Buzz Feiten

[Marty S Horne]

I posted a sound report on my new Cobra but I have to comment on the guitars intonation. I've noticed that when playing Wes type octaves, it sounds like one note even though you can hear both pitches. My bass player commented that when we play unison lines, it sounds much fatter on this guitar. I have always liked Buzz Feiten's guitar playing but I now have a greater appreciation of both him and Anderson guitars.

[tom]

an in tune guitar just sounds better than one that's not. when i had buzz temper my first acoustic guitar, i could not believe how much better it sounded. and oh yes, he sure can play.

[BFC]

I honestly cannot play a guitar without the Buzz Feiten Tuning System anymore, or a Peterson Strobostomp for that matter. I've never been so in tune and I've never sounded better.

The one interesting thing to me is that dissonance has never sounded so good. Intervals that used to rub together in a bad way now sound extremely cool.

Buzz Feiten... dissonance done right!

:D

Brian

[andersonguy]

;) Another player "spoiled" By BF system here.
I have found one setback though..
When the other guitar player in your band does NOT have the BF tuning on thier guitar, you really take notice and it sounds strange with the two together.

AG

[tom]

i still think one guitar out of tune sounds better than two guitars out of tune.

[Stys]

I read a Joe Satriani interview and he claimed that he will record one track with the BF and then another without to create tension. Interesting.

[morty]

That is making a kind of chorus effect I think!

I had never played BF tuned guitar before I got the Drop Top, but I cant say I got that impressed.. I was expecting that the guitar would be much more in tune than my Fender.. but actually when I played a F chord on to strings(2. and 3.) at the 10 fret, it was more out of tune than my Fender. But on the open chords it was a bit better. So I guess You never got a guitar that is perfectly in tune.. But as I get used to the BF. tuning I think it`s better than regular, but it takes a few months to adapt to the new style..

My Tylor accoustic, has not got the BF, but my guitar tech has made a realy good "ompromise" regular tuning and it plays fairly in tune.

[bruce]

It always disapoints me to hear when someone is not happy with the Feiten system after trying it for the first time on an Anderson. The first thing that comes to mind... was the guitar tuned properly? The other thing I hate to hear is when a customer buys an Anderson used from a guy that knows a guy, that knows a guitar tech, that knows a luthier that "fixed" the intonation on his new/used Anderson that has the Feiten system. My point being that with the Feiten system, the guitar needs to be intonated properly... not to mention tuned properly to realize the full benefit of the Feiten system.

Morty you are right, there isn't a guitar that is perfectly in tune, but the Anderson/Feiten combo is about as close as you can get.

[morty]

Well first of all I have to say that my ears are very sencetive for pich.. The guitar have had two owners before me. the one before me said it had been to TA for installing the Fishman bridge, that I cant use because I dont have a blender..

I had adjusted the tremolo springs and changed strings from 009 to 010. My guitar tech is one of the best in Norway, but it was his first intonating job on a BF tuned guitar. he uses the big Peterson tuner, and I am using the Strobostomp for the BF tuning.. He also had to do a fretjob, because the frets was uneven and buzzed a bit. I am not that comfortable with the heavy frets, but I think I am going to like them as I get used to them. If jou press a bit hard on the first 1-3 frets the notes pich a bit, and I am not used to this.

I have tryed to Intonate my guitar by myself, and I noticed that when you are pressing the 12. fret (with the BF ofsets) It is very sensible to how hard I press down the string.. the strobe can go both up and down, without even touching the peg or the intonation screw. Just lifting my finger.
so its very confusing.. It`s dificult to figure out how hard I press the strings, and that is always varying when I am playing!

