H-535 Bridge Buzz

[Guitar55]

I have a 2007 H-535 that I bought in July and probably has less than 30 hours playing time on it.  I brought it to my guitar tech for a setup and told him I was hearing a buzz or rattling sound mostly from the B string, that appeared to be coming from the bridge.  After the setup, I took the guitar home and played for a while and the buzz got increasingly worse and occured on all the strings. I took it back to him and he found that the set screws on the saddles were the slightest bit loose. He said this was due to poor manufacturing. Tightening them up seemed to solve the problem, but he warned me that vibrations (duh) will loosen them up over time. He suggested that I look into a TonePro replacement bridge.

 

My question is, shouldn't this be covered under warranty and how do I contact Heritage for warranty work?

 

Thanks,

Dennis

[fxdx99]

Sorry to hear of problems you're having w/your 535.  I've an '02 with quite a few hours of playing time and mine is quite frankly a flawless and wonderful instrument with no issues.  But these are mechanical items and things can happen.  I'd think that your dealer could arrange for warranty work if need be, or below is an email contact on Heritage's website.  I've not tried this and don't know how often they check this.  Other's on this forum may have more direct contact methods.

 

http://heritageguitar.com/feedback.htm

 

btw... I'm wary of a guitar tech that says it's poor manufacturing, says it will loosen again, and doesn't place thread lock on the bolts to prevent this?... just sayin'  :undecided:

[Guitar55]

Thanks for the reply.  I'll ask about the thread lock.

 

As for the tech, he's really great and has done amazing work on all my guitars.

 

I've actually phoned Heritage and I'm awaiting a call back from Ren.

[Thundersteel]

If the saddle screws are tightened up all the way, wouldn't this move the saddles all the way back, thus messing with the intonation?

 

Maybe I'm not understanding it.

 

I've heard of some people putting clear nail polish on the threads to eliminate vibration.

[brentrocks]

Thanks for the reply.  I'll ask about the thread lock.

 

As for the tech, he's really great and has done amazing work on all my guitars.

 

I've actually phoned Heritage and I'm awaiting a call back from Ren.

 

i would think that he would offer to send you a new bridge for free, at least that is my thinking.

[Jim W]

This is pretty common with an ABR style bridge.

 

Usually a small drop of clear nail polish on the screw will "set" it in position. Just use extreme care not to get the polish on the guitar as it will eat the finish.

[GuitArtMan]

This is pretty common with an ABR style bridge.

 

Usually a small drop of clear nail polish on the screw will "set" it in position. Just use extreme care not to get the polish on the guitar as it will eat the finish.

Heritage doesn't use an ABR style bridge.  It'll either be a Nashvill style (Schaller or possibly Gotoh) or the Schaller roller bridge.

[cosmikdebriis]

If the saddle screws are tightened up all the way, wouldn't this move the saddles all the way back, thus messing with the intonation?

Maybe I'm not understanding it.

 

I'd guess he means...

 

The screws are threaded into the saddles... In any "nut and bolt" type arrangement there is some slack in the thread otherwise it would be very difficult to move as there would be too much friction. So if the screw is, for instance, tightened to pull the saddle back, then it (the screw) can work very slightly loose without moving the saddle. It can therefore rattle.

 

Think of it as similar to the play in a machine head. You may tighten to raise the note, but to lower the note there is always an amount of fee play before the string moves. It's that very reason why we all tune "up" rather than "down",  to eliminate the slack in the system.

 

Easy answer, as has been said. A drop of nail varnish or anything similar on the threads.

 

As an aside... Some Japanese bridges I've come across have little plastic washers that "soak up" the play and stop vibration.

[Guitar55]

Yes cosmikdebris has it right.

 

I spoke with Ren and he offered to replace the bridige if necessary. My tech said he has a very light thread lock that he uses on small screws which will hold them in place, but still allow the screw to be turned if needed.

[Kuz]

Not to beat up your "guitar tech" anymore >, but this is a very common occurrence and has nothing to do with poor workmanship from Heritage.

 

I'd find a new guitar tech that knew what he was talking about (or knew what he was doing).

 

Not trying to be mean, just my .02.

[Guitar55]

Actually, this guy is the best guitar tech I've ever worked with and he does incredible work on my guitars. I believe that he feels the same as I do, that the bridge should be manufactured in such a way that the screws stay tight. I've never owned a guitar in my life that had this problem and I find it unacceptable. NAIL POLISH? You've got to be kidding me. He ended up using a very light thread lock that will still allow the screws to be turned when needed. If I have any reoccurence of the problem, I'm going to take advantage of Ren's offfer of a new bridge.

[fxdx99]

Thread lock does make sense to fix an issue (loctite blue for example), but as a comparison I have 3 guitars with what I assume is a similar or exact bridge as you and I don't have the issue that you've described.  I think I misunderstood the issue on first read and that what you have is the screw/nut are maybe on the outside of spec (or out of spec) for fit and it's too loose to stay tight.  If it were an older guit I'd probably just use the locktite, but since it's new I'd probably take up the offer for a new bridge to ensure it works well long into the future. 

 

Again, sorry you're having issues with this.

[Guitar55]

fxdx99 - That makes sense. I think it's best to have it addressed bfeore my warranty runs out.