A whole new nut probably is not needed. Any competant tech with a nut slot file and 2 minutes to spare can fix it. Could be just a burr in the nut slot or the back angle of the slot needs tweaking.

Worst case would be that the nut slot was cut too low at the factory, but I have not ran into any modern Fenders that have that problem. Usually the nut slots on new Fenders are on the high side. A too low nut slot would need replacing the whole nut, or a temporary fix is filling the slot with bone dust and glue and recutting it.

Good luck!

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

What you should do is mute other strings while playing the one that exhibits the problem.

Also try playing that string on the first fret (as the nuts not used when fretting notes).

If it still is the nut you can detune and pop that string out and run an old string with a bit of lube (slightest bit of white/light mineral oil) a few times parallel back and forwards (your not try to saw the slot just clear it).

Also make sure you have around 3 windings on the machine head post. This will give the string a good break angle over the nut for open notes.

Nut slot makes a difference. If the slot is too big the string vibrates and shifts too much causing the rattling....

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Could need a trust rod ajusment I think.

If its ok with 0.010 and buzz with 0.009 this mean neck too straigt or back bow with ligter strings.

Have you been able to determine exactly at which fret the open D string is rattling at? You can figure this out by placing a business card on the fingerboard and slowly sliding it up the neck until you hear the string vibrate against it. But first make sure that your string height matches the Fender specs listed in your owner's manual. Also make sure that your guitar is correctly intonated and in tune. If the open D string is rattling closer to the nut, it could mean that the nut needs to be replaced. Whenever you go up from a set of 9 gauge guitar strings to a set of 10's, your guitar needs to be re-setup because of the increase in string tension.

Another cause of string buzz can also be attributed to an improperly seated or worn out fret. I also have a MIM Strat and in order to get it to play much better I checked all of my frets for levelness, then polished them to a smooth glass-like finish with my Dremel, using the Dremel polish and a felt polishing wheel. I also replaced my stock Fender white bone nut with a Graphtech Black Tusq pre-slotted nut. Now it plays just as good or if not better than my other American made Strats that I own.

By the way, I also replaced the cheap white plastic inlay dots with custom turquoise inlays that I purchased on line as well.

If you try the things that I told you, you'll be all set.

Good Luck!

I'd suspect the break angle of the string. Reason beng that nut slots are routinely cut wide. Have you ever seen a .008" slot file? I never have but strings come in that size. Also most MIM's come with .009's fitted as standard.
The D string can be a problem, more commonly it's a square wave sounding G. It's the main reason the 2nd stringtree was fitted to 70's strats.

The fix is easy, just keep adding string winds round the peghead, everyone below the last. 3/4 of them should create enough down pressure to solve the problem.

If the slot is wide, the easy answer is to get the smallest bit of paper you can tear. Put it in the slot with a slight overhang towards the fretboard. Put your sting ontop of it and tune up. It should sit in the slot ontop of the paper and stop any unwanted sideways movement.

Finally it could just be a bad string.

_________________
No no and no

Hi,
As far as truss rod adjustment is concerned, usually when only one string is buzzing the truss rod doesn't need any adjustment at all. You can also determine this by checking the straightness of your neck using a straight edge of some sort. I have a neck gauge that I bought from Stewart-MacDonald that I use for this purpose. They work great and take the guesswork out of truss rod adjustment. I always get a laugh out of those people who try to eyeball their guitar neck in order to determine if it is straight.

You really paid $72 for a notched rule?

_________________
No no and no

After reading the OP, that was my thought. Different neck tensions because of different string gauges.

If you're switching to 9's, make sure you get a setup for the 9s. When you switch back to 10s, you're going to have to have the gutiar setup again, as the neck tension, and pull on the tremolo springs will be different.

_________________
Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet - Maj. Gen. James Mattis, USMC

+ 1 ddaniewicz,

I bougt the straight edge too, not the one notched but the plain one. It's a must if have to adjust few guit.

I have many tools from Stewmac so I can do a perfect set up.

About guitarlover125 :

The frets could also be at differents height .