Gibson ES-175 buzzing problem

[randyc]

But am I wrong that it should still play flawlessly at factory settings?

I'd think that would be a question that you would already have asked Gibson. They are EASY to reach and easy to talk to - just call that free number and vent.

[JazzGuitarist]

I'd think that would be a question that you would already have asked Gibson. They are EASY to reach and easy to talk to - just call that free number and vent.

That sounds like a plan to me. But there's really nothing they can do for me now. I'd have to deal with it until my concerts/auditions are over, which is quite some time.

And this is a different problem gravytrain. Fret buzz, not the rattling problem.

[dh82c]

in the 10+ years I worked selling new musical instruments I have never once had a guitar that the factory took the time to tune properly. We ALWAYS had to tune the guitar before selling it.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

When ever I pick up an out-of-tune guitar I always ask "wasn't this tuned at the factory?!"

[Scolohofo]

When ever I pick up an out-of-tune guitar I always ask "wasn't this tuned at the factory?!"

JP joke!?

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I think I got that from George Gobel.

[randyc]

Huh ? Well, we L-5 guys better stick together, so ... I got some of MY lines from George Gobel too ! (For non-L5 guys, Gibson made a special thinline version of the L-5 for comedian George Gobel, back in the 1950's, as recall. He must have been even smaller than I am, not to be able to hold a full-size L-5.)

[dh82c]

I stole that, and many other things, from JP. His Hootlicks videos are a hoot.

[kawa]

1.It's happen by wiring conditions etc,but no ploblem for electric sounds.
(Improvemet:ADJ the wiring posture etc.)

2. ES-175 "Gold" ?
Special model ?

or somebody's modify.

[randyc]

1.It's happen by wiring conditions etc,but no ploblem for electric sounds.
(Improvemet:ADJ the wiring posture etc.)

2. ES-175 "Gold" ?
Special model ?

or somebody's modify.

I don't know about the "gold" model. But you are certainly right about the other things. As you say, frequently those buzzing, rattling noises don't get amplified so they aren't really important. (And adjusting the internal wiring harness can fix a lot of those problems.)

[kawa]

randyc, JG wrote "Gold Hardware" then I think somebody's modify and no adj the wiring conditions for such a problems.

Wiring harness accoustick vibration noise happen by fitting finish and temperature and guitar's angle and frequency and picking powers.

[randyc]

randyc, JG wrote "Gold Hardware" then I think somebody's modify and no adj the wiring conditions for such a problems.

That's a VERY perceptive observation, kawa ! We should have noticed the fact that the gold pickup covers are NOT standard ES-175 parts. (Maybe there is some newer model with which I'm not familiar but, as you suggested, the gold pickups could be replacement parts.)

As you also suggested, if the parts were replacements, then the wiring harness may not have been properly configured/adjusted.

Perhaps the OP can tell us about those gold pickup covers ... if the pickups were replaced (and if Gibson voided the warranty), I could certainly understand his reluctance to send the guitar back to the factory.

thanks for noticing this, you are an observant man !
randyc

PS: Oops, should have researched before opinionating - apparently new ES-175 guitars ARE offered with gold hardware ... I surely didn't know that.

[kawa]

1991 Gibson ES-175
thanks randyc and sorry jg.

[randyc]

kawa: I see your point - I would have relied on Joe's statement too, when he said "This guitar was fitted with all-gold hardware, an option no longer available on this model". I don't know when he wrote this, maybe a while back. But he's the MAN in the area of the U.S. where I live.

[kawa]

kawa: I see your point - I would have relied on Joe's statement too, when he said "This guitar was fitted with all-gold hardware, an option no longer available on this model". I don't know when he wrote this, maybe a while back. But he's the MAN in the area of the U.S. where I live.

randy,thanks.
I'm checked on the web,there are several gold hardware 175 also 165.
I knew the current cercumstances.
thank you.

[HotClubBrampton]

But am I wrong that it should still play flawlessly at factory settings?

If it is new it should have come with the Pre-Pack checklist that indicates that all the settings were reviewed and passed OK. This card is signed by the QA guy.

I took a picture from mine, as I personally opened the shipping box in the store and the guitar was playing perfectly fine right from the start. FWIW, it has the action settings that were set on the guitar. (sorry for the crappy phone picture)



Question, was your guitar a floor model, or maybe hung on the guitar wall for some time?
On a related note, and not really my business, new ones are in the $3,749.00 - $4,149.00 range ( from the web )

If it is new, you can ask for a replacement from the store. Notice at the bottom of the picture the Customer Service number and the policy on returns

I hope this helps and also that you will find enjoyment in your guitar.
If you decide to keep it, come join us at the Gibson Forum's 'club' for ES-175 owners

[bfdcsd]

My neck pickup sometimes resonates and buzzes, which is then picked up by the amplifier as a distorted sound. I press on the pickup, and it stops. The bridge pickup doesn't do it.

So the question is: how to tighten the pickup in place and keep it from vibrating?

[Little Jay]

you bumped an old topic, but what the heck...

My pickups rattled too sometimes, has to do with the tension of the springs of the height adjustment-screws I guess... of course you'll see that the ideal tension of the spring does not match the ideal height of the pickup..

I cut a tiny piece of felt and placed it between the pickup and the pickup-ring. Problem solved!

[TommyD]

Huh ? Well, we L-5 guys better stick together, so ... I got some of MY lines from George Gobel too ! (For non-L5 guys, Gibson made a special thinline version of the L-5 for comedian George Gobel, back in the 1950's, as recall. He must have been even smaller than I am, not to be able to hold a full-size L-5.)

