Fixing the Guitar Buzz Madness - Fender mod shop Strat setup

[@vav413]

The warped pickguard at the bridge was truly shocking.

[@Murphy_R9]

in over 30 years and playing and repairing electric guitars i have NEVER seen that on a new guitar! I would replace that PG with one from Warmoth if i was keeping the guitar. Needless to say i would not keep the guitar with those issues out of the box.

[@jaime.27.CBR.]

Maybe the guitar was at the sun, exposed before to be bought... that's the problem of buying online. For me, better to replace the pickguard for a new one.

[@TheCleaner6969]

It would of been nice to hear it after you did what did. Why didn't you set the neck flat & check the frets with a rocker?

[@partriotsfight5039]

I’ve always felt that the Fenders from Japan seem to be better than the USA produced ones. Now I understand that every guitar is different and so on but still the quality seems pretty legit. My Richie Kotzen Tele is definitely the best guitar I’ve ever owned

[@tbdog99]

No doubt. My brother has an 80's Made in Japan Fender Stratocaster...it's perfect.

[@joelshields8807]

I have a 66 reissue Jazzmaster that's one of my all time favorites

[@lophiile]

great video

[@mikaleno1]

The last thing you mess with in a setup is the nut 5:26

[@Bopsterjazz]

I just got a Player Series Strat with that exact same pick guard issue. And mine buzzes on both the high E and B strings.

[@jeffjolliereticulatedpytho5962]

Awesome video I live in Colorado too I am dealing with fret buzz on the B and high E strings at the upper frets.

[@yetimountaintrading5859]

Awesome tutorial brother

[@dirtdigger949]

Love learning new things, thanks from an old woood worker like myself!

[@kaizen209]

So what do you think was the culprit of that string buzz?

[@Klesh]

A combination of all the loose screws and nuts, possibly the truss rod rattling around inside the neck, and most likely something with the bridge. After I took it off and retightened it down, that fixed it.

Incredible! I could hardly accept the disappointing job Fender did here without biting myself in the butt all day. But as guitarists, aren't we used to fixing things like this and don't we love it though? This reminds me of how lucky I was with purchasing a Fender Classsic 50 Strat (lacquer, mex. 2-pc body, 7.4 lbs) which, after a decent setup, is great in every way. Thank you for sharing this!

[@jmccaintx]

You can check if the bottom of your bridge is conductive using your multimeter...

[@Murphy_R9]

Yes i was thinking the very same thing and am shocked he did not know that?

[@KleshGuitarsOfficial]

I just sand it out of habit, eliminates the need to check the conductivity

[@guillermodelnoche]

Did the setup resolve the buzz? Sad that you can’t trust the big name builders.

[@Klesh]

It sure did, plays great now . Still crappy customer service IMO

[@guillermodelnoche]

@@Klesh without question. I wasn’t sure if I spaced at the end and didn’t hear it. Hopefully with you posting more regularly the KZbin logarithm will be appeased and recommending you again… I doubt you were shadow banned since you’ve never said anything controversial or talked about anything on the “list”.

[@-Viceroy-]

I put my bet on wood shrinkage for the messed up pick guard.

[@Klesh]

Wouldn't doubt it

[@iancurrie8844]

Impossible. It would have to shrink by 2mm between those two screws.

[@user-ev2qo1hj1g]

First thing I check after the basic stuff when I hear a buzz. The tremolo springs in the back.

[@andrewbecker3700]

Dude learned a hard lesson mess'n with that mod shop, think'n it'd guarantee a ready to go guitar. I just commented the other day on anther KZbin channel that you gotta spend 3k to get a guitar that's 100% ready to rock. I know I'm not shelling out that kinda dough for a guitar, so I've learned real fast how to do all the work on them myself. Great video for soo many reasons. You'll get it off to someone. It's a sharp looking guitar. Peace.

[@joelshields8807]

I visited Chicago Music Exchange a couple of weeks ago and didn't like anything under about $3500 (I've never paid more than 1500), except - oddly enough - a Classic Vibe Tele that was kind of awesome - far better than any of the MIM or American Performers I picked up. The setups were all pretty trash except in the high-end ones. Which might be deliberate.

[@andrewbecker3700]

@@joelshields8807 Look at MusicMan guitars, or an ESP E-II from Japan. Every single one is set up and plays perfectly. There's no question most brands under 3k. come out of the factory with atrocious set ups. That's sad.

[@johnskerlec9663]

The parts dish is a top tip to use for any disassembly. Re-drilling the holes because of the bowing scratch plate is just too much man. I would have sent it back. I love my Fender but it's from way back from "82, and have got to know it so well I know when somethings wrong. I hear on the tube initial setups from the factory are just the starting points and players should have the instrument set up for their own prefs. I've still got a $200 Vantage Avenger from "81 which was fantastic out of the box way back then. Great Vid man. Thanks for posting.

