ive set my RIC 620 up and no matter what i do i cant get rid of fret buzz on the low E this happens when played open and also when played all the way down to the 10th fret and seems to go away past the 10th

i measure the string height at about 1.6mm on both sides at the 17th fret and ive got relief set at about 0.02 on both sides. ive tried adding more relief but even with the truss rod nut completely backed off it still buzzes

im thinking maybe it could be a bad string but if you guys have any suggestions then please let me know

Ive still not been able to eliminate the buzzing but now its mainly on the 4th 5th frets, one thing ive noticed is that when i losen the truss rod to add more relief the truss rod is completely lose/slack and it wont allow me to add any more releif than .004

Im starting to think theres a problem with my truss rod

any feed back would be great

would it be safe to losen the truss rods off completey and let it set over night then tweek it

Yes I would loosen the treble side truss rod a bit, it sounds like that rod is doing all the work at present.

Once you've backed it off enough to elleviate the buzz on the E string nip up the bass side rod.

It's good that you provided the relief and string height measurements.. It would be good to confirm with you what strings are on the guitar, are they new, did you change brands or gauge? When did this buzzing first appear. Is it only now after owning the guitar a long time that the buzz has just appeared.

If you have new 10's on the guitar and it's tuned to concert pitch then that is the only way to start checking and adjusting anything. I seriously doubt that there's anything wrong with your rods. It's only 1 low E that is causing the buzz, the rest are fine.

You don't have to completely back off the nuts on the rods overnight. Just take them back to hand tightness and then do them back up. Yes it's Ok to loosen the string tension a bit when doing this) ( you may even want to lubricate the rods at this stage) If you want to lubricate the rods just turn the nuts back enough to expose the area you want to lubricate) Turn the nuts back and forth by hand to spread the lube. Then tighten them up. Do both rods not just one.
When you tighten the nuts up at first get them as tight as you can by hand evenly.
Then use the Rickenbacker tool to tighten the nuts... NOTE ..the strings must now be tuned back up to concert pitch. Measure the relief until you get back to .004 on the treble side but see if you can get the bass side to be at .005 or .006.

If the buzzing still persist after you have done this. I will ask you to inspect your low E nut slot just in case it's a bit low or worn down a tad.

Thanks for your replys

Im using 10s round wound strings

ive managed to almost eliminate the buzzing. Ive noticed that when i have relief at about 004 the tone and volume of the guitar completely detearates so i tightened both rods up a little bit at a time till have barley any relief (002) and then all of a sudden the tone and volume increases dramatically with only minimal buzz.

is 002 relief ok or am i bordering of over-bow?

RIC instruments are designed for a perfectly straight neck. You're getting close.

Good your using the 10's. If you have the neck at .002 , I would leave it.
.002 is a very straight neck there is no need to get it straighter

Does the buzz come through the amp or only played acoustically?
Which fret does it seem to to getting the buzz from. Sometimes if you look really close with a pair of magnified specs you can actually see the string just touch the fret if the string is plucked.

Your set up sound about right but you still must find this buzz.
If it was buzzing form the open low E I would suspect the nut. But you have eliminated some buzz and you didn't mention where it still is buzzing.

The buzzing is on both open and all frets through the amp when picked fairly hard, the only way i can get rid of it is to raise the bass side of the bridge screws all the way but then i missing out of the low action a RIC suppose to have?

this is really frustrating because adjusting the truss rods dont make that much of a difference.

Ive notice that the metal plate that the bridge sits on has to screws on it that can be moved what does this adjustment do?

regards callum

Yes I understand this low E buzzing is persisting and frustrating, it still is only one string this has to indicate something. I'm sure you will find the problem.

OK the bridge base plate has 2 screws that if loosened allow for movement of the bridge, this is for coarse intonation of different gauge strings with different tension. You definitely don't need to touch those screw at all.

Now back to this buzzing low E! Low E stings tend to vibrate and wobble more than any other string even if tuned correctly, it is also the thickest string. It is the string most likely to make contact with the frets. When the low E string is plucked especially if you strike hard you should with very close inspection actually be able to see the string make slight contact with the frets. The sound of fret buzz is easy to detect and you can always see it if you look really close

You also mention that it is buzzing from the open string. This may indicate a low e nut slot that is a bit worn and is now too deep.

There is a simple way to check. Place you finger on the 3rd fret of the Low E, then look back towards the nut. Does the string rise up to the nut and have clearance above the first fret???

If the low E nut slot is worn there will be no or little clearance above the first fret. Another factor is a worn low e nut slot will allow the string to wobble more as it not fitted correctly in the slot. If it buzzes as you go from the 1,2 ,3 ,4 so on up the fret board it is not the nut!

Something of mention, when you check the relief of your guitar you should do it in the playing position, this allows for a more accurate reading. Try taking your relief measurements again in this manner. There are mainly two things that can can correct fret buzz that you can readily adjust that is the neck relief and bridge height

If it is fret buzz it is can be seen by putting on a pair of magnifying glasses and you should be able to see where the problem is, look carefully when you strike the string.
If the neck is almost perfectly straight say with .002 relief you should then only have to raise the bridge until no buzzing occurs. If the action is then too high for you you will need to get back. Action height at the 17Th on my guitars is 1.7 mm

Hi

I took the guitar to be setup today and the tech said the neck was too straight and needed more relief. i always thought with RICs the neck needs to be dead straight?

I also looked in the fender setup page and they recommend that for a guitar with a neck radius between 9.5" to 12" the neck relief needs to be set at .010" would that be too much relief for a RIC?