Carson asked Gobel what he did when he had to play in a place where there wasn't any electricity, Gobel said that it was okay because his guitar was a kerosene model.
T/

[ingreen]

it's HARDER to make an archtop buzz-free. But it's not inherent in the design, these things don't HAVE to buzz.

Your tech is <<tactully expressed>> incorrect.

Randy

I agree with rancyc. I think the store tech is handing you a crock. It's far easier to say, "they all vibrate" than to fix the damned thing.

It IS true that sympathetic vibrations can be extremely difficult to track down. But that doesn't mean they can't be found and corrected - by a competent tech.

Last night I found, and corrected, a vibration in my guitar. Turned out to be the washer under the nut on one of the tuning machines. Just needed to tighten the nut. Simple, but even that vibration was a pain to isolate.

Touch, press, prod, to see if you can stop - locate the cause of - the vibration. With loads of patience, maybe you can find the cause. No one else will care as much as you do, so keep looking.

Meanwhile, quit whining. (Sorry, Randy. Couldn't resist).

[jeffroi]

I cut a tiny piece of felt and placed it between the pickup and the pickup-ring. Problem solved!

It seems that it's also worked for me so far ...

[JazzGuitarist]

Well, I know it's been a good while, and I've been trying to deal with it this whole time. I realized the vibration from the wires inside it actually not amplified, so that's not the big deal. however there are two things that piss me off:

1) For some reason, the strings (13 gauge) were binding at the nut; they would stick when tuning and all of a sudden make a click noise and force the string sharp after the first time I took it in for a setup to get the nut slots widened, but after two more returns (the last of which I physically watched the idiot file away at it), the strings don't bind anymore, but they are sooo much wider than they need to be it seems, and the action at the nut can't be precise at all because I know for a fact the tech didn't measure a thing, he just filed away to shut me up.
2) At factory bridge settings, (3/64" at the treble and 5/64" at the bass above the 12th fret) I still get very audible and amplified buzz between the 11th and 14th frets. I don't know if the frets are out of level (I already got one of them leveled before) but it's pissing me off big time. I KNOW what you're thinking: "Well of course you have problems, they set it up at the factory with 10 gauge strings and you've switched to 13s! However, if this is your mindset, you're wrong for several different reasons. 1, the guitar (more importantly, the bridge height) wasn't even at factory settings when I purchased it and it played pretty good with the 10 gauge factory strings, it was higher. 2) who knows how badly the careless idiot tech screwed up the fretboard and action at the nut over the various times I've taken it in? and 3, IT IS A DAMN GIBSON. IT COST ME OVER 2000 DOLLARS. IT SHOULD PLAY PERFECTLY AT FACTORY SETTINGS (OR EVEN LOWER) WITH ANY GAUGE STRING I LIKE.

So I'm pretty sure I'm sharing all this with Gibson through Alto Music in the hopes of getting a free replacement since it is still under warranty. Any objections/thoughts?

[Tom Karol]

Interesting! I've had 3 buzzes in recent memory (not including my last haircut) that were hard to track down but easily fixed:
1) Bridge humbucker rattling in mount when I played a D on the 10th fret on the 6th string - just press lightly on the corner of the pickup nearest the control knobs.
2) Buzz/rattle on a 5th string - loose nut holding a (Grover) tuning peg on the face of the headstock. I now make sure they're all tight when I change strings.
3) Slight buzzing on some notes - wiring touching the inside top of the guitar; gently push wiring harness away from top through bottom f-hole.
Generally these things are maddening to isolate but easy to fix.

[JazzGuitarist]

If it is new it should have come with the Pre-Pack checklist that indicates that all the settings were reviewed and passed OK. This card is signed by the QA guy.

I took a picture from mine, as I personally opened the shipping box in the store and the guitar was playing perfectly fine right from the start. FWIW, it has the action settings that were set on the guitar. (sorry for the crappy phone picture)



Question, was your guitar a floor model, or maybe hung on the guitar wall for some time?
On a related note, and not really my business, new ones are in the $3,749.00 - $4,149.00 range ( from the web )

If it is new, you can ask for a replacement from the store. Notice at the bottom of the picture the Customer Service number and the policy on returns

I hope this helps and also that you will find enjoyment in your guitar.
If you decide to keep it, come join us at the Gibson Forum's 'club' for ES-175 owners

I think I will end up asking for a replacement from the store. I got the same checklist, filled out almost the exact same way, even though it's pretty much a lie on the paper because the action settings where higher than that (perhaps a lazy attempt by Gibson to compensate for poor fretwork, regardless of my change in string gauge). To answer your question, I believe the guitar was hanging on the wall at a different Alto Music, but they shipped it to my local one which is about 45 minutes away from where it was hanging after I asked about their ES-175s and I received it pretty much cosmetically flawless.

[Gitterbug]

I know this is a fossil of a thread. Yet, let me add a recent experience: I bought an ES-175 1959 VOS from the local distributor at a fair price, as it was labeled B-stock. Turned out the case had a ding, while the guitar was immaculate. Actually, it felt astral when unplugged, almost like an acoustic. After months of bliss I discovered that there actually was a high-frequency buzz, which did not come through the amp other than adding "sustain" and a sort of natural reverb. It was the pickups, mainly the neck PU, vibrating inside their plastic casings. Pressing the PU's with a finger made the buzz disappear. When I put some padding around them, the guitar became a more ordinary 175, just perfect but no longer astral.

Having previously experienced a 175 with a loose brace I nevertheless feel relieved.