God! Can someone PLEASE help me fix my Epiphone ES-335 Dot guitar?!?!?!

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pisces7378

pisces7378

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I am so frustrated. I have an older brother that played guitar for most of my life. He was always better than me at playing and at guitar tech type stuff. So he always used to change the strings on my guitars and he always set the action, truss rod, pick up heighth, etc...

Well, now I am all alone. I have been playing the guitar for well over 15 years. I am not arrogant, nor am I some kind of wunderkind guitar virtuoso... but I ain't bad! BUT... I don't know shit about how to maintain a guitar or fix it once problems arise. I have fret buzzing all over the place on my Epiphone ES-335 dot guitar. I know that it is no Gibson, and that it is the "knock-off" version... but I have the action set way above acoustic guitar levels. I have screwed the two screws on either side of the bridge until the strings are quite high off the fret board. But when I play a solo in and around the 12-14th fret I get third and fourth string buzz, and on the 7th-9th fret I get 1st and 2nd string buzz. The bridge screws are set so that the higher pitched strings are set way high and everywhere else on the fret board they are FINE. When I raise this side then the other side buzzes, when I raise the other side then the other side buzzes. By the end of it I feel almost like I am playing a square necked dobro or a pedal steel.

I am just looking for like a BIBLE on Gibson guitars or on electric guitar maintainance in general. I am also amplifier maintainance RETARDED!!!

Anyway... back to my Epiphone problem, what can I do? I know NOTHING about truss rods, or tension rods. I know that you can "break" them. My brother always told me, "do not touch the truss rod unless I am there, befcause you will break it. Now I am not an idiot, despite how it must sound through my brother's orders. I just basically never learned.

Where should I start?

Any book suggestions, and ANY practical tips would be great!!!

Thanks,

Mike
 
Start by taking it to a competent tech.

You can thank me later.:)

It probably needs a fret job, if not replacement of at least a few frets. Possibly a leveling is in order. To check these things the neck needs to be properly adjusted to begin with.

Once that is squared away the tech can set the bridge up for you correctly.

$150-400 depending on how many frets need replacing, and what part of the country you're in.
 
I'm not God but it sounds like the original prob was a backwards bow in the neck and that may have caused some fret loosening too. Sounds like you have everything very far out of adjustment now and my advice would be to take it to a good guitar tech for a Pro Setup. It will prolly run ya 30 to 50 bux. AFTER you have it playable again, worry about all that info that you are seeking on Maintainence and Adjustments.

CR ><>
 
There are a few good books out there. But I can't think of any of the titles just now. Do a search on Amazon and I'm sure you find something.
 
I have an Epi/Gibson knockoff acoustic and the frets are nice big jumbo's. I am pretty sure yours will be the same, the beauty of this is that it can take several fret dressings before needing replacement.
So if it has never had a fret dressing, get one done by a reputable tech. Plus its a lot cheaper than a refret.
I have tried to get the same frets to put on a Strat but the buggers here in Australia won't sell them to me.
 
Ditto on the first two responses.

If you don't know shit about guitar maintenance, take it to a reputable luthier. If you want to learn how to do work on your own guitars, practice on a cheap one, not your main axe.

The buzzing is most likely a truss rod adjustment, after which the intonation and action can be set.

It's usually pretty obvious when you need a fret job, just take a good look at the portions of the neck that get used the most. There will be grooves in the frets where the strings have worn down the metal.
 
If you want to do the job yourself here is a good book.
'Guitar Player Repair Guide'
by Dan Erlewine

It is really easy to set up your guitar, and I highly recommend you make the effort. Of course, a good luthier as the others have suggested is a sensible and cheap option. However, there's nothing like knowing how to tweak your axe yourself.
If you don't want to spring for the book there are many articles on the web that will give you all the information you need.
 
morindae said:
If you want to do the job yourself here is a good book.
'Guitar Player Repair Guide'
by Dan Erlewine

It is really easy to set up your guitar, and I highly recommend you make the effort. Of course, a good luthier as the others have suggested is a sensible and cheap option. However, there's nothing like knowing how to tweak your axe yourself.
If you don't want to spring for the book there are many articles on the web that will give you all the information you need.
Click to expand...

That is a good book! Everybody know how to setup their own guitars. You won't screw anything up if you remember to go slowly.
 
Hopefully its just the truss rod out of adjustment. Do a web serch, there's gotta be1000 web stes with pictures and instructions. You can "break" it (strip the threads) by overtightening if you are a neanderthal with mechanical stuff, but it certainly shouldn't break in the process of adjusting it to where it needs to be, and if it does, then its broken and needs professional help anyway...

Could also be a warped neck.

