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Post subject: Fret Buzz above the 17th fret!
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:08 am
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Hello fellow Fender Forum members....

I need your help! :shock:

I have two MIM Fender Stratocasters, one is a Lonestar and the other is a standard.

I use higher gauge strings 10-46

I have setup both guitars, with .010 relief at the 7th fret when the 17th fret and first fret are depressed.

My action is set to 5/64 on the bass side and 4/64 on the treble side, measured at the 17th fret.

I still get buzz just above the 17th frets, usually on the A and D strings on the Lonestar strat in particular.

Am I crazy?

It is only noticeable when I am not playing through an Amp, is minor fret buzz a normal occurence?

P.S The neck radius for both guitars are 9.5, I have tried Fenders specs, but still had buzz issues.


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Post subject: Re: Fret Buzz above the 17th fret!
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 9:30 am
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Location: Mars, the angry red planet.
Welcome.

Specifically what your problem is can run the gamut. The list can go on and on and of course, it is tough for any of us to make the call without the guitar(s) in hand.

I'll venture to make an educated guess: I suspect that your neck is still too bowed and the action on the D and G strings are too low.

I'm a firm believer in throwing those, "one size fits all" specs out the window and catering to the individual guitar. Try eliminating the buzz ignoring the Fender specs but keeping in conformance with something you are still comfortable playing with. Take it from here and see what happens.

frankysavvy wrote:
Hello fellow Fender Forum members....

I need your help! :shock:

I have two MIM Fender Stratocasters, one is a Lonestar and the other is a standard.

I use higher gauge strings 10-46

I have setup both guitars, with .010 relief at the 7th fret when the 17th fret and first fret are depressed.

My action is set to 5/64 on the bass side and 4/64 on the treble side, measured at the 17th fret.

I still get buzz just above the 17th frets, usually on the A and D strings on the Lonestar strat in particular.

Am I crazy?

It is only noticeable when I am not playing through an Amp, is minor fret buzz a normal occurence?

P.S The neck radius for both guitars are 9.5, I have tried Fenders specs, but still had buzz issues.

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Post subject: Re: Fret Buzz above the 17th fret!
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:00 am
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Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:58 am
Posts: 2187
frankysavvy wrote:
Hello fellow Fender Forum members....

I need your help! :shock:

I have two MIM Fender Stratocasters, one is a Lonestar and the other is a standard.

I use higher gauge strings 10-46

I have setup both guitars, with .010 relief at the 7th fret when the 17th fret and first fret are depressed.

My action is set to 5/64 on the bass side and 4/64 on the treble side, measured at the 17th fret.

I still get buzz just above the 17th frets, usually on the A and D strings on the Lonestar strat in particular.

Am I crazy?

It is only noticeable when I am not playing through an Amp, is minor fret buzz a normal occurence?

P.S The neck radius for both guitars are 9.5, I have tried Fenders specs, but still had buzz issues.


I had a lonestar with the same issue. It was the fret. You'll need to either file down the fret or have a complete fret job/setup.....

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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:29 am
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Take a small straight edge about an inch long or less and check the last 4 frets on the guitar. If you can lay it across any of the frets above 17 (edgewise) and it rocks back and forth you've found the source of your fret buzz. It can be fixed several ways as Martian suggested in an earlier post you can rasie the saddle on that string or strings and reintonate . You can tap down the offending fret.... :shock: but I would let a qualified luthier do it especially if you have a laquered maple neck.


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Post subject: Re: Fret Buzz above the 17th fret!
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:40 am
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Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:02 am
Posts: 8609
Location: Vacaville, CA USA
Martian wrote:
Welcome.

Specifically what your problem is can run the gamut. The list can go on and on and of course, it is tough for any of us to make the call without the guitar(s) in hand.

I'll venture to make an educated guess: I suspect that your neck is still too bowed and the action on the D and G strings are too low.

I'm a firm believer in throwing those, "one size fits all" specs out the window and catering to the individual guitar. Try eliminating the buzz ignoring the Fender specs but keeping in conformance with something you are still comfortable playing with. Take it from here and see what happens.

frankysavvy wrote:
Hello fellow Fender Forum members....

I need your help! :shock:

I have two MIM Fender Stratocasters, one is a Lonestar and the other is a standard.

I use higher gauge strings 10-46

I have setup both guitars, with .010 relief at the 7th fret when the 17th fret and first fret are depressed.

My action is set to 5/64 on the bass side and 4/64 on the treble side, measured at the 17th fret.

I still get buzz just above the 17th frets, usually on the A and D strings on the Lonestar strat in particular.

Am I crazy?

It is only noticeable when I am not playing through an Amp, is minor fret buzz a normal occurence?

P.S The neck radius for both guitars are 9.5, I have tried Fenders specs, but still had buzz issues.



I agree with Martian that the neck is probably still too bowed and that those saddles may be too low.

I check my neck relief by first tuning to pitch, then picking up the guitar and bring the body up to my face and looking down (towards the headstock) at each side of the neck. I like my necks as flat as possible.
Make sure you de-tune before you make a neck adjustment. A 1/4 turn at a time is recommended, and I always wait 24 hours before I continue my setup to let the neck settle. Sometimes a setup can take days if it has not been done in a while or at all.
Next is the bridge height, back of the bridge at 1/8 inch.
Then string height (action). I usually start with 5/64 on the E, A, D, and G strings and 4/64 on the B and e strings. If I think I can go lower on the string height I make sure I lower each saddle the same amount, So If I lower the E string saddle one full turn I lower all of them 1 full turn. De-tune and re-tune for each adjustment. repeat until you get the desired string height. Play up and down each string to check for fret buzz. If I find fret buzz on any string I raise that saddle 1/2 turn until the buzz goes away. I then raise all the saddles the exact same amount.

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