LTD F10 buzz after professional setup
LTD F10 buzz after professional setup
I bought a SH LTD F10 guitar - love the sound, the feel and especially what some are calling an "ugly design" 
. All good until getting it a professional setup. Now the 1st and mostly the 6th string are making a horrible buzz. The guy who did the setup explained that this is a design issue, because the action hardware is completely straight while the neck is somehow slightly curved on both margins, so no matter what he's done to it there will always be a difference between the height of 1st and 6th strings and those in the middle - hence the unwanted buzz. Now I come to hate the noise it makes and seriously think to sell it. But, I can't imagine ESP/LTD makes guitars that are impossible to properly setup because of a "design failure". Could anyone tell me if they heard or have encounter the same buzzing issue? And how this problem could be fixed? Many thanks in advance!
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Design by SilverFrog
There are some compromises with the way ESP and LTD use tune-o-matic bridges. They use a 14" fingerboard radius and a 12" bridge radius. That's not to say that it should buzz, but if the string height is "right" on the E strings, the height on A, D, G, and B are all slightly high (barely.)
That being said, the F-10 is an entry-level guitar. I don't know what all your "professional setup" entailed, but the guitar would likely benefit from a proper fret leveling and recrowning, and probably a new nut as well. Unfortunately, around here that work would cost nearly what an F-10 sells for new.
Depending on where on the fretboard you're hearing the buzz, you can probably narrow down what the issue might be.
If it's happening on the low frets and open strings, it probably means that your nut slots are cut too deep and you will likely need to replace the nut.
If it's happening in the middle (5-12), it probably means that you don't have enough relief in the neck. You can adjust that by loosening the truss rod.
If it's happening at the high frets (12+), it probably means that you need at least a partial fret leveling.
Now, you can do a easy fix if it's just the low or high frets by raising the bridge, but that just makes the guitar harder to play because the strings are now further from the board.
If you consider yourself handy and are comfortable with tools, there are literally hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how to do a basic setup on your guitar. I made one myself, and because I'm a nerd, I included all of the measurements I use when I setup my guitars. Your preferences may be different, but if nothing else, it might give you an idea of places to check on your guitar. It's advice worth nearly what you're paying for it.