hi all,


basically brought a hwy 1, set up real good out of factory, except tiny rattle/buzz, that didnt bother me, but guy said he would fix for free
so took it to the prat, he gave it back with rattle and buzz everywhere.

so found someone really good, he set it up superbly, better than how it was when brought new! lifes good again!!!

took it back recently to the good bloke to put cs69s in and sperzal locking tuners, and its got rattle and buzz again

i phoned him and he seemed little put out, but was ok, he said firstly was it because pickups are brighter and im noticing it more, i said no! so he said change the strings and if no better ring him, ive changed them and it no better i havent rang him back yet! ive put up with it for thew days trying to kid myself it ok!

hoping you guys might be able to help,

what would you check first if this was your guitar?

it was set up sooo nice b4 the pickup/tuner upgrade, whats gone wrong?
because we havent changed string size!

what is an exceptible amount of rattle on strat? he says theres always a bit, and i understand that but this is so bad! dont get me wrong if you play gently its not so bad but then i dont always wanna play softly, double stops and open chords sound pretty awfull to me, but then i think am i being fussy, but then i think how nice he set it up before!

the rattle is worse on g and d strings, g is the worse tho! could it be somthing to do with the staggard magnets??, because the a and high e are pretty much ok, and then the magnets suddenly stick out and are quite close to the strings, if that makes sense?

can rattle and buzz be caused by a electric problem or is it only a physical issue????

could it be the nut? should that be greased when you change the strings?

i dont understand whats wrong with it!
anyway i really appriciate your help on this, i really do, this forum is priceless!

You said previously that the rattle is coming from the back of the neck area near the heel. The only thing that could cause that is the truss rod or microtilt mechanism. If the microtilt has been set too loose it could be rattling around.

BTW its utter rubbish that all guitars have some buzz. You can chase it all out with enough time, patience and dilligence.

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No no and no

hiya nikininja,
is that something that could of been affectted in the pickup and tuner change??

i believe you on the no rattle thingy, because it was so nice before, but its very hard to communicate that with someone face to face when you dont what you talking about! gonna ring him tomorrow tho!
thanks 4 ya help

If truss adjustments have been made on the initial setup it could have been loosened too much. Or maybe worked its way out of the seating.
#
That said check the pickup screws under the pickguard. Make sure they have springs putting a fair bit of pressure between the pickup and pickguard.

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No no and no

its defenatly more of a rattle,

ive put my ear near where my finger is fretting and it comes directly from where my finger is on the fret board, if that makes sense! but plucked opened there less rattle but still rattle!
thanks

Sympathetic vibrations like that will drive you crazy.

Do process of elimination:

You've already been told about the tilt neck screw.

Stand the guitar straight up and tap the back of the neck with your finger. If the truss rod is loose, your finger will feel it rattling inside the neck. Sometimes too, believe it or not, even a good truss rod can rattle. Try punching with the side of your hand behind that fret on the neck. Don't be a maniac though. Just firm enough to let it know you were there, so to speak. The rod may expand and the noise may go away. If that doesn't work, sometimes too, the slightest adjustment of the rod might solve the problem.

Check that the strap buttons are on tight.

Check that there is no little tremolo arm spring inside the tremolo block.

Fret the offending note and pick it. Immediately upon picking it while the rattle is sustaining, put a little bit of finger pressure on the high E bridge saddle spring. Pick again and and press on the B saddle spring; pick and press on the G and repeat the procedure until you've covered all 6 strings or hopefully have found the offending rattle first. Sometimes, if the bridge plate is 'microscopically' off the body, this can rattle too. Premising none of this has helped thus far, do the same thing by picking the offending note but this time, touch each machine head.

Oftentimes with the surgical tubing Fender now uses instead of metal springs for the pickups, there is a space between the tubing and where it should firm up against the underneath of the pickguard. This can cause the pickup cover to rattle against the pickguard. So, here too, pick the note and push on each side of each pickup.

FWIW, I've found the diagnostics in the prior two paragraphs usually root out the cause of most mystery rattles.

Remove the back plate, same thing, pick the offending note and poke your finger on the tremolo springs and see if one of them are acting up.

There could be an errant wire or a piece of loose hardware underneath the pickguard.

Guaranteed, your problem is somewhere in the above.

And now, it's time for me to go watch, "Ghost Whisperer".

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You dig?

If the fret was loose, it would give when he pushed down on the string causing it to be muted and not rattle and he'd surely feel it give. Even if another fret was loose, it would have to really be out of its slot to rattle. And even at that, there's only two places it would be rattling against, either off the fingerboard and/or off the bottom of a string; it would surely be quite visible. The odds of this being the case are very, very slim.

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You dig?

Have you tried lowering the pickups?

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It's a mix between Jazz and Funk, it's called "Junk"

hi bluestube, is that something that could cause rattle?
and i would be intrested in doing that anyway, as i would like them strings not quite so responsive, is that a easy job?
thanks

thanks martain,
taking it back this afternoon! so have noted your points and will share them with him! thanks alot for helping. enjoy ghost wisperer.

took it back today, sorted!!!
he adjusted the truss rod quickly, raised action teeny tiny amount, which dont bother me! and jobs done!!
thanks for everyones help, i can enjoy my new pickups properly now