[@RickMcCargar]

When filing the nut, you should angle the cutting tool down towards the headstock so the highest point is that point at which the string leaves the nut headed for the bridge. Not doing so, is one of the main causes of strings buzzing at the nut

[@KleshGuitarsOfficial]

That's true!

[@moogdome2562]

It's great we have luthers like yourself to run to. But, isn't it time, the guitar stores set these up for nothing, seeing we are buying an expensive guitar. I have bought new guitars., with a card, saying the guitar has been inspected and checked by the factory. But I have never had a guitar without fret buzz, and other problems. The worst. Was a Mexy fender tele. Supposed to be checked. It needed a lot of attention. To fix it. Yes the dreaded fret buzz, one fret had to be replaced, action too High. I'd have expected better for the money. The person who made it, probably had too much Tequila the night before, hats off to Sweetwater, for doing a free set -up. Here in the Uk, would be very lucky to find a store that does.. Another excellent video. Thank you.

[@gscgold]

@ 00:45 that's about as good as my set up I paid for recently from the local music store which cost 120 dollars, never again music 6000, never again.

[@Oakwoodrecords]

Hey man do you have a company that does setups for a service? I’m thinking about getting a mod shop tele myself and would love to pay you to set it up for me!

[@KleshGuitarsOfficial]

I may be opening that up as an option, it would make good content on the channel.

[@Oakwoodrecords]

@@KleshGuitarsOfficial Awesome!

[@TonySop]

Hey dude! I live in CO and curious about where you do business! I would love to get one or more of my guitars set up correctly! I feel pretty good doing minor work on my strat but my acoustic I don’t feel as comfortable. I also want to possibly put some new pickups in my strat. I would love to get in contact with you about possible getting that done. Not sure how but please let me know if you are still in CO and if it’s possible!!

[@mrichwalsky]

So is the buzz gone or not?

[@musicmanLes001]

You would think a custom shop would be great to play straight out of the box.18 months ago I bought an American Fender Pro II off the shelf at my local music shop. Played nice and without any setting up except tweaking the Pickup height, it was good to go and I gigged with it the week after purchase. For au$2500, I would expect it to be good also. Looks like you got a Friday arvo job. Not good enough from Fender. Keep the videos coming, I watch all of them

[@GalacticForceMedia]

Had an issue with my tele. The pickups buzzed terribly. Absolute wire problem out of the box. Still not fixed. Been playing my Gibson.

[@neilbenson5277]

They Look good , they feel good and they sound great ....but ......ive been a woodworker for over 40 years and worked on too many (as early as 63 model) as a luthier to know they need re thinking in a few areas . I dont like the bridge designs of old and the necks are a recipe for long term failure, a compression truss rod on sometimes poorly selected flat sawn timber just isnt the way to go as it is here in my part of the world "Down Under", we go from Blistering Heat in Summer to Freezing temps in Winter and yep these Necks can "wriggle" around badly ,yet i make a neck with quarter sawn timber and martin style truss rod or non compression rod and have a fraction of the problems that are quick to get around . and the workmanship sometimes is jaw dropping . But they will always be around and if you have a good one , thats awesome. But a note for those going to purchase a Flat sawn Maple neck of any brand new or used (especially used),do a bit of homework on timber grain and how to identify defects such as sloping grain and especially grain structures that are coming from a nearby Knot , Ive had necks with Branch Knots in the Neck !!!! .And get a keen eye on the neck curvature and look for any inconsistencies in curvature or neck Plain as some of these Guitars are "Cooked" or destined for failure before they leave the Store . But they Look Good 'ey , Cheers from Benson Guitars - Australia

[@eddiejr540]

I received my parts from Warmoth…I got a quartersawn maple neck and it is absolutely flawless…its custom shop quality for about 300 bucks…I highly recommend them👍

[@MykeOwns]

Whoa the pickguard... I've had $200 guitars with better quality straight out of the box and that's just sad

[@TeleCaster66]

You can also make your guitar to better specs by sourcing parts yourself and having a luthier help you with the things can't do. Sadly Fender does not give a crap about getting you a good guitar anymore.

[@Fernos005]

Love the video but did the buzz go away?

[@Klesh]

Yes it plays great now

[@19501960]

Thanks, I bought an " ELITE " strat top of the standard strat range, buzzing like a buzz saw. Took me ages of trial and error tweaking to get it set up. really disappointed and not a cheap guitar. I just can't bond with it now. I only bought it cause it had an ebony board, which i luv on guitars. Lesson learned. Try before you buy.

[@chadwaller6072]

Why didn’t you send it back.

[@joelshields8807]

Well, the temptation to blow a stupid amount of money on a mod shop Tele is now gone. That's pathetic. I'll just do another partscaster instead.

[@DG-bb1jz]

Typically in open position buzz it’s the nut… you can tell by putting drastic relief then trying it. Not sure how that bridge would cause it to buzz open string

[@DennnisDubeau]

It's always the same story: the time spent bulding it! this is where the cost is.. So, the employees need to get so may guitars out and this means... '' Ah.. the owner will fix them!!'' It's crazy!!

