hi, i have a problem, i lowered the strings closer to the fretboard on my guitar because before they wer really high and annoying to play, but the thing is as soon as the middle two strings (D&G) were lowered, if i play the 11th fret, they rattle of the 12th. now i thought about filling down the 12th fret very very slightly to get rid of the problem, but that might just cause the same problem when play the 12th fret, and i cant afford a new guitar. any ideas. i think the neck might b bent slightly because the guitar is about 11 years old.

any ideas welcome.

and anyone who wants to buy a big peavey valve amp, a carlsboro bas amp, some effects pedals or a guitar have a look on ebay my sisters boyfreind ahs some stuff on. im keeping it all "warmed up" for him. hehe

Did you file the bridge or nut down to the lower the action, or did you just adjust the saddle heights on the bridge? If the latter, just raise them up again on the D and G strings. Easy. If you filed the nut or bridge (if it's an acoustic), replacements are dirt cheap and just need to be glued in but you might want to get a luthier to do it for you or at least somebody who's done it before.

Don't go messing with the heights of individual frets - that will cause you much bigger problems. Refretting a guitar isn't so cheap.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Did you file the bridge or nut down to the lower the action, or did you just adjust the saddle heights on the bridge? If the latter, just raise them up again on the D and G strings. Easy. If you filed the nut or bridge (if it's an acoustic), replacements are dirt cheap and just need to be glued in but you might want to get a luthier to do it for you or at least somebody who's done it before.

Don't go messing with the heights of individual frets - that will cause you much bigger problems. Refretting a guitar isn't so cheap.

i jus lowered the saddle heights on the bridge yea, but to have it not rattling i have to have it realy high compared to most other guitars iv played, but i suppose its one of those things il haev to put up with.

and start saving for an ibanez. muhahaha lol. i love those. floyd rose, aahhh

You might just want to try a lighter set of strings on it. Setting up the action on a guitar is a bit more involved than just messing with the saddle heights. You might need to adjust the truss rod and/or lower/raise the heights at the nut. On a really poor instrument you might even need to adjust the angle of the neck or raise the neck up a bit by sticking a shim in the joint.

Again, you might be better off handing it to a luthier to set it up. Truss rod adjustments can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Send it over to me to have a look at, I do guitar setups for band friends round the area. Maybe you are better off adding a bit of tension to the neck to get the action better. I can do you a nice fret level too if you want, and set it up real sweet

I might be interested in a cheap bass amp btw...

Quote from Captain Slow :

hi, i have a problem, i lowered the strings closer to the fretboard on my guitar because before they wer really high and annoying to play, but the thing is as soon as the middle two strings (D&G) were lowered, if i play the 11th fret, they rattle of the 12th. now i thought about filling down the 12th fret very very slightly to get rid of the problem, but that might just cause the same problem when play the 12th fret, and i cant afford a new guitar. any ideas. i think the neck might b bent slightly because the guitar is about 11 years old.

sounds like you need truss rod adjustment. What kind of guitar?

Quote from jayhawk :

sounds like you need truss rod adjustment.

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

If the fret buzz happens as high as 12th fret, the truss rod adjustment might not help much as its effect is much more pronounced near the nut (low frets). Messing with the truss rod alters the string height too, so if your current string height is great for your playing style, I'd suggest take it to the luthier for a quick inspection and possible fret polish or leveling.

Quote from Captain Slow :

...i think the neck might b bent slightly because the guitar is about 11 years old...

If the fretboard hasn't been conditioned or guitar stored properly, the fretboard might have dried and changed shape slightly and forced some frets above others leading to somewhat unusual and isolated buzz on certain frets.

Again... luthier's inspection gives you a peace of mind for a low price.

ok thanks for the ideas guys, il probably just put the strings back how they where, then when i have a chance take it through to my local guitar shop and get the ould gadgy in there to set it up

cheers, and its just an old strat copy, (the pic below is of it when i realised that the thrads for the whammy bar to screw into wer stripped and smashed )

i get fret/ string buzz on my bass.

only notice it at home because i have the amp so quiet.

when im having a lesson, both guitar and bass are turned up feckin LOUD........then you cant hear the fret buzz!!!

get a spinal tap amp..they go up to eleven

Hi.
I think the best advice you got so far was to have a luthier look at it.
THat's probably what you should do.
Another very good piece of advice you got was about making a shim
and putting it between the neck and the body. LOL that trick was a MUST in the old days for getting your action lowered.

OK you got string buzz around the 12th fret? and only on a couple of strings?
On the bridge of your guitar, can you adjust the strings individually?
You should have little pieces that each string rests on and these little pieces ought to have screws on each side. just raise those up for the string(s?) that buzz until it quits buzzing. If they are as high as you can set them and it still buzzes, uh then you should definatly have the guitar looked at.
Does it just buzz or when you play past that buzzing fret, are the notes out of tune as well?


Also, Strat copies aren't PRS guitars. It's a very good possibility you have a bum fret and it was set up at the factory to overcome that one fret.

I dunno, I would take up Al Heely's offer. He probably knows more about "axe grindin" than the rest of us put together.

If you do go looking for a professional to set it up for you, ask a few local guitarists who they use for repairs or setups. They'll probably all give you the same name.