Where are they?

    In the increasing mess that is my guitar room, I can't find them. I've looked in every case I own (the G&L didn't include a case) as well as boxes, wire and cable storage, and... nothing.

    I give up. I'm now going to have to pocket my pride and take it to the local shop (good thing it's only a few miles) and have a tech look at it. I'm sure he'll take one glance, give me the ol' stink-eye, and "All it needs is just a flip of this chromium switch," or some such. And I'll look at him sheepishly as he fixes it in less than five minutes and if I'm lucky, the cost will be minimal.

  2. #2
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    Re: I Am Such A Dunderhead

    We're not dunderheads! We all have things we do well, but I'm not a guitar tech!
    I have a "Knock off Tele" that plays pretty well. I'm fortunate to have a good friend, (great country guitar player), to set up my guitars. When I changed the pickups to "Texas Specials", I showed it to him for an opinion on the height. He played it a while, and told me to leave it with him to set it up. I reminded him that he set it up when I first got it, he said "yeah how many years ago?" He brought it back to me a few days later, with new strings, new set up, and he did adjust the pickup height that I wasn't sure about.
    It's like getting a new guitar!

  3. #3
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: I Am Such A Dunderhead

    Thanks for the ego-soothing response, Bill. The truth is that I only started playing true electric guitars a couple of years ago. Most of my life has been spent playing a 12-string acoustic or an old ES-225 (which while it has a single pickup, I played acoustically most of the time). As such, I've been interested in what makes an electric guitar "tick." Barrel saddles, stoptails and hardtails, single-coil and humbuckers, PAF and P90, C, D, and V neck, radius, and more. There's so much more that goes into playing electric (and I haven't even mentioned amps, pedals, cables, tubes, etc.) than into acoustic playing.

    So I figured I ought to learn this stuff.

    Turns out that it's tougher than it looks. At least at first. Some people make it look easy, but that's just the benefit of years. And talent. Kind of like my going to see Jeff Beck in concert last night. He makes it look so easy, but never in this entire life will I be able to play like him!

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    Re: I Am Such A Dunderhead

    Well most of the years I spent playing, I was the drummer. I could cover bass if I had to in country bands, but only had a guitar to fool with at home. I now have guitars, lap, and pedal steel, and have built several clones of old Fender amps. I fool with pedals too, but haven't got brave enough to actually build myself a guitar, (but I'm thinking about it!)

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: I Am Such A Dunderhead

    An update. My final update on this thread:

    I took the G&L to the local guitar shop today. The tech (who I think is also the owner) looked at it and agreed that it needed neck relief. "Do you want me to just adjust the neck, or do a setup?" Figuring that it had never been set up before, I opted to go that route. We agreed on new strings even, and I expect to get it back Thursday or Friday.

    And I still haven't learned how to do my own setup.

  6. #6
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: I Am Such A Dunderhead

    I’m glad you’re moving forward with this. I would highly suggest you buy the Dan Erlewine book from StewMac about working on guitars. There’s probably more information than you currently need, but it’s very thorough and well written. It teaches you the basics of working on guitars. I truly believe that not everyone needs to be a luthier. But it is important to know how to fix and maintain your guitar. For nothing else, it’ll save you from having to run to the shop whenever a little problem arises.

    Maybe you can ask the Tech to sit in while he’s working on your guitar? Most decent Techs aren’t worried about you “stealing” their knowledge. If you do get to, just be a fly on the wall. Most guys, including me, are more than happy to show people the basics. I’m not saying I’m a luthier or a great Tech, but I know things about stuff. I’ve always enjoyed fixing or building things, using tools, that sorta thing. Working on my guitars was a natural progression for me.

    Best of luck to you buddy and take care
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

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