buzz on low E string all the way up fretboard

My low E string is buzzing all the way up the fretboard...any suggestions? I tried raising the action on the saddle ( 3 saddle bridge) but did not help much.

very well may be a bad string or it just may not be wound down enough on the post to a steep enough angle - i have had both happen a few times

Do any of the other strings buzz? If not, you may have the slot cut too deep in the nut. Are there any high frets? Is the relief (truss rod adjustment) set properly?

Do any of the other strings buzz? If not, you may have the slot cut too deep in the nut.

Once you start fretting the string, the nut is out of the equation ........ I think.

I'm going for the nut. If the string is too low out of the nut, and the neck relief is low, it will buzz all the way up (or at least a significant way up).

But I am curious, can you hear it through the amp? If not, I might leave it alone. But this is some combination of nut slot height, saddle height and neck relief.

So, what to do? I would first check my neck relief for the low E. If that is OK, then I would experiment with the saddle height. If yo can find a location that takes care ofthe buzz and is still playable all the way up the neck, you are done.

If that doesn't work, then you have decision to make. That is, do you replace the nut, or try to shim the nut? The former is the "better" solution overall. But if you want to DIY, you can try shimming. Then, of course, all the rest of the nut slots will be too high...

It is impossible for the height of the nut slot to affect anything to do with buzz once the string is fretted, it is behind the vibrating part of the string. So that HAS to be out of the equation.

You don't give much information trev, like if you have been doing any other work on the guitar, but I would go through the Fender setup guide and measure what you have by way of setup. My guess would be that the problem lays somewhere between neck relief and saddle height, but it is daft saying tweak one thing or the other without KNOWING where the problem is, you could just go around in circles and not end up with the right solution even if one worked.

So measure neck relief by capo'ing the strings at the first fret and hold down the low E string at the last fret. For an average sort of relief you should just be able to get a 12thou" feeler gauge between the underside of the string and the top of the eigth fret. Now measure the saddle height. Again for an average measurment it should be perhaps 2mm on the low E and A, and 1.8mm for the rest of the strings measured from the underside of the string to the top of the 17th fret.

When you have done this it should give some clues as to where the problem is.


http://www.fender.com/support/

thanks for the replies. I do not have any feeler gauges but I tried capoing the first fret and holding the last and there was a space at the 8th fret..about a buisness card thickness.

You might want to check your pickup height, if they are too close to the strings, magnetic force can pull the string down causing a buzz and all sorts of other strange problems.
Ray

i occasionally get buzzing from the bridge saddle screws. if they are not adjusted properly under each individual saddle (each of the two screws needs to be turned taught), the screws themselves can vibrate against the bridgeplate. i have to adjust them regularly.

i dont know if this is the specific problem as it could be a number of things , but i would check each bridge saddle and slightly turn each screw so its tight in the slot, without actually effecting the height.

imho.

rand z tropicalsoul.net

Not sure if this could apply, as you're talking bass strings:

On my G&L ASAT Classic, high E string had a buzzy, muffled kind of sound, all the way up. I assumed it was fret-related, so raised the action. No change. Found out it was a worn saddle -- on that bridge, more like a round barrel with a V shaped slot all the way around for the string. Turned it over, end of problem. It has happened since, but only on non-wound strings.

The frequencies involved with the low E, might be setting off loose fasteners somewhere on the guitar. Especially check the tuners and the screws holding the buttons on, all saddle and bridge hardware. Happened to me a lot on asian guitars, one of the reasons I always replace the tuners on those.

Bubbanov

Sometimes, a string on my vintage bridge with brass
(unslotted) saddles will slide into the screw-hole bevel
in the saddle and make all kinds of weird sounds. Might
want to check that the string is located on the smooth
radius of the saddle and not laying across the screw hole
in the saddle.