I was told after my local guitar shop set up my MIM Strat, that strat's have some buzz and that's normal. The action is good and the buzzing isn't horrible, you can't hear the buzzing through on the amp. I was just wondering if that's the norm for fender strats?

All of mine buzz.

Thanks, that makes me feel better.

some do some dont. is it common enough to say they buzz, yeah but not all of them do.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

No Buzz it not normal ; bad guitar set up. Change the dealer and go to see a profesionnal luthier.

Not so easy to find a professional luthier if you like in Jerkwater USA (Alabama)

Hi tpdoff: none of mine buzz, but then I like the action set to pretty much Fender specs, which some would feel to be too high for their taste.

On which strings and at which frets does it buzz? Only when strings are fretted or when played open?

Give us more info and we may be able to help.

Cheers - C

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Keep in mind that buzzing is the result of too low of an action. ( taking Ceri's point of the neck being properly dialed in. )
Thus it is an interference to the strings vibrating and severely reduces the lenght of time the strings vibrate or IOW, the note decays rapidly. Not so good if you are looking for your notes to sound clear and sustain.

That being said, you have to compromise, with the above in mind, the ultimate goal being notes, what is the highest action you are willing to adapt to.
You might be surprised as to where the height of your action setup can be and still be able to play as you wish.
It's all about adapting and revising your technique.

Just my own input here but when we all spend so much time, effort and funds into expensive equipment, it becomes pointless to not work on the most important factor. Technique or Pedagogy and it's various applications.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

open strings, no buzzing. all the strings buzz at some point, mostly once getting up the neck, the closer to the 12th fret the buzzing starts. the notes sound clear on the amp though, i don't hear any buzzing through the amp.

Hmmm. Then it sounds like you just have the action set a bit low and possibly the relief needs double-checking too. If the buzz is something you can't live with you need to do the following, in the order I'm writing it.

1. To check the relief capo the strings at the first fret and then fret a string at the last fret. Then measure the distance between the top of the eighth fret and the underside of that string using feeler gauges (available cheaply from a decent tool shop or on Amazon or Ebay). That gap should be close on 0.010" / 0.25mm. If it is less you will need to detune the guitar, loosen your trussrod an eighth or quarter turn (anti-clockwise), retune and measure again. Be prepared to wait a few hours after adjusting the trussrod before taking a final measurement as the wood sometimes wants to resettle.

2. After you've done that address the action. There are suggested measurements for action but the working man's approach is this. Work on one string at a time. Fret it in turn at all the frets up and down the neck and pluck it with the picking force you normally use when playing. When you get some buzz stop, detune, raise the saddle a touch by turning both height screws with the appropriate sized allen key, retune and see if the buzz has gone away. Keep doing that until the string is as buzz free as you can live with and then do the same for all the other strings.

Then you will need to re-do the intonation settings, because relief and height adjustments always throw the intonation off.

Or if all of that sounds too tiresome just get a good, well recommended (that's the hard bit) tech to do it for you. Money well spent.

Cheers - C

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Thanks Ceri, I will give that a try.

Ok, the high E string and B G are all little low, sitting about .20 give or take a mm or so

I checked the board and it's pretty flat, I don't see any Bowing at all if that helps too

None of my guitars buzz either acoustically or plugged in. I set up my own guitars to my own preferences and those preferences include action that is slightly higher than most people prefer. Not really high but pretty close to Fender spec.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Hi tpdoff

Er... huh? Give or take a millimetre or so? A millimetre is a huge difference, as far as set ups are concerned. What are you measuring, and where?

I'm kinda beginning to think this is a case where an experienced tech needs to be consulted. Only so much we can achieve over the internet.

Any decent tech will start by asking you to show him how you play so's he knows what he's working towards, and he'll ask you sensible questions about how you like the guitar to feel and what sorts of sound you are out to get. Then he'll set the guitar up accordingly.

Too many players just demand the tech give them "super low" action without thinking about the consequences of that. Cos they think it's like having a sports car ultra-tuned. But it ain't.

So go to a tech and begin with a serious, careful conversation. Take it from there.

Good luck - C

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