Insane fret buzz on E A D strings

Submitted by sp72763 t3_yfjf4t in Music

I must say im a complete beginner at electric guitars but I am fortunate enough to know the basics, but this one thing...this..fret buzz is driving me insane. To be clear theres no buzz coming out of the amp ( all the tones are clear and you can hear it normally, without any buzz) which is good from what I've read? It has come to a point where I need to set my amp volume to a lot to not hear the strings buzzing or wear headphones. From what I've knew some buzzing is okay but man ill be damned to know If mine is okay... I tried highering the strings from the bridge and it didn't help, it actually sounded worse. Im no guitar engineer and I did everything in my power to solve this ( looking at those "contact a specialist" youtube videos and blogs ). If anyone has an idea why this is happening or at least If its normal, please do let me know.

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu4anjt wrote

Go get it professionally set up. It's worth the money and it will play like butter afterwards

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sp72763 OP t1_iu4hanh wrote

Well its 3 days old so I don't know what to think

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu4hyuz wrote

Some guitars just aren't great out of the box. Some sit on the shelf for a long time before being shipped so the humidity will warp the neck a little bit, which is no big deal as you can adjust the truss rod but if you don't know what your doing, I recommend getting a pro to do it

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sp72763 OP t1_iu4r6jk wrote

ah I see, thanks for the advice!

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu4v221 wrote

I get mine set up once a year then do minor adjustments myself when the weather and humidity changes in my city. If you get it set up and there is still buzz and you're not happy, return it, there might be some uneven frets or something that's really expensive to fix

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sp72763 OP t1_iu4z2wh wrote

I also wanted to ask how much buzz is normal, should it be noticeable? or just something that you can only hear?

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu5dweu wrote

Well...a properly set up and properly played shouldn't really buzz at all. Remember that some buzz is player influenced, like not pressing down on the strings properly. I always tell newer players to get a set up before starting to learn cause sometimes it's night and day. Like the last Strat I got played fine out of the box but after a set up it played like an absolute dream

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sp72763 OP t1_iu5hnvm wrote

Mhm got it! In the meantime I've looked up into the truss rod. I saw its not a big deal since my problem is the action being too close ( or tight or whatever you wanna call it) its just too close to the frets and thats making the noise. I loosened the rod by a 1/4 turn and already the E and D strings are not making any buzz, however im still stuck with the A string lmao now its making a buzz everywhere, on any fret. I guess ill leave it overnight, maybe it needs some time to set up since that a piece of metal inside wood, my guess. Welp my loss I didnt listen to your advice!

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu5iaxp wrote

So just remember every little adjustment you make in one area of a guitar will require one in another. Like if your playing with your action, your intonation might go out. It's a lot of back and forth. YouTube videos are your best bet but remember one thing! Any adjustments you make can be unmade EXCEPT for over tightening your truss rod, you can permanently damage it like that so be very careful

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sp72763 OP t1_iu5l5zf wrote

About that, when you are practically adjusting the rod you get in with your little tool ( these L shaped tools for me, the one that came with the guitar) and when you are turning the wrench you are hitting the strings, like bending them, its normal?

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu5ljh2 wrote

It's fine if they slip out of the nut. Use the other end (straight end) and you should be fine as you should only be turning it an 1/8 to a 1/4 turn at a time

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sp72763 OP t1_iu5m4lw wrote

Got it. I was getting a little worried, seems like the electric guitar strings are more flexible than anything I have played

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minor_thing2022 t1_iu5maj2 wrote

Don't get too focused on getting it absolutely perfect. Like I said, go get it set up professionally then you can see and feel how everything should be, then when you need to make adjustments yourself when the time comes you'll know what you like. Your focus now should be learning how to play. Not sure how far along you are but JustinGuitar on YouTube is the be all end all teachers for free. Start from the beginning of his lessons and go in order. His stuff is really basic and can get boring but stuck with it as those fundamentals will go a long way down the road. I was doing 30-40 mins of Justin, 15 mins of doodling and 20 mins of learning a song I liked to spice things up and keep it fresh. KEEP PLAYING you'll be thankful one day you stuck with it

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