Enhancing The Sound?

[Gemini9]

Well I bought a guitar today. An Ibanez RG4EX1 and paid $350 (plus tax) for it (used). Came with a hardshell case (also used), strap, Fad brand distortion pedal, couple picks and a cheap guitar cable. I've seen this same guitar for sale on the internet for under $300 so I'm wondering if I got ripped off.

Anyway, a few issues with it maybe somebody can help me work out.

Issue 1: The A string buzzes against the 1st fret when plucked. Doesn't buzz when it's played open, just when I'm playing a chord or something. How can I correct that? CanI adjust something?

Issue 2: The trem is slightly worn. where you stick the whammy bar down into the hole, there's some plastic in there and it's really cracked up and worn out so the whammy bar pops out REALLY easily. can that be fixed easily?

I could also use some help getting the best sound possible out of it. I don't know much about the pick up switch, tone knob or pedals. All I know is that it does sound kinda muddy when i play it. The pedal I'm using is a cheap Fad distortion pedal. Should I be using something else? Should I be using a better pedal? Or a chorus pedal along with it? How can I get this guitar to sound pro?

Edited May 5, 2010 by Gemini9

[john]

Hey

Sorry no idea on the pricing...

The buzz you hear most often happens because the string in question is in contact with one of the frets further along the neck. Other times it is not fret buzz but rather when you play specific notes it hits a sympathetic resonant frequency which causes buzz from some other component on your guitar.... that can be pretty hard to source and fix.

Really you should get the guitar checked out in case the neck is warped or twisted. You can check this yourself by looking along the guitar neck from body to headstock with the fretboard facing upwards, although having someone with an experience eye have a look at it is probably a better idea. For reference, when you look along you should see the frets as parallel lines for the full length of the neck.. if not there is a problem. It's the easiest way to detect a neck issue.

Another possibility is that the previous owner has put the wrong weight of strings on it for the set up of the guitar. Guitar necks have a metal rod embedded in them to adjust the neck tension and strengthen the neck. Obviously when you change the tension that the neck is placed under by using different sting weights that can throw the tension in the neck out causing it to bend forwards or backwards. From what you describe I would guess the neck is used to having heavier gauge strings on it than you have just now causing the neck to bend slightly back, in effect raising the middle of the fretboard.

If it is under-tensioned then you have two choices... put heavier gauge strings on it making sure you get the right strings so that the neck sits true, or get the neck rod adjusted so that the neck is returned to true.

On the whammy bar you can either replace it yourself with a new bridge / whammy bar, or put it into a shop... if you have no experience of guitar maintenance like this and having this guitar as operational is very important I'd put it into a shop. If you did the latter you could of course ask them to set the guitar up after replacing the bridge with whatever weight of strings you want to use...

As for sound... ah that is an entire other topic! lol A big one too.

• Does it sound muddy when you connect directly to your amp?
  
• Does it sound muddy when going though different amplifiers?
  
• When you change pick up, does the sound change?
  

Your pick ups are positioned at different places along the string resulting in a range of tone. Guitars tend to control the tone of the guitar by varying the pick up selection, the volume and tone controls being used to select the output volume and tone of individual pick ups (sometimes the tone control is shared across pick ups, sometimes not). There are also a variety of different types of pick up, some resulting in extra switches or knobs.

First experiment with your guitar with a clean sound (direct into amp). Experiment changing the pick ups selected and listen to the sound to see how it changes. Work out what gives you the cleanest sound with the most cut, and see what gives you the warmest tone too. You will most likely hear a clicking noise when you move the pick up selector switch, but there should be no crackle from the guitar when you adjust the volume or tone pots.

Once you have thoroughly checked your guitar, then look at the pedal and assess that... firstly with the effect plugged in but bypassed.. check the tones again to see if there is any change. listen to see if using the pedal even on bypass introduces hiss, or mutes the tone. Then you have to start experimenting with the actual effects pedal, yet again working out what tone colors are available.

Multi-effects processors are popular and tend to be less noise and more compact systems, that are more reliable too. There are lots of manufacturers.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

John

[Gemini9]

The buzz you hear most often happens because the string in question is in contact with one of the frets further along the neck. Other times it is not fret buzz but rather when you play specific notes it hits a sympathetic resonant frequency which causes buzz from some other component on your guitar.... that can be pretty hard to source and fix.

****** It's buzzing cuz the strings (the A and E strings) are hitting the fret bars. It's pretty visual. Even with just a basic Em chord, it buzzes at the fret bar. I'm not sure how to adjust it tho so I might take it somewhere and have it looked at. I hope it's nothing serious because I bought it used and can't return it.

On the whammy bar you can either replace it yourself with a new bridge / whammy bar, or put it into a shop... if you have no experience of guitar maintenance like this and having this guitar as operational is very important I'd put it into a shop. If you did the latter you could of course ask them to set the guitar up after replacing the bridge with whatever weight of strings you want to use...

***** It's a floating Floyd Rose Tremolo and would cost a fortune to replace the entire bridge lol I don't have the money for that.

[*]Does it sound muddy when you connect directly to your amp?

I have it connected to a PA head, rather than an amp. I didn't have the money to buy an amp so I just use the PA system for it.

[*]Does it sound muddy when going though different amplifiers?

I don't have any other amps.

[*]When you change pick up, does the sound change?

Yeah it changes when I flip the switch. sounds really bassy tho. The high E, B and G strings don't come through nearly as good as the more dominant low E and A strings. Is that normal? Also, the low E string seems to be slightly out of tune towards the end of the neck, but sounds alot more clean and precise when using a bar chord farther down the neck. Bar chords sound awesome on it, but like the basic Em for example, sound slightly out of tune no matter how I try and adjust it. Is this normal for an electric guitar?

Thanks John! You da man. Thanks for helping out this noob with his new guitar.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Gemini9

[john]

hey

On your tremolo, you should be able to get a spare part. Contact your local dealer with make and model of the tremolo system.

Are they new or old strings? With old strings the intonation goes as it gets older causing pitches to go off as you go up the neck... if it new strings then it sounds like you need to adjust the intonation with the little adjusters on the bridge.

On your PA system... does it have horns on the speakers or just mid-ranges?

Cheers

John

[Gemini9]

hey

On your tremolo, you should be able to get a spare part. Contact your local dealer with make and model of the tremolo system.

Are they new or old strings? With old strings the intonation goes as it gets older causing pitches to go off as you go up the neck... if it new strings then it sounds like you need to adjust the intonation with the little adjusters on the bridge.

On your PA system... does it have horns on the speakers or just mid-ranges?

Cheers

John

Hi John

The strings are brand new. When I visited the dealer, they had just received the guitar as a trade in and he had just put new strings on it. He hadn't gotten to fine tune it though, because I bought it right away. haha they hadn't even put it on the racks yet. I've been reading up on the buzzing though and something about there's a way to raise the strings from the fretboard. Hmm. wonder if that would help? duno how to do it though haha I guess I need to research more huh?

As for my PA and speakers, The speakers I'm using now just have mid ranges. It's actually a pair of speakers from a big floor model stereo system, though I DO have a pair of 1000w karaoke speakers and those have horns at the top. Should I be using the speakers with the horns?

Edited May 6, 2010 by Gemini9

[john]

Hey

It is entirely possible that the guitar was set up for a different weight of strings. Thicker gauge strings need more tension to achieve tone so by changing the string weight it can significantly change the guitar set up, but often it can easily be brought back into the right zone by adjusting the torsion rod in the neck... your dealer should have done that as part of setting up the guitar.

Cheers

John