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So Ive had an EVH Striped Series guitar for about an year now and I'm now starting to learn about truss rods and intonation and I've noticed some things recently.

First, the low frets seem to buzz more and I think the neck might be slightly bowed and thats what's causing it, but I'm not sure. To test this I used the d-tuna on the bride which drops the low E down to Drop D (pretty cool btw) and playing that string open buzzes quite a lot. Is that normal, or does the truss rod, action, or intonation need fixing? I will attach some photos and please tell me what you think.

View from above the pickup

View of the low frets

View of the high frets

The neck

The bridge, pickup and high frets(which have some green stuff on them, rust? What do I do about that?)

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  • Also BTW, the photo of the neck is a bad one, I had to balance it between my legs to take it, so the guitar really isn't standing very straight.
    – Paytonium34
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 12:41
  • When I got married, I wouldn't dare use the d-tuna on my bride...
    – Tim
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 13:56

2 Answers 2

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Looks to me like the neck could do with less relief, as the action is rather high, but, the nut seems a bit low, making the first couple of frets appear too high, which must be where the buzz is coming from. Dropping the tension on the low E will exacerbate the problematic buzzing, as the string isn't as tight as normal. Even tightening the truss rod - which will help the action - won't solve the lack of space between lowest frets and strings, and raising the saddles won't help the action - unless you want to play slide!

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  • Honestly, it's a million times easier when I have the instrument in my hands, as I can see and feel what's happening. Right now, if you value the instrument and are not happy potentially wrecking it, take it to a luthier. Otherwise, try a sliver of metal or hard plastic as close to the nut as possible, to raise the strings enough so the buzz disappears. The thickness will give a good indication as to how much the nut needs raising - if that's the problem. Bear in mind that the top of that material will be equivalent to the bottom of the slots in the nut.
    – Tim
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 17:28
  • It's a locking nut, wouldn't that affect it? Also, are you sure that adjusting the truss rod, action, or intonation wouldn't help? I'm pretty sure none of those things were ever done.
    – Paytonium34
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 17:57
  • I'm not sure about anything, as I only have a few pics to go on.Intonation certainly won't help fretbuzz, obviously action and truss rod may. Looking at what I can see, my suggestions stand.
    – Tim
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 18:34
  • Ok. I'll give adjusting the action a go.
    – Paytonium34
    Commented Mar 17, 2019 at 15:30
  • The neck is too straight. You may follow what have been explained in this video to setup your guitar correctly. youtu.be/aAyDdbNldig
    – Kwun Yeung
    Commented Dec 23, 2020 at 18:47
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I had exactly the same problem on my Ibanez, the solution is to bow the neck in the right way (probably up-ways) to adjust it. Anyway you are always gonna hear a light buzz when playing the strings clean, it's caused by the low action and the jumbo frets. If you are thinking of adjusting the neck, I would go to an expert, because you really risk to damage the guitar if you don't know what you do

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  • upvoted you as there is no reason you were down-voted. There is too much relief, the truss rod is pulling harder than the strings.
    – bigbadmouse
    Commented Dec 20, 2021 at 14:39

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