Maby I have to send my guitar to an Tom Anderson Expert to do my adjusting and intonation!!? I hope anyone on this forum can give som advice!! Because Ilike the sonic charakters playability and sound of the guitar.. and that the tremolo keep the guitar in tune..


the serial no. is: 04-28-97A

[dpeterson]

well what i do is sit in the playing position with the guitar, and intonate and tune it like that, not laying down. I try not to hit the string too soft or too hard, and try to not press too hard on the note, but not too soft either.. it's a feel thing i guess. I have a peterson (no relation) 490 strobe, and i get it dead on.

dave

[joe1962]

I think it's tough to get the intonation perfect on a guitar with big frets since fretting pressure can affect the tuning so much. I set intonation sitting with the guitar in playing position, and try to get it to a point where if I fret lightly the 12th fret note is slightly flat, but if I press hard it's slightly sharp. That seems to work out best for me.

The strings themselves can make a big difference too. I was setting up a PRS over the weekend for a friend of mine and the D string just would not intonate. It kept reading sharp at the 12th no matter how far back I moved the saddle. I replaced the string with another and it set up fine. Both of these were brand new strings from the same manufacturer.

[tmihm]

Originally posted by dpeterson
well what i do is sit in the playing position with the guitar, and intonate and tune it like that, not laying down. I try not to hit the string too soft or too hard, and try to not press too hard on the note, but not too soft either.. it's a feel thing i guess. I have a peterson (no relation) 490 strobe, and i get it dead on.

dave
I tune mine like Dave does and have not had any issues. But I got my first BF equipped guitar at the same time as I got my Strobostomp, so it was a combo of getting used to both.

I recall Bruce saying never to use harmonics with a BF system. My only guess is that it's possible not setup properly for the BF...but I'm no tech and don't do my own setups...so what do I know? :confused: ;)

[Roy (maybe)]

Hi Morty,

If you are feeling a bit stuck with the Anderson, why not give a call to Roy at Anderson Guitars? I know you live in Norway but he can set you guitar up for you over the phone. Make sure you have the proper tools in front of you and have new strings on the guitar that have been stretched and play in a bit.

Tools needed:
 Long, thin blade tip screwdriver for adjusting the truss rod—see website description
 Tuner—and be familiar with how to work it
 Allen wrench for adjusting action height of each saddle at the bridge
 #2 Phillips screwdriver—long shaft
 #1 Phillips screwdriver—long shaft
 6-inch long metal ruler

Roy (maybe)


Happy Playing,
Roy
Tom Anderson Guitarworks

[morty]

Thank you Roy, but I think it is a bad idea! It seems like my real problem is the heavy frets actually.. I feel they are a bit too sencitive for me, and I am used to small frets on my Fender and Tylor accoustic. I have a very hard playingstyle I think and uses a lot of bending and country trics.

[bruce]

Originally posted by joe1962
The strings themselves can make a big difference too. I was setting up a PRS over the weekend for a friend of mine and the D string just would not intonate. It kept reading sharp at the 12th no matter how far back I moved the saddle. I replaced the string with another and it set up fine. Both of these were brand new strings from the same manufacturer.

This is something I spoke about before. When adjusting intonation, if you move a saddle backwards (away from the neck), it will leave a bump in the string , thus ruining the string's pitch accuracy with the fretted notes.

[Roy (maybe)]

Hi Morty,

If it is a fret tallness issue, we could always re-fret with Small Stainless Steel Frets for you—or you could sell the guitar and we could make you a new one more suited to your specific needs.

Have fun!

Roy (maybe)

[joe1962]

Originally posted by bruce
This is something I spoke about before. When adjusting intonation, if you move a saddle backwards (away from the neck), it will leave a bump in the string , thus ruining the string's pitch accuracy with the fretted notes.

Based on this it I gather it would be preferable to start with the string a little flat at the 12th fret and then move the saddle toward the nut when setting up a new bridge, right?

[bruce]

Originally posted by joe1962
Based on this it I gather it would be preferable to start with the string a little flat at the 12th fret and then move the saddle toward the nut when setting up a new bridge, right?

That's what I do.

Also, you must strech the string after each saddle movement before checking pitch again.

