minor fret buzzing... suggestions?

[sleewell]

i am getting some minor buzzing only on my low e string. the guitar initially came with 10's and i prefer 11's so i changed the strings and it got a lot better. now i am only noticing it on frets 7 on up and only on the low e string and before the string change it was pretty much every fret unless i really pressed hard. the action is not super low and i think i could tolerate it a little higher but i am wondering if there is anything else to try before that.

 

thanks!!

 

Bill

[webwarmiller]

Sounds like the move to 11's has added a bit of relief (not unexpected). Buzz from the middle of the neck on up is a dead give away for too much relief. Measure your relief to verify and then adjust to fix.

[sleewell]

thanks for the reply but sadly you are going to have to dumb it down a bit, sorry. i am def not handy with this stuff, should i just take it to the shop? i'd hate to pay the hourly rate for something that might take less than 10 seconds.

[mrbrown49]

webwarmiller is probably right. Have adjusted a truss rod before or are you comfortable attempting to do so?

[jdolan121]

Push down the string at the first fret and the fret where the neck joins the body, probably about 17th on an electric (at the same time). Look along the string where it passes over each fret. There should be just a little bit of room between the frets and the string. Too much space=bad (too high) action. Too little or no space=fret buzz. You can adjust the truss rod to correct either case (as long as it not severe). However, the larger string would have increased tension and caused the neck to bow in, causing slightly higher action and no buzz, I would think. My guess it that raising the saddle on that string just a hair (and I do mean a hair) may solve the problem. I'd try that before messing with the truss rod (they can be cranky).

[scott944]

What kind of guitar?

[sleewell]

road worn tele 72 deluxe.

 

i think i will try raising the saddle a hair before doing anything with the truss rod. the guitar plays great except for this and am getting no other buzzing on any other string.

 

thanks for all the help!

 

not sure of the terminology, does relief = action??

[mrbrown49]

 

road worn tele 72 deluxe. i think i will try raising the saddle a hair before doing anything with the truss rod. the guitar plays great except for this and am getting no other buzzing on any other string. thanks for all the help! not sure of the terminology, does relief = action??

 

 

If you are suffering from too much relief (neck curvature) increasing the action (string height- commonly measured over the 12th fret) will only make things worse.

 

You need to measure the curve of your neck, relief, and make sure that's inline before adjusting anything else. .25mm is about standard relief.

[webwarmiller]

Relief refers to how much bow is in the neck. It has an affect on action but it is not the same thing. In order for a guitar to play it's best across the ENTIRE fretboard a bit of relief is needed. Dead flat or too little relief and you'll have issues on the lower frets; too much and you'll have issues from midway up. It's an adjustment that balances the playability btw these two regions of the neck.

 

You don't need much.....just a playing card's thickness (.25mm) is generally enough. Here's a very detail study on neck relief: http://www.bryankimsey.com/setup/neck_relief_1.htm Google how to measure neck relief to find out how to measure.

 

Sure, raising the saddle would probably get rid of the buzz; but that's a band aid to what the problem is.