Les Paul Studio, ARGGGHHH

[primal]

I have two electric guitars.

1. An ESP Junior I bought in Germany around 20 years ago. This guitar plays like a dream. It is made in Japan. I know the Junior was only released in Europe. It has the original ESP Sinclair tremolo. No tone knob, just a single volume knob. Bridge humbucker and kneck single coil. It cost me a thousan dollars, but I suspect it was still a lower end model ESP because it was the least expensive ESP they had in the store, and I suspect you don't name the top of the line anything "junior".

Regardless, this thing plays effortlessly. Stays in tune, can have both great action and no fret buzz.


Then there is guitar number 2.

2.Les Paul Studio. I want so much to like this guitar but I am about ready to fling it! It is the dark mahogony model. I know that the fact that it has no trim and is not painted makes it les expensive, but I abolutely love the look. I also love the way the neck plays. I don't have the biggest hands, so the smaller scale neck is so much easier to play.

HOWEVER, it has many problems!
a). The tuners suck! This thing will not stay in tune even remotely close tot the ESP. I can get past this tough because I know I can get new tuners.

b). FRET BUZZ. I have personally set this guitar up (as I do my ESP), and I just can not stop the fret buzz unless I pull the action out to a ridiculous level. I have the relief set in the neck even more then I would personally like(.305mm). I have the action set to 6/64th's on the low E and 5/64th's on the high E. This is actually slightly higher then what I have read the action should be set to. The relief is also higher. Yes when I get to playing, I still get fret buzz. And I can hear it becuase it makes teh guitar sound like crap when I first hit chords untio the buzz stops.

Anyone else have these issues. I am going to have it profesionally setup. But I have never had to do this before. I have always handled my own guitar setup, and it has always been great.

The Les Paul is theoretically easier to setup then the ESP because the ESP tremolo is a nightmare to adjust, and the truss rod on the ESP is near impossible to get to without detuning to nothing.

I have the action and relief set lower on the ESP and I can wail away on it with no audible fret buzz.

As I said, I will have it profesionally looked at, but if setting the action and relief way up doesn't help, I'm not sure what can be done. If I set it any higher it will become difficult to play.

Any of you Luthier's out there have any suggestions? I want to love this guitar. I think the mohagony look's awesome. But to this point it sounds like *****!

 

[Rocky]

a little fret buzz is really not that big a deal. UNLESS it can be heard through an amp.

 

[primal]

a little fret buzz is really not that big a deal. UNLESS it can be heard through an amp.

It can be heard through the amp.

I initially thought the problem was that the pickups were crap. But upon closer inspection I found that there was a direct correlation between when I was getting fret buzz and when the guitar sounded like crap.

When I initially hit the chords, I get this really crappy tone for a few seconds till the buzz fades away, then it sounds good.

 

[Griz]

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm a big LP fan and have several nice ones... but some LPs aren't worth saving for firewood let alone spending great effort to try to get them to play nice. Average LPs in general are mass produced on a very large scale and as a result they make a few that are just junk. You may have one.

 

[Rocky]

I completely agree with the above post Studios are especially bad. People may say that they are the same as a standard without the fanciness of binding etc....those people are incorrect.

Gibson grades their wood and the lower grades go on lower models....higher grades go on higher models.

Most Studios I have tried have been logs.

 

[domct203]

FRET BUZZ. I have personally set this guitar up (as I do my ESP), and I just can not stop the fret buzz unless I pull the action out to a ridiculous level. I have the relief set in the neck even more then I would personally like(.305mm). I have the action set to 6/64th's on the low E and 5/64th's on the high E. This is actually slightly higher then what I have read the action should be set to. The relief is also higher. Yes when I get to playing, I still get fret buzz. And I can hear it becuase it makes teh guitar sound like crap when I first hit chords untio the buzz stops.

Make sure there are not any frets coming up out of the fretboard, a high fret (or 2) will cause buzz.

Also, If you really love the guitar, It may pay to have the frets re-leveled and crowned. If that does not stop the buzz, sell it to recoupe the fret job cash.

Dom

 

[Jak0lantern01]

OK, so go get a proper setup and have some Grover tuners installed. Problems resolved.

 

[Don]

The tuners on Studios aren't great, though unless thay're broken, they hold tune fine. The problem is more often the nut.

I would have the guitar looked at by a pro. It could be that the frets need to be dressed and crowned. Gibson skimps in this department.

 

[rocksalt7]

I have set up and worked on my own and others Gibsons for years, and your problem is not uncommon. I have ALWAYS had to work on my Gibsons the longest and most tedious of all the guitars I've laid hands on. Doesn't matter if it's a custom shop or just a studio, they ALL require some amount of set-up effort. You're on the right track though. If you have done all you can do, take it to a pro. They do this for their living and you won't be sorry.

FWIW...My custom shop 355 was THE most difficult to setup (rotten fret job from the factory) that I've ever done, but now it shines. Almost every PRS i've ever touched is awesome out of the box, they are really set up well at the factory. It's great....

