guitar help!!!!!!!!!!!!

[michaelq]

hey..i'm having a bit of a guitar problem. a pickup of mine fell out, i put it back in cleaned my bridge and other pieces..i think i messed up the intonation and i've heard how to check it with the open/12th fret but all i get is a rattle of the strings... or when it isnt a rattle every fret of every string sounds the same even after i adjust the height of the bridge. if someone could help me out that'd be awesome. thanks. -michael q ..the guitar is a gibson les paul special if that helps any. peace.

 

[Editor]

I noticed nobody replied so I thought I'd jump in. I'm no expert but I'm old ;-)

Sounds like:

A) you've accidentally lowered the bridge too far (do you have the thumbwheel type bridge? ...maybe while cleaning, you turned the wheels real low?)

B) the pickup didn't seat quite right or the pickup height is misadjusted

More info would help ... fret a string and have a look at the fretboard from the side ... where is the string touching? (should be just the fret). Are all the strings buzzing/rattling or just a couple?

Chris

 

[michaelq]

hi chris..it could be either of those problems...i believe i have the thumbwheel type bridge you speak of. i took that completely out-do you know of any rules to follow to realign it? or is it just trial and error. when the pickup popped out i had to put the springs back in which took me forever but i think they just ended up getting scrunched up and now that pickup isnt spring loaded anymore, however the pickup sits lower than its previous position so i dont see how it would make any rattle when the guitar isnt plugged in...i'm not sure though i wouldnt really know. thanks for your help so for and if you or anyone else can add anymore that'd be great. -michael q

 

[juststartingout]

I would start by fixing the pickup properly. Basically, the pickup and mounting bracket have 6 screws. 4 on the corners which mount the bracket to the guitar and 2 in the middle that attach the pickup to the bracket. You need to put the 2 springs around the 2 middle screws between the bracket and pickup. To do that you need to take the pickup bracket off the guitar. You can just unscrew the other pickup (the 4 corners only) to see how it is put together.It make things a lot easier if you take the strings off first.

After the pickup is fixed, you can worry about adjusting the action with the thunmscrews. The pickups need to be adjusted (2 middle screws) until they don't touch the strings when you push down on the last fret (22) after the action is correct. If the guitar was setup properly before, you should be able to just adjust the thumb screws to get rid of the buzz. If that doesn't get rid of the buzz, you should seek out a profesional to do it for you.

 

[Light]

Take it to a good repair shop. It probably needs a setup anyways, and all of the little problems should be taken care of.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Laynestaley]

Take it to a good repair shop. It probably needs a setup anyways, and all of the little problems should be taken care of.

That's what I did, it just seems safer tho leave these things over to the pro's. It shouldn't cost you that much eather. Also the rattling of (some) strings is quite normal and not a problem as long as it isn't picked up by your amp.