[@BruteforceExplorer]

"I'm just going to take it a LITTLE BIT down..." . 😂

[@Murphy_R9]

Wow i am extremely disappointed with FENDER with this! a $1700 USA made guitar with that many issues? There is zero excuses for this happening to anyone that paid that much money! I have seen $299 Squier's that did not have those issues! It is like these companies just No longer even care??? WTF?

[@The-Other-Jimmy]

All that time to set it up and you don’t let us hear how it sounds?

[@Klesh]

Sounds like a strat

[@indigos290]

$1780? Dang! For $780 is be retuning it with those problems

[@christineblack4654]

fret buzz you say? I have 3 frets that sound the exact same note?? second string, the 21-22-23 fret. zero videos on this topic. wow.

[@KleshGuitarsOfficial]

Yep, sounds like your 23rd fret is high, that would make your 21-22-and 23 fret have the same note.

[@christineblack4654]

well shaving them did nothing. and like the 16 to 22 on the high E are also playing the same note. theyve gone dead. freted out.@@KleshGuitarsOfficial

[@JoeyAdes]

How dare fender custom send this to you

[@Candyman_Young]

Jeeezus

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

QC in the guitar industry is abysmal.

[@bradleyclosson5042]

You can already see a body seem sinking in on the back of the body. What a joke.

[@GuitarMav]

People calling the mod shop guitars custom shop? Not even close to being the same thing. I always though their might be issues with the mod shop guitars as they basically picking bits off shelf and wacking it together.

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

A guitar over $1,700 should indeed be playable out of the box. My Fender Lone Star Strat...I don't remember the exact price, but it was like a grand or less. Playable right out of the box other than tuning, of course. I'm shocked at their poor quality control. Someone should be playing and testing every product. I don't remember if I ordered from ZZSounds or Sweetwater, but it was set up pretty good. Personally, if I they would have sent it to me like that, I would have sent the POS back for a refund and included a note that it had too many issues that they failed to find before shipping. A lot of big companies in virtually every big industry nowadays have started failing. They used to have amazing quality, now they can't even get the basics right. Unrelated to guitar, the US government just dropped Lockheed Martin because they can't come through on their promises after hundreds of millions of dollars. I wish the American people could file a class-action lawsuit against them to get our money back. People just can't do anything right anymore and it's hard to find good help or a good employer that takes care of employees so that they'll care about jobs.

[@niteboatermusic]

Excellent video, one of the most straightforward Ive seen here on YT. if you buy a top shelf guitar you are setting yourself up for a premium experience but lets understand, you have no way to reliably know how long that top shelf guitar (Fender / PRS / Gibson etc) has been stuck there on the wall collecting dust and/or passing from hand to hand in casual floor playing. If it is dusty, strings installed incorrectly, trem bar missing, neck adjustment off, truss rod wrench missing, etc lol. Talk them down in price for these negatives, expect to negotiate! Expect to have to do either DIY your own setup or pay for one. IMHO much better to have a pro do it, after spending north of $1500 or more, you should figure it into the overall purchase cost. "A guitar over $1,700 should indeed be playable out of the box." - as the song says "if is an illusion"... dont hold your breath, plan to get a great guitar with negatives at a great price and pay a pro to fix it up...

[@larryhaynes7298]

I truely hope your health an your fams. ( wife/gf ) health has been well hope not losses in the klesh fam. ( my prayers are with u friend) ( not to push anything on any1 {my beliefs}) Havent seen any vids So well wishes

[@KleshGuitarsOfficial]

yep, all's at 1000% excellent here every day, not always committed to making videos, just whenever I feel like it. Thanks for watching!

[@larryhaynes7298]

@@KleshGuitarsOfficial glad things are chill sir

[@TarnishedViking.]

Thats a mod shop? Oh: I forgot, with gibson/fender, your not buying quality any more, your buying a name.

[@Strepite]

For that price I would send the guitar back instantly. wtf

[@matta1899]

Looking at the saddles on the low E string, it is pretty obvious why it was buzzing. That is way to low on that thick of a string. Also, the build quality is atrocious on this guitar. The pick guard being bowed is ridiculous, the lack of setup is ridiculous. Obviously nobody did a quality control check.

[@stevenhaynes1031]

Learn to file in only the direction it cuts. Better control, better finish.

[@veerchasm1]

Just throw away your pickguards

[@stephenpersaud9406]

it sits on the shelf and i play the ones i build.....this guy is a joke

[@j.d.leslie8458]

Fender Slop Shop. Buncha bums.

[@ronlee2611]

I want to smash my Stratocaster into smithereens because the damn G string keeps buzzing. I would have bought a PRS but the stupid birds and the ridiculous looking tuners on the Silver Sky are awful. I'm saving for a Reverend. They are affordable and killer. I love my Strat but I don't have the time or money to keep taking it to a luthier. 🤬