So, you've got a guitar you love and it looks, feels, and sounds great... but, some (or all) of your strings are buzzing against the frets and it'south driving you nuts. Let's have a look at some mutual causes of fret fizz and the advisable means to address each one. This is just an overview and not an in-depth tutorial.

Permit's define "fret buzz." Fret buzz is the annoying sound acquired by a guitar string rattling/buzzing against a fret wire when the guitar string is being plucked or played. There are three common causes of fret fizz:

  1. Frets are not level with each other (some are taller, some are shorter)
  2. Cord Activity is likewise low
  3. Neck does non have enough "relief" (neck is besides straight, or bowing backwards)

Notation: Technique is not listed as a cause of fret buzz, simply it is worth mentioning because, at a sure point, the cause of fret buzz is the player and not the guitar. If the player attacks the string as well aggressively on a perfectly fine guitar, fret buzz will yet occur.

Cause #1 - Frets Are Not Level With Each Other

The frets are supposed to exist level with each other (they should all exist the same elevation). At that place is an exception to this rule (upper fret "fall-away"), only we won't be getting in to that here. When the frets are not level with each other, that means some of the frets are shorter and some of the frets are taller. Information technology's the tall frets that are the problem because the cord comes in to contact with them and it results in fret buzz. The string does not buzz confronting the low frets. The diagrams below help illustrate.

Allow'southward start with what nosotros want to meet:

Fret #1 and Fret #2 are the same height.
The grayness line is the guitar string. The guitar string is beingness fretted at the first fret (by an invisible finger).

Great. The frets are exactly the same height off the fretboard, which results in there being a space between the peak of Fret #two and the bottom of the guitar string. Because a guitar string vibrates when plucked, in that location needs to be plenty infinite betwixt itself and the fret to let for that vibration to occur without the two coming in to contact with each other.

Here's what we don't want to see:

Uneven Frets
The grey line is the guitar cord. The guitar cord is being fretted at the get-go fret (by an invisible finger).

Uh oh. Fret #2 is taller than Fret #ane, which results in there not being plenty space between the superlative of Fret #2 and the bottom of the guitar string. That means the guitar cord will rattle/fizz against Fret #2 every time the guitar is fretted and played at Fret #ane. In extreme cases, there will be no gap at all (they're touching) between Fret #ii and the guitar string, and the consequence is a dead fret... the guitar tin't even produce the note!

Allow's see what happens with low frets:

Fret #2 is shorter than Fret #1
The grey line is the guitar string. The guitar cord is being fretted at the first fret (by an invisible finger).

Remember how the string doesn't really fizz against the depression frets? We should be able to meet conspicuously every bit to why. Fret #2 is so depression that it actually increases the space betwixt itself and the bottom of the guitar string. That means the cord could be fretted and played rather aggressively at the commencement fret and withal not buzz because there's and then much space for the string to vibrate... But, what if we desire to play a half step up (at the 2nd fret)? Considering Fret #two is so low, we can exist almost certain that Fret #iii would be relatively taller and so the problem of fret buzz is still present; it simply got shifted up the neck!

So, that's why it'south super important all the frets on a guitar are the same elevation, or level, with each other. At Halo, every instrument gets a full fret leveling procedure done to it and information technology's performed by ane of our pro guitar techs at our shop in Cupertino, California. This allows u.s.a. to gear up up our guitars with very low string action while notwithstanding being able to offer buzz-costless playing.

SOLUTION #1 - How to fix fret buzz acquired by uneven fret heights: Perform a total fret leveling procedure. This is a multi-step procedure and tin can take a professional between 1-ii hours depending on the condition of the fretboard and the frets themselves.

CAUSE#2 - String Action is As well Low

Allow'south define "cord action." Cord action is the height of the guitar string measured at a specific fret. Information technology's non plenty to just provide a string action measurement by itself; it's necessary to know the string action measurement and the fret at which that measurement was taken. It'southward mutual to take string activity measurements at the kickoff fret, 12th fret, and seventeenth fret. Different players will accept dissimilar preferences for their string action. Some players prefer relatively high action, while others prefer very low (aka "slammed") activity.

