Fret buzz Question

[Nathaniel O'Bier]

I have a little bit of fret buzz on my low E and although it doesn't come through my amp at all, my guitar is acoustically very loud and it tends to annoy me a bit. I do have a hard picking attack but I trying to lighten a bit up but it still tends to buzz. I really do not want to raise my action, if anything I would like to lower a bit(.060 -.050" maybe") So am I doing something wrong, or do I have a case of OCD?

I have .070" at the 12 fret

.009-.0012" relief at the 9 fret

The fretboard has no radius

and I use 10.5 - 48 strings at E standard.

[Nathaniel O'Bier]

Yea I think this is the best bet.

Thank you and everyone else for the advice

[Russell Vance]

Thanks Tom, thanks Pierre - too many dudes sitting around with -200db environments listening to their unplugged electric guitars with low actions and skinny strings and getting anxious.   I personally prefer the 110db fret level approach.

It's like being a Ford driver - the noises won't go away - just turn up the radio.

Rusty.

[Jeffrey L. Suits]

or do I have a case of OCD?

If you can't hear it amplified, yes.

[Murray MacLeod]

The fretboard has no radius ?

Not that it is really relevant to your buzzing problem, but I am just curious as to which manufacturer of electric guitars produces a guitar with an absolutely flat fretboard ...

[Nathaniel O'Bier]

mine is hand built from a luither.

and Vigier guitars is the one company that I know that offers a zero radius (shawn land signature).

[Murray MacLeod]

Maybe you could take it back to the luthier who built it for you and explain the problem to him ?

After all, he would be in the best position to diagnose and solve the problem, surely ?

[Tim Mace]

I don't hear a buzz... do ya'll??

[Nathaniel O'Bier]

Hmmm?

[Paul Verticchio]

Given that you have a hard attack (as do I...and I've been playing professionally for over 45 years) here's a "technique" tip that truly helped me out. I believe it originally appeared in an obscure 1930's Gibson instruction manual:

Try to pick your strings at a 90 degree angle [a perpendicular attack]. I found that the physics of my "former" attack angle of between 45 & 60 degrees was causing the string to vibrate in an ellipse that made the strings hit the fret tops. It took me a few weeks of dedicated corrective practice to change my attack angle but, once corrected, it REALLY DID WORK (:

Just to let you know that I'm not implying that you have poor technique, here's my story:

Of course, my initial reaction was "But I've been playing so long, how dare someone criticize my technique". Well, learning and improving are always desirable so I gave it an honest shot. This old dog (yes, yet another 58 year old) learned a valuable new trick once the information became known and applied.

Also, there are simply physical limits to how light & low you can go on any guitar. All of the pro players I have worked with who use light strings AND play with a heavier attack have had to make compromises when it comes to low action. Most of those payers have settled on a medium action to fulfill their playing & tone requirements.

Finally, as others have stated, if you can't hear the buzzing through the amp, it's OK. This is completely normal and an accepted "niggle" among working professionals, both players and tech's.

Best of luck with sorting out your solution.

[Nathaniel O'Bier]

Hey thanks for the advice, I do notice I play at that 45 to 60 degree angle. I'll try and work on getting at 90 or atleast very close to it.

Thanks

[Ron Frazier]

I found that the pick should be held at a 90 dagree from the strings and turned to about 30* I had to learn that after playing for fun at about 60 years of age and I found the right way to hold my pick so it doaent turn in my hand about 15 years ago so at my present age today I am 75. I am durn neer perfict!!

Ron

[steven gallagher]

Paul,

I'm trying to picture this. Do you mean the pick should be parallel to the string? I don't see how I could hold the pick at 90 deg to the string unless I held my hand like George Benson from underneath the strings.

Steve