X50 Help!

[thomasf]

Hello everyone! I recently listed a 1964 Guild X50 I won off Ebay, I was just playing around on it and noticed that there is no difference in sound between the 14th and 15th fret on the high E string. There's also some buzzing on the lower frets (1-5) on the low E A and D string. Is it possible that the guitar needs a refret? I hope not..I'd have to send it back to the person I bought it from. Can this be fixed by raising the action a little? It's very low..or could it be the bridge is positioned wrong? The guitar feels extremely delicate so I'm a little nervous messing around with it. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks so much in advance.
Thomas

 

[AlohaJoe]

There's a lot of things it could be, but I'd start by raising the bridge a bit and see if that helps. It's not uncommon on older guitars to find a bit of a hump in the neck where it meets the body... you might want to sight down the neck and see if there's an issue in that area. That's a beautiful guitar, and it would at least be worth asking a local luthier. It could be something simple like a truss-rod tweak or a fret dressing. Sometimes problems like that are easily fixed and cheaper than lost shipping expenses.

If the bridge is already all the way up, it might be due for a neck re-set. That can be expensive but might still be worth it if you love the guitar and got it at a good price. A luthier would know.

If it intonates correctly on all strings the bridge is in the right place. Play the 12th fret harmonic and then the fretted note. They should be the same.

There are a lot of guys/gals here on the forum that know a ton more than I do about such things so that's just my 2 cents.

 

[thomasf]

Thank you very much! I think I'll drop her off at a luthier and see if it's worth fixing or if I should just send it back.

 

[AlohaJoe]

Great! Let us know how it works out.
- Joe

 

[walrus]

Great guitar! I had to raise the bridge slightly on my X-50 to get rid pf some buzzing. It was only noticeable unplugged, but a small bridge adjustment did the trick. I would try that first, as it is easy to do on these guitars. Just loosen the strings, raise it a little, tune it and try it, repeat. If the action goes too high for your liking in order to get rid of the buzz, then you will want to try some other things as already mentioned by Joe.

walrus