There is a threshold, though, to how depression the string action can be set up before information technology starts causing problems. String activity is hard to measure with standard rulers, so we recommend this String Action Approximate. We have several of these gauges in our shop and they're very useful for setting up each individual string to the desired action. We similar to have our activeness measurements at the seventeenth fret for all our electric guitars. Our string action threshold is effectually 0.050" for the treble strings (GBE), and around 0.080 for the bass strings (EAD). Setting the activity lower than this is not appropriate as it volition probable result in fret fizz.

SOLUTION #2 - How to set fret buzz caused by depression string action: Loosen the strings a bit to relieve tension, then increase the string activeness by making adjustments at the cord saddles (located on the bridge).

CAUSE #3 - Neck Does Non Have Enough Relief

A guitar neck is supposed to exist shut to perfectly directly, but non quite. Assuming the guitar is strung and tuned to pitch, information technology should have a slight dip in the centre (around the eighth fret). That dip is measurable and nosotros call it "neck relief". If a neck has a dip in the middle, we say that neck has "forward bow". If a neck has no dip at all, merely rather a hump, so we say that neck has "back bow". Back bow is ever bad. Dorsum bow means in that location is not enough relief in the neck and it oftentimes causes all or nearly of the open up strings to buzz on the get-go fret.

Neck Relief (image from http://customguitarprojects.co.uk/)
Neck Relief (image from http://customguitarprojects.co.great britain/)

SOLUTION #3 - When you experience all or most of the strings buzzing when played open, then it is likely the neck is back bowed (at that place'south not plenty relief). The strings are buzzing against the first fret. The fix is uncomplicated: increase the amount of relief in the neck by loosening the truss rod.

Halo instruments are equipped with two-way adaptable truss rods. On many of our guitars, the truss rod is adjusted at the headstock side with a 4mm hex wrench, which is supplied with our guitars. There are guitar necks out at that place that can only be adapted in one direction, and some necks that can't exist adjusted all (nylon-cord, classical guitars). Two-way adjustability is handy because we tin increment and decrease cervix relief depending on the condition of the neck.

To roughly measure the amount of relief in the neck, we can utilize the string equally a straight edge by pressing and holding down on the start and last fret of the 4thursday string, and then looking very closely to run across if there is a gap between the bottom of the fourth string and the top of the 8th fret wire. This is an imprecise method, but it tin be helpful if you accept nothing else better. If there is no gap (the string is touching the fret wire), and then the neck is probably back-bowed. If there is a huge gap (say, 0.5mm or more than), then the neck is probably forward-bowed. With the guitar strung and tuned to pitch, truss rod adjustments tin can exist made until only a very pocket-sized gap can be seen and you'll probably be able to eliminate the open string fret buzz. For reference, the gap should be smaller than the thickness of a regular Loftier E string.

There are better and more precise ways to measure relief. Straight edges and relief gauges are available at Stewart MacDonald, just the boilerplate histrion probably doesn't want or need to buy these specialized tools for this purpose, and that'southward why I described the method above. Halo does not use the to a higher place method in setting cervix relief. We e'er employ straight edges and gauges.

By the way, if yous've ever seen somebody pick upward a guitar (to audit it) and look down the neck while squinting and moving their caput side to side a bit... they were "sighting" the neck in guild to cheque the status of the neck and/or the corporeality of relief in it. That is another quick and like shooting fish in a barrel style to determine if the cervix has too little, too much, or approximately the correct amount of relief. Learning how to sight a neck is helpful in that it enables you to make the necessary truss rod adjustment without any specialized tools.

For neck relief, it would be really nice if nosotros could just set information technology and forget it. But, the amount of relief in a neck is leap to change over time due to a variety of reasons such as:

  • temperature
  • humidity
  • elevation
  • tuning
  • string estimate

In that location y'all accept it. Three common causes for fret buzz: (1) uneven frets (2) excessively low string action, and (3) a back bowed cervix. Just ane of these problems is plenty to cause fret buzz, but ofttimes times a guitar has a combination of these three problems all at once. Halo instruments are e'er shipped with level frets and proper cord action, then if y'all're getting any fret buzz on your new Halo guitar, yous simply need to make a unproblematic truss rod adjustment!