Don't fret, it's just a little buzz

January 4, 2012 3:22 PM

Acoustic guitar developing some new buzzing issues. Diagnose and repair.

I acquired a steel-string acoustic guitar (Fender DG-4) a few months ago, which is reportedly about ten years old. I put new strings on it, and I play it regularly.

When I got it (free), I noticed that the high E string makes the same note when played at frets 7-12, and otherwise is fine. Lately, it has also developed a "local buzz": when any string is played between the 9th and 12th fret, it buzzes, but nowhere else is there any buzz. What might the problem be and how, if at all, can it be repaired?

posted by kengraham to Technology (8 answers total)

Is it fret buzz? It sounds like fret buzz. If the string is too close to the neck (the action is too low), the string vibrating up and down will actually hit the frets farther up the neck. Look along the surface of the neck at how far the strings sit from the neck surface and frets. It's likely not the nut or bridge, since it only buzzes in that range, but it could be a warped neck or some frets that weren't pressed in uniformly across their width.
posted by introp at 3:27 PM on January 4, 2012

Frets not leveled? Truss rod need adjusting? Each of those I'd take to a guitar shop to be fixed.

I also find that my acoustic gets buzzy in winter, and needs humidifying. Cheap and easy. You can make your own humidifier with a sponge, too.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:27 PM on January 4, 2012

P.S. excellent post title
posted by introp at 3:29 PM on January 4, 2012

Wintertime neck twist. Take it to a guitar guy and give it a tune-up, fret buzz can be a pain if you don't do it all the time.
posted by rhizome at 3:44 PM on January 4, 2012

Perhaps the 13th (or higher) fret sits higher than it should. Sometimes they work themselves out, or they were never seated as low as they should be, and normal neck movement from weather makes the problem more noticeable.
posted by 2N2222 at 3:54 PM on January 4, 2012

+1 for guitar tech tune up.
posted by jeffamaphone at 3:54 PM on January 4, 2012

+1 for take it into the shop. A nice set up on even a cheap guitar is totally worth it.

Guitar set-up is fun and easy for tinkerers. But you need to get it to a good starting point for reference, otherwise you wont really know what you're working toward.
posted by quarterframer at 3:56 PM on January 4, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! It is indeed fret buzz, and I will take it to a tech. Just out of curiousity, I have tried the DIY Tupperware/Sponge Humidifier...
posted by kengraham at 10:48 PM on January 4, 2012