Good luck w your Studio. If a pro can get it right for you, you'll have one killer axe.

 

[fishyfishfish]

I had a 345 that would go out of tune so bad it sounded like it was melting! You are not alone as far as Gibson's "Set Up" from the factory, it takes a lot of work to get some of them to play/stay in tune without pulling your hair out and shoving the thing up the nearest fireplace. Have the nut slots re cut and check the bridge slots to see if they are not too deep. Have your set up guy straightedge the neck at "The Hump" (Where the neck connects to the body at 16th fret) and see if he can re-plane the frets to match the rest of the guitar. Good luck!

 

[bagpuss66]

I must have been lucky with my Gibson's so far! I agree with other posters here,ive played some planks of wood pretending to be Gibson's.My studio is ebony pretty much how i got it new,i changed the bridge pickup for a bare knuckles nailbomb.It's like all studios chambered,not to the high standard of a traditional,custom ,standard les paul,but for some reason this one has that certain 'mojo' that people look for in guitars.It sustains for ages plays like a dream and just feels right.I cant figure out why this is,i had a '92 les paul standard heavy as hell nice action sound but it just did'nt sound as good as the studio! Ive had people ask me how do i get it to sound like this and can they buy it off me!
I also have an sg standard that plays well and sounds awesome.But ive had a prs standard that cost the same price of these two guitars and it was just no match.I'd change the tuners and have it professionally set up.

 

[TFridgen]

I have found that the biggest cause of any guitar going out of tune is how the guitar is initially strung. When I got my studio, whoever put the strings on had NO IDEA how to string a guitar so the guitar would go out of tune at a ridiculous frequency. After restringing the correct way, my guitar rarely goes out of tune. Here's a link to stringing your guitar http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm . If you string this way, you'll have put your guitars out in the snow to make the ******* go out of tune.
I love my Studio and wouldn't trade the fucker for the world.

 

[BobL]

I have found that the biggest cause of any guitar going out of tune is how the guitar is initially strung. When I got my studio, whoever put the strings on had NO IDEA how to string a guitar so the guitar would go out of tune at a ridiculous frequency. After restringing the correct way, my guitar rarely goes out of tune. Here's a link to stringing your guitar http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm . If you string this way, you'll have put your guitars out in the snow to make the ******* go out of tune.
I love my Studio and wouldn't trade the f%&# for the world.

This is by far the best advice posted to this thread. I won't get into Gibson's factory setup because the final setup will be the one you use, not the one sent by the factory. I have used the method above for stringing my guitars since my first Gibson, a Melody Maker, in 1964, and you can't make a stop tailpiece guitar go out of tune if the strings are tied properly using the method shown above. It's not going to be the nut unless you use larger than .010's, which is the size string Gibson cuts the nut for. If that's the case then have the slots opened for the guage you use.

I have seen a few studios with fret buzz, and let's be to the point. Fret buzz is NOT OK. It results in lost tone, poor sustain and excessive fret wear. There is a cure for fret buzz, it's simple, and can be done at home if you have the right tools.

For all those at home ready to play along here's what you need;

From Stewmac;

This kit - Highly recommended
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Cleaning,_maintenance/Basic_Setup_Kit.html

A 12" radius sanding block annd proper sand paper - http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sanding_Tools_and_Supplies/2/Fretboard_Radius-sanding_Blocks.html

Special tools if wanted. I use these, and they work great;
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/3770

Sandpaper to polish the fret tops when done.

Here's how to do it;

1. Remove the strings and using the straight edge adjust the nut and set the neck to flat.

2. Apply masking tape to the neck edges and cover the guitar body with a towel, cloth, etc. Use the radiused sanding block with 320 grit and sand the frets pushing the block in one direction bridge to nut. Constantly check the frets using the straight edge until high or low frets are gone. This whole process takes about 15 minutes.

3. Once you are sure that the low or high fret is fixed polish the fret tops side to side using 600 grit or finer paper. Check the frets again to make sure they are level.

4. String the guitar using the method above and bring to proper tune for your style with the bridge adjusted to almost any reasonable height but so there is NO buzz. The string tension will pull a bow into the neck. Using the straght edge and a socket (not the tool that came with the guitar), adjust the truss rod until the neck is flat, or has .005 relief and no more. The easiest way to check for this using the straight edge is to place the edge beside the third string, hold the ends of the edge on to the frets, and flex the edge back and forth until it barely scrapes the middle frets. Once you reach that point stop, you're done.

5. Raise or lower the bridge until there is no fret buzz, clean the guitar with a vac or canned air, then clean, polish and play.

It usually takes about 2 hours to do this job right, and anyone can do the job if you have the right tools. The best part is that once you have the tools you can keep all of your guitars in tip top shape and the tools will pay for themselves many times over. Unless you bring your tech on tour trust only yourself to set up your guitar the way you feel it should be set up, and Gibsons are the easiest to set up of them all.