AVALON D201 SET-UP (BUZZING)

[JFKHAWAII]

Greetings,

I am the proud new owner of the Czech built D201. Guitar sounds incredible, however, I often like to strum hard and the guitar returns to buzzing at the 1-5th position EADG strings even though I believe the action is high at the 12th position AND I have added (1/8 - 1/4 CCW turns of relief three or more times.) Each time I add a smidgon of relief the buzzing goes away, to eventually return after some hard playing ?? . The strings are D'Addario lights. The guitar has remained in the same room in the same relative humidity and temperature.

Are truss rods known to slip? Any suggestions ?

Respectfully,
JFK

[JB]

The guitar will have been set for D'Addario EXP16's 12-53 gauge, it the gauge of string you're using now is not the same then the neck may well have straightened slightly.

Hold the string down at the 1st and 13th fret and check for a gap between the string and the top of the 7th fret ... there should be a small gap, enough to get a slip of paper through. If you don't see a gap then the neck is too straight and a truss-rod adjustment may be needed for the lighter strings.

edit : Hawaii can be a troublesome spot with humidity, remember you want the levels to be in the region of 45 - 65% to be safe.

[JFKHAWAII]

Hi JFK

Welcome aboard.

Never heard of a truss rod slipping.

I always find this link really useful when trying to eliminate the causes of buzzing and rattling.

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier ... zlist.html

If you are playing hard, regularly, maybe the strings are beginning to wear? If the issue is frets 1-5, it might well be the nut. Another possibility could be a loose brace.

I hear that the humidity in Hawaii is relatively high, so I suppose a new wooden guitar from Eastern Europe may well need some adjustment after a long arduous journey.

A great thing about this forum is that Jim(JB) from Avalon drops in most days and is a fount of wisdom on all guitar issues. No doubt he will be along shortly.

Good luck in solving the problem.

John

John,
Thanks for your quick and informative reply. the link is outstanding and I will get to work on this today. Sorry if my nickname confused you, I am from Hawaii but recently settled in the Bluegrass of Kentucky.

I will start over and systematically start taking measurements with new (tuned) strings. A quick check did show I had reasonable relief in the neck. Now on to new strings and rechecking the relief and then the action starting with the saddle. If new strings and correct action at the saddle does not take care of the buzz I will turn my attention to the nut. I am fairly sure that there are no loose braces. But I will use the guide you provided to leave no stone unturned.
More to follow.

Mahalo,
JFK

[JFKHAWAII]

The guitar will have been set for D'Addario EXP16's 12-53 gauge, it the gauge of string you're using now is not the same then the neck may well have straightened slightly.

Hold the string down at the 1st and 13th fret and check for a gap between the string and the top of the 7th fret ... there should be a small gap, enough to get a slip of paper through. If you don't see a gap then the neck is too straight and a truss-rod adjustment may be needed for the lighter strings.

edit : Hawaii can be a troublesome spot with humidity, remember you want the levels to be in the region of 45 - 65% to be safe.

Hello JB,
Thanks for your quick reply... a sign of a tue professional and enthusiast!
As I mentioned in my recent reply, I checked the relief as you instructed and it looks to have reasonable relief. I will move on to the obvious (new strings) and progress from there. Part of my issue may be that the guitar has such terrific sustain and resonance that I am playing it harder searching for all those sweet spots . What a great design and awesome combination of rosewood and cedar!
I will let you know the outcome. P.s. I changed the saddle to a compensated bone and it created a "warmer" sound, which I too prefer.
Aloha from KY.
JFK