[morty]

touched the button..

[morty]

Hi Roy! I just sat down and compared my Drop Top with my Fender, and It seems like the frets are nearly tise as high on the anderson, and th pich ocures spessialy at the 3. string on the 1. fret. eks when I changes from open G to open D..

i Have tought about to refret the guitar and I am also wanted to try the stainless frets.

Is it possible to by the fretwire from Anderson, so my guitartech here in Norway can refret it, or do you recomand me to send it to Tom Anderson!?

This guitar suit me very good expect from my pitch problem

here is the data:

Model - Drop Top
Body Finish - Honey Burst with Binding
Body Wood - Flamed Maple Top on Basswood
Neck Wood - Hard Rock Maple, Rosewood Fretboard
Neck Finish - Black Headstock, Satin Back
Nutwidth - 1 11/16 in
Frets - Heavy
Back Shape - .050 inch oversized
Hardware - Gold
Bridge - Vintage Tremolo
Pickguard -
Pickups - SD1R SD1 H2+
Switching - Switcheroo, Vintage Voicing
Strings - .009-.042 Elixir strings
Comments -

BFTS


If I decide to order a new one, I think only wanted to change the frets to smaller ones and ofcourse 0.10 strings. and maby a thicker neck.. I bought the guitar because I liked the tone, and the playability, and did not think about the frets when I tryed it!!!

I like the maple top very much and also the flexibility of the Switcheroo. I also love the tone and sonic characteristics from the maple and basswood together. All in all I like the guitar very much


click on the picture links below!!

http://www.freewebs.com/mortensgitarside/IM00149355.JPG


http://www.freewebs.com/mortensgitarside/IM00150355.JPG


http://www.freewebs.com/mortensgitarside/IM00149055.JPG

http://www.freewebs.com/mortensgitarside/IM00148655.JPG

[slowburn]

Originally posted by bruce
That's what I do.

Also, you must strech the string after each saddle movement before checking pitch again.

so then if I'm moving to heavier gauge strings, I should move the saddles back toward the bridge to compensate before I tighten the strings and begin intonation?

[tom]

away from the neck, yes. heavier strings will make the saddles want to be farther from the neck.

[bruce]

Morty,

Nice pics.. do you have any close-ups of the jumbo frets?

[bruce]

Morty,

About the refret...Of course we would love to perform the work for you, but I know that getting the guitar to us then back to you is not going to be cheap.

As for sending you the stainless fretwire, well I don't think your luthier is going to want to work with this material since it will wear-out his tools. It is extremely hard to cut, file, and shape.

My suggestion would be to have use do all the work but that is your choice. Of course we would put all the care and attention to detail that we put into every guitar here.

A refret for that guitar would be $300.

[morty]

Hello Bruce! I think it will be verry expensive to send the guitar to you, but I can call DHL and ask for a price..

Can my guitartech polish my stainless frets with his tools, or do you ned spessial tools for that too?

[dpeterson]

i'll chime in.. you shouldnt have to polish them, thats part of the beauty of stainless. i have a 10 year old parker fly deluxe and the frets are still perfect, and i wipe that fretboard (it's carbon glass) and frets down with dunlop guitar polish, to get finger cheese off the fretboard.

dave

[bruce]

Originally posted by morty
Hello Bruce! I think it will be verry expensive to send the guitar to you, but I can call DHL and ask for a price..

Can my guitartech polish my stainless frets with his tools, or do you ned spessial tools for that too?

Almost every fret tool we use is special for the stainless.

Question for you Morty, how did you end up with a refret with Jumbo frets if you like the smalls on your other guitars?

[morty]

I have not refretted this guitar I bought it with the Heavy frets, and it`s the original frets.. The one that bought it new have not played it much, because it was no fretwear. but the frets was uneven, so my guitartech had to do a fretjob.

When I tested the guitar I did not notice the high frets, because in general the guitar is very playable and it has a very good neck.