Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm facing an problem I haven't had before with setup. I get buzzes generated by the strings ringing behind the fretted note. It's not on every string, nor on every fret. Action is low (.065" to .080" at 12th fret) and nut slots are filed as low as they can go, fretted at the 3rd fret, strings just kiss the 1st fret with barely a hair of clearance going toward the low E string. The thing is the guitar plays perfectly and obviously is set up for a delicate touch, but can be played relatively vigorously without any buzz (in front of the fretted notes), including open strings. It's only an issue playing chords (or capoing), as when playing single lines there's often a finger or two muting the strings behind the fretted note.
I think those "behind the fret" noises are sympathetic, but I am not sure. I could make a new nut with slightly higher slots, or get more bow with the truss rod, but the thing is the guitar plays perfectly as it is and I'd like to keep it that way.
650mm scale length, light steel strings and ebony nut. 13º paddle peghead angle.
Anybody faced that problem before and wants to advise?

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

These are usually the back of the string vibrating a little and hitting a fret. Usually, you need to raise the nut. Before making a new nut, try shimming the one you have with a piece of paper or business car, or index card. I doubt you will feel the difference in action. There are some famous builders who will do this even on a new guitar, becasue they believe that adjusting the action at both the nut and saddle are part of the fine tuning of set up, which varies as the guitar ages. They use veneer under the saddle. So, they do not even try to set up "on the money", but make both the saddle and nut a shade low, and then shim them.

You might try different strings as the set you have on might be bad and vibrating too much . Are you useing D'Addario?. They tend to cause that problem for me sometimes and i have to go to a different brand which works for me.

That's what I usually do as well. You really don't need much, 010" may be enough. So the playability won't be affected too much.

_________________
Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Laurent, you have the dreaded "back buzz." My personal guitar has that on the A string; I need to fix it soon. It often is a sympathetic vibration--you don't get it when you are only fretting the string that buzzes; a note has to be played on another string at the same time the buzzing string is fretted. And usually you get these somewhere around the 8th to 12th frets. Raising the saddle is not a fix, as you know.

There are three potential fixes: Change to heavier strings is one. But that may not be optimal (it also may not work). Well, actually, none of the fixes is optimal, since you just got the nut down to its theoretically optimal height, and the neck plays without buzzing in front of the frets. Anyway, you can raise the nut a bit on the string with the back buzz, or you can increase relief. Either way, the action won't be 100% as good as it was, which does seem kind of unfair. Perhaps there is a lesson in life there, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Back buzz is one reason not to use a zero fret. It is more likely to occur when the nut is at or near the exact height of the frets in front of it. That is supposed to be perfect nut height, but it doesn't always work out that way.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Thanks all for chiming in.
Howard, you understood me perfectly. It happens most noticeably on the 3rd and 8th frets on both E strings.
Lesson in life? Yes. I feel this guitar is a Gorgon looking me in the eye…
I'm in for carving a new nut.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/