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Hi Guys,
I have an Ibanez nylon string guitar with 13th fret buzz on only the wound strings. I notice the saddle is tapered so it's highest on the low E (about 0.625" at low E and about 0.594" at high E). It's got a funky plastic-looking nut with deep string slots, and looks like someone (It was sold as new a few years ago) deepened the low E slot....maybe to try to compensate for the high saddle on that side?

I'm considering making a new nut for it, but wonder if it also needs a new saddle. Have not done any classical building or setup, though I do have Robbie's building course online and plan to do so one day soon. Not sure if it's something I should try to do myself. I guess if I can't make it right, I can always take it to the luthier who does repair. Any ideas on the cause behind the 13th fret buzz?

Hope the pictures show the story. The overall action seems good...very playable. I didn't measure it, but I can if it's important. Thanks, Beth

Correction; I played it again and there is some string buzz at 13 on all 6 strings, it's just not so obvious with the non-wound ones.

You could do a simple test by removing the saddle and slipping a temporary shim under it. If you think it is a nut height issue, slip something (piece of paper) under the string and give it a try. Is there a hump where the neck meets the body?

First thing is to determine if it is the saddle or the nut. If the string still buzzes when you fret it then you know it is not the nut. How high are the strings above the 12th fret? If too low, shim up the saddle.

There is no buzzing with strings open, nor is there any buzz when fretting anything other than 13, and at that fret, all the strings buzz. I'll measure the action at the 12th fret and look for a hump.

When you say strong buzz at 13, do you mean fretted at 13? If so, you probably have a high fret at a higher fret. Have you rocked the frets? That can be done with strings on

_________________
Waddy

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Yes, Waddy. The strings buzz when the 13th fret is fretted and at no other fret. I think you're probably right, or that there's a hump at 12th fret. I didn't have time today to examine it further, but I will rock the frets and see if I can find it. Thanks for the reply.