Good Pro guitar Luthier in Dublin?

Hendrix89

I am fed up with my messed up strat at this stage. I recently took it for a set up in Musician Inc got it back only to find the strings still buzz (when fretting) and get worse and worse by the weeks. So I need to take this thing to someone who will actually FIX this problem.

Anyone know a reputable pro guitar luthier in Dublin? Can you give me the contact details.

Thanks.

Gaspode

I think Derek Nelson still operates out of marlay Park - he has a good reputation. Otherwise have a trawl through the resocurces sticky and see what else there is.

Voodu Child

Out of curiousity..(just indulge me here)

Use a 1mm (or 1.5 or whatever) pick to estimate the following:
- Action (between string and 22nd fret),
- Relief (hold down string at first and last fret, measure relief wherever the gap is greatest. Between string and fret again.).

Low-E measurements will do.

Hendrix89

Well I actually just raised the action on the low E earlier today, still no difference to the buzzing. It's at about 2mm from the 21st (highest) fret. I can raise it to close the 3mm and still makes no difference...

For the relief, it's roughly 1mm (tiny bit under) from the sixth fret when fretting the lowest and highest frets.

Voodu Child

That sounds pretty acceptable, even for a vintage radius-ed neck. Lower than 2mm action would definitely have been too low, but 2-3mm for a vintage strat should be pretty playable and buzz-free.

In that case, it does sound like there is an issue with the frets, which is very surprising given the age of the guitar, and the fact that it's a high-end Fender, the factory fret level should have been bang on in theory. But that does seem to be the problem.

(I would hope it's not a fingerboard problem, i've seen one or two guitars with a slight upward curve in the neck/fingerboard around the high-frets, but these were low end guitars. Ruined playability completely, fingerboard needed to be re-planed).

In the interim, i would try reducing the relief to around 0.5mm (tighten the truss rod). This will have the effect of bringing the action at the 21st down a touch. You'll then need to raise the saddles to get back in the 2-3mm action range, but the angle between the saddle and higher frets will be steeper, so it will improve things a little.

Hendrix89

Okay I might give that a try then. Thanks.

I have never performed a truss rod adjustment before so this is gonna take all my courage! How much should I tighten it and how do i gauge?

Voodu Child

Well, like I mentioned in one of the previous threads, fret-buzz and action height are all a very subjective thing, so any of us dishing out advice would need to see it in person to be sure, but it does sound like it's not a simple setup issue. So what i've suggested there is just something that might help a little, but it's very difficult to advise over an internet forum

Any good luthier will be able to check if it needs a fret level (you can even check yourself if you have something like a good straight edge). You can eye up the fretboard itself just by looking down the fretboard (helps to have a light or window behind it). It should have a nice bow around the middle, but once it levels out after the bow, it should be dead straight from there to the end of the neck.

Tightening a truss rod is covered in most of the setup guides you'll find. Simply look at (and remember) the relief, tighten a quarter turn, and look at the relief again. To avoid any over adjustments, it's usually recommended to do no more than 1 or 2 quarter turns at a time, leaving a good few hours to settle before you think about doing it again.

Hendrix89

Right I see. I think I may just prefer to take it straight to a pro then seeing as this is a serious issue... I am really not happy. I should not have to go through this with a guitar of this standard. I always have bad luck with instruments and pretty much anything for that matter... My 2000e marshall half stack is arriving tomorrow and I am expecting that to blow up when I switch it on:rolleyes: Tbh I would not be surprised...

Do you have Derek Nelson's contact details by any chance?

feylya

They're the same place everything else is... The Resources Sticky

Hendrix89

Oh well I didnt see his details in the sticky... I'll check through again.

No. There's nothin there on Derek Nelson... If someone could PM me his email/phone no. I would very much appreciate it.

feylya

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=2287810&postcount=3 Look more carefully next time.

Hendrix89

Aright sorry, don't know how I missed that. Thanks.