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Re: My Guitar's first 4 frets are producing strange sound...
Usually the truss rod adjustment does NOT affect the first four, but ones near the middle. The nut height is the common cause of this. Best to take this to a guitar shop for setup.
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The first thing to remember is that the strings will stretch so i always over tune it about a turn for small strings and 3 for the big strings. To prevent it from slipping when you are tightening the string pull it tight while turning it and make sure the string has overlapped its self a couple times before releasing it.
LIKELY the problem requires a truss rod adjustment. Best to take this in to a guitar shop for setup as one can do damage. The rod controls the "bend" of the neck of the guitar to set up string to fret clearance.
You should take teh guitar to a Luthier at a guitar repair facility. Either the frets are worn (visible) or possibly the truss rod needs adjusting. Both of these need a bit of proffessional attention. It sounds like your particular condition is probably the truss rod... also are you using the CORRECT tension strings for the instrument? Wrong or worn strings can be the problem!
I personally use Seymour Duncan Humbucker pickups, and have never been disappointed. You might want to take your guitar up to a music shop and try it on different amps to see if your amp is your problem, or if it is your guitar's pickups or wiring. You could also try adjusting the height of the pickups until the sound you are looking for is achieved. I have also had guitar cables make a big difference in the sound. Make sure you have a good set of cables, and you may want to adjust the EQ settings of your amp to make up what the guitar lacks.
If you don't want distortion, get rid of the overdrive pedal... Twangy USUALLY comes from the GUITAR and NOT the amp... test it on a different amp to decide... Buzzing CAN be caused by "fret buzz" which is due to IMPROPER guitar setup such as neck bend and string height.
Start using ONLY clean channel on the amp and NO reverb. If you verify that the guitar sounds bad on a different amp, take it in to have it setup properly.
1. Intonation problems can be due to worn strings even if the guitar is set up properly. New Strings can fix this. This is the most common problem.
2. Also, changing string size may effect your set up too. Typically, new guitars come with lighter strings such as (9's) which the guitar is set up for. The positive is that 9's fret easily. The negative is that they bend too easily for some players who either slightly bend them when chording (accidentally), or press too hard on guitars with jumbo sized frets, which in turn bends the string toward the fret board causing detuning. To fix these items folks may suggest you get a heavier string like a (10), but the problem can often be solved by playing with a lighter hand, pressing only enough to make contact with the fret and not pressing the string all the way to the fretboard. Check your intonation using this light touch method and see if it's okay verses pressing the string all the way to the fretboard. If the intonation is okay with the light touch, the guitar intonation is set up properly. You may want to consider playing with a lighter hand or getting a guitar without jumbo frets such as Fender strats etc...
Putting a heavier string on a guitar set up for (9's) would likely cause the buzzing that wasn't there before. In this case you'd need the guitar and neck set up again to accomodate the 10's. So decide what size string you want and set the guitar up for that size.
These considerations are true for any electric guitars.
After consideration of all of the above, you still feel it's the guitar, I suggest you push for a replacement or perhaps credit toward another guitar.
The frets MAY be worn or the neck truss rod MAY need adjustment, Neither of these is DIY unless yiu have experience in repoairing guitars. Since this is only on the 2nd string, inspect the frets for wear and the only DIY thing to try is to replace that string... DO that first !!!
Hello Have a look at the neck part where the strings move through that aligning unit which has the 6 slits cut into it where the strings goes through at the top of the guitar neck.
What usually happens, the slits get worked out, thus the strings move fractions closer to the fret board which will result in a muffled sound if you press down on the string you get a fret buzz. This happens when the string touches the fret board on more than one spot.
When you play a solo you can get a muffled sound out of certain strings. This happened to me, i just replaced this unit, very cheap, and all was fixed. Hope this can work.
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