How do you fix this?

[yjsays]

My friend's acoustic guitar is weird, I think it's the truss rod, not sure.

 

The top frets of the guitar buzz and the 1st string (high E) sounds the same on the 12th-14th fret (no pitch change)

 

 

-edit-

 

If it is the truss rod, how do you adjust it, never adjusted a truss rod before.

[Queequeg]

See the 2nd sticky here on the Acoustic Guitars page, "Is My Guitar Sick"
It could be the saddle, and maybe the truss rod, since you're bottoming out at both ends, you have no relief on that neck would be my guess, BUT DON'T GUESS! All the information you need is right here for you, thanks to Mr. Freeman Keller, complete with images for you. A veritable "how to". You're going to thank him. (we did)

[yjsays]

thanks, i'll take a look.

[Freeman Keller]

I just added this little picture to give people and idea why too much neck relief can cause the upper frets to buzz, particularly at the neck joint (12th to 14th) where there is no relief.



Measure your relief and we'll talk about how to fix it if that is the problem - if you capo at 1 and hold the string down at 12 you should have about one business card space at 6 (no more than two).

Another cause of buzzing could be a high fret (maybe 12?) or a low one (maybe 11?). You can use a little piece of straight edge (maybe 2 or 3 inches long) and see if it rocks on any of the frets. I also like to fret a string and kind of tap it right on top of the next fret - you should hear the note go up when you push it down onto the fret wire.

Please do all the measurements BEFORE you change anything and report back - I'll keep an eye on this thread.

[yjsays]

it's going to take a while to do the measurements, I dont have the guitar with me nor can I get a hold of it til the weekend.

I'll post up ASAP though.

[Freeman Keller]

One last thought - make sure the guitar is properly humidified. You might call your friend and have her put a damp kitchen sponge in a baggie with some holes in it, and put that in the case near the headstock. Keep the git in the case until you can look at it this weekend. If I miss your post just send me a PM.