One other thing to look for if a few of the frets are high in relation to others-
Sometimes, over time, frets will creep up out of their slots, not a lot, but enough to cause some serious buzzing because it will be only certain ones, and to different amounts. I guess caused by humidity, sweat, whatever, I believe repairmen use the term "growing" out of the slots. If that's the case - use a small hammer and a small block of wood to gently tap them back in, just don't have the strings under the block of course...If they don't stay down, you will need to use glue.
 
Major Tom said:
. You can "break" it (strip the threads) by overtightening if you are a neanderthal with mechanical stuff, but it certainly shouldn't break in the process of adjusting it to where it needs to be, and if it does, then its broken and needs professional help anyway...
Click to expand...
Absolutely.....I see people freakin' out about breaking the truss rod but you'd have to be an idiot to do it.......in which case you've got it coming.
 
TAKE

IT

TO

A

TECH

And once the thing is stabilized, dig into some books to learn about how it works. BUT FIRST get it stabilized. It's not a casual job; it takes skill and knowledge.
 
Ain't

Rocket

Science

Here's a test to see if you should attempt a truss rod adjustment:

1) When you attempt to fix or adjust simple mechanical devices at home or at work do you usually ___

a) Throw the now useless piece of crap in the garbage
b) Put the item back into use with its original functinoality restored

If you answered a, take it to a guitar tech right now, before you are tempted to mess with it.

If you answered b, you are probably qualified to read about and then make a truss rod adjustment. The truss rod is just a rod that puts enough back pressure on the neck to counteract the front pressure of the strings. The adjustment when tightened will provide more pressure, when loosened, less. If it gets real hard to turn when approaching thecorrect tension, take the rod's nut off, put a small amount of vaseline, graphite, or KY Jelly on the threads and thrust washer, and re-tighten.

Its kinda like adjusting the tilt steering wheel and setting the position of the driver's seat of your car to where it fits you. Both also tend to need re-adjustment from time to time. It isn't complicated, doesn take that long,and you can tweak it over time. If proper adjustment of the rod doesn't fix the problem, read my post above about high frets and try that - if one is high, you should see dirt squirting out as it gets tapped in. If these methods don't work, I would then take to a professional setter-upper guy.
 
it's not cranking the truss rod that is difficult, it's sorting out all the nifty problems later.

if the neck is warped or the frets are worn unevenly (it sounds like one of these is the case for you), unless you have invested a couple of hundred bucks in straightedges, knowing full well WHY you have, you are probably in no position to actually get this thing back in proper working order. in this case, i think a tech would be a good idea, whether you learn to do the truss rod yourself or not. there's a hell of a lot more to intonation than fiddling with a tune-o-matic and cranking on a truss rod.
 
The answer is four posts back...










:D :D

...And three, twelve and thirteen posts back, as well... :D :cool:
 
Just to add to the information... it isn't fret wear. The guitar is only some months old and there is no sign of fret flattening, scooping, or even rubbing/scrapping. None of the frets look as if they are working their way out of their seat.

I guess I am finding out why this guitar costs like $400 where as it's Gibson counter part costs like $2,600.

What are the true differences between the Epiphone ES-335 and the Gibson ES-335?

I know that the Epiphone is made in Korea or China, and that the electronics are not as good as the 57` Classics that come in the Gibson ES-335. There knobs are a different color, and there is probably just an over all better care taken in the build of the guitar. But as far as wood and raw material is concerned... where is the $2,600 difference?
 
I've got an Epi dot and there's nothing wrong with that guitar that a little TLC won't fix.
 
pisces7378 said:
But as far as wood and raw material is concerned... where is the $2,600 difference?
Click to expand...

In the truss rod adjustment.
 
pisces7378 said:
Just to add to the information... it isn't fret wear. The guitar is only some months old and there is no sign of fret flattening, scooping, or even rubbing/scrapping. None of the frets look as if they are working their way out of their seat.

I guess I am finding out why this guitar costs like $400 where as it's Gibson counter part costs like $2,600.

What are the true differences between the Epiphone ES-335 and the Gibson ES-335?

I know that the Epiphone is made in Korea or China, and that the electronics are not as good as the 57` Classics that come in the Gibson ES-335. There knobs are a different color, and there is probably just an over all better care taken in the build of the guitar. But as far as wood and raw material is concerned... where is the $2,600 difference?
Click to expand...

I have yet to buy a guitar that didn't need a trip to the luthier immediately after purchase, I always have them adjust the bow, intonation and action. Truth is, the condition of most lower end instruments when they come from the factory is pathetic. They just don't pay attention to fit and finish issues the way they used to. As a previous poster mentioned, with a little TLC, these guitars play a hell of a lot better than they did in the store.
 
c7sus said:
In the truss rod adjustment.
Click to expand...

Oh, and the guy that builds the Gibson rides a Harley to work while the guy that builds the Epi rides a bike.

And wears a surgical mask so he doesn't get SARS..............
 
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