Hi Everybody, I am Ashish Tamhane from Nasik and this is my first post on IGT. I look forward to learn a lot from this site and its members. I have a problem with my Guitar. Its a Hobner model 145. The problem is that the Eb high note ( 11th fret on the high E ) buzzes whenever I play it. I have observed that only that note buzzes, all the other notes are fine. Adjusting the Trussrod does not solve the problem. I have the guitar with me for the past 3 years. The strings havent been replaced till now. My music instructur says that the fret must be worn out due to wear and tear and there is no solution to the problem. Further, he says that this particular problem occurs on all types of guitars. If this is a known problem, how come there is not any solution? I also want to buy a new Electric Guitar. My budget is 10k. I will be buying the guitar from Mumbai. Advice me which model is a good one.
yep...the problem is frequent on almost all the low end guitars where quality of wood for the fretboard is compromised to bring down the price. Ur instructor is right...no solution for such situations. And as far as the electric guitar for a 10k budget is concerned get some reviews for fender squier series and the washburn nuno series... U will get some idea.
well, for low-end guitars prone to this problem, it's advised to loosen the strings if not playin' the guitar for a while n then of course tune it before u play. but that's a precautionary measure, dunno how to correct the problem!
^^^it has nothing to do with the strings.But its always good to loosen them up to avoid the wrapping up of the neck.
u mean warping of the neck? isnt that what causes this sort of buzzing? if not, then what causes it? i mean, if the quality of the wood is compromised, how exactly do few frets start buzzing after a while?
You can use a multimeter in resistance measurement mode and hook one of the probes at the string and the other at the fret to figure out the buzzing fret while plucking the string. ( u will find a reading at this fret on ur multimeter ) Its likely that u have an uneven fret, ur 12 fret may require some sanding or ur 11th fret is worn near the high E. One solution would be to replace the fret wire on these frets. ( luthier visit ) Note: it is best to do the sanding part under expert hands else u may screw up the guitar further.
Actually, now this time while purchasing the guitar you like do one thing: Hold the guitar from its base & Look at it's Fret board TANGENTIALLY from the base (not from the neck). You'll Observe two things: 1. The fret seperation (It should be equally spaced & Getting brorder at the base) 2. The distance (height) of the strings from the fretboard. Always play & see the guitar below 12th fret White mark. If it twangs its the Finishing problem of the guitar, dont buy it.
warping results in an elevated action of the guitar.the gap between the strings and the fretboard increases so you can imagine the consequences
Waaayy too obsessive for me but very innovative no doubt. I'm just trying to picture someone fretting, plucking, and probing all at the same time...lol whatever happened to "add one fret to the buzzing one"
My point being you wouldn't reach for your multimeter until you heard a buzz and if you did hear a buzz, its a simple matter of adding one fret to the current one to find the culprit. Problem solved (well... identified) before you can even remember where you put that multimeter. I'm just wondering if all that trouble is really worth it for something so simple. Perhaps there is an advantage to this technique... I'm just not seeing it
Not always !!!, Guitar might need multiple fret sanding its normally the next higher fret where the string buzzes. if the corrective action is increasing the height of one fret, then u might need to sand/file the remaining frets to be inline, a straight edge will be handy in these situations ( if u have one ). I would recommend a fret wire replacement though. The advantage of finding multiple frets is it will give u a fair idea how much u need to sand on the closest and farthest fret or a fret replacement. Again a straight edge is indispensable while sanding. Hope this answers your query.
frets should NEVER! be sanded (leveled) individually. Only the profile shaping and polishing is done per fret.
