How much string buzz is acceptable?

robgilmo

Its a Baja Tele, I put a new nut on it, relief is 0.25 - 0.3mm , action is quite high, new strings (10's) and its buzzing like a bees nest, all over the fretboard by the sounds of it. So, how much buzzing is acceptable? I mean can it be totally eliminated? Is it just a new string ''thing''. Any ideas?

gringopig

.

thegummy

For me none is acceptable but it just depends on your own preference. Some people accept buzz in order to lower the action.

richardhomer

Bright sounding guitars tend to sound more ‘buzzy’ - so a Tele is likely to show it up more than - say - a Les Paul. Right hand technique is also an issue - if you use a lot of attack, most guitars will buzz.

Unless it’s clearly audible through an amp, it’s nothing to worry about.  

robgilmo

I haven't tried it through the amp yet, just finished setting it up. I tried a fret rocker and found the 11th to be just a tiny bit high, the rocker ticks when its rocked but the height difference is miniscule. I do tend to use attack but I never thought it to be excessive, I will try to go a bit easier and see if that helps.

ICBM

 New strings always sound a bit ‘tizzy’ before they settle down. Some people like it, some don’t...

PolarityMan

none

robgilmo

IT seems to have settled down a Bit now, it could well just be new strings, ive gone from pure nickel to steel so maybee that's what it is? 

terada

As long as I can't hear it through the amp I don't mind. 

Of course, some like a bit of buzz, such as Neil Young.

StuartMac290

None. It always amazes me when folk bring guitars into the studio with fret buzz all over the neck. That's unrecordable as far as I'm concerned, and toneless too

robgilmo

So how do you eliminate it without sacrificing a decent action or having loads of relief? Should I be asking ''how much relief is acceptable''? Mine is at 0.25 - 0.3mm, if I put more into it will it have any adverse effects on the guitar? So far its all set up to Fenders spec. To be fair I have been playing it a little lighter and its definitely helped.

skunkwerx

If fret buzz is the strings hitting the frets, would that small contact be enough to reduce sustain? 

Some of my guitars buzz, infact my tele does so more, but it has been set up with a lower action than I’m used to. 

I’m never fussed about a little buzz, I dont think I hear it through the amp, and its never enough to choke notes out. 

I guess perfectly level frets are the first key though. Otherwise you’ll have to jack the strings up to compensate, which could ruin playability for you. 

roberty

I like my action low and comfortable. As long as it's not choking out you're good. You can get higher gauges lower towards the frets because the vibration arc is tighter, so I'm into 11s these days

thegummy

robgilmo said:

So how do you eliminate it without sacrificing a decent action or having loads of relief? Should I be asking ''how much relief is acceptable''? Mine is at 0.25 - 0.3mm, if I put more into it will it have any adverse effects on the guitar? So far its all set up to Fenders spec. To be fair I have been playing it a little lighter and its definitely helped.

That relief is normal but the action on the Fender recommended specs is too low for me to get no buzzing.

You just have to decide if you'd rather have low action or no buzzing or find some kind of happy medium according to what you prefer.

thegummy

skunkwerx said:

If fret buzz is the strings hitting the frets, would that small contact be enough to reduce sustain? 

Some of my guitars buzz, infact my tele does so more, but it has been set up with a lower action than I’m used to. 

I’m never fussed about a little buzz, I dont think I hear it through the amp, and its never enough to choke notes out. 

I guess perfectly level frets are the first key though. Otherwise you’ll have to jack the strings up to compensate, which could ruin playability for you. 

I would think that, with it being so noticeably audible to everyone and an obvious thing that is happening to the sound of the strings, it would surely make significantly more difference to the tone of the guitar than a huge amount of the things people do for very subtle tone changes.

Could be wrong though. I couldn't live with it even if it was completely proven it had no effect on the amplified sound - I just hate the sound of it and can only play buzzy guitars with headphones on.

robgilmo

So do you guys reckon 1.6mm at the 17th fret is a low action? It feels kind of on the high side of normal to me.

thegummy

robgilmo said:

So do you guys reckon 1.6mm at the 17th fret is a low action? It feels kind of on the high side of normal to me.

For me that's a bit too low on the treble side and quite a lot too low on the bass side. I get string buzz if I set it that low.

I don't think it really matters what anyone else thinks about action, set it high enough to get rid of the fret buzz and see how you like the feel then decide if you'd rather put up with fret buzz to get a lower action or if you're okay with the higher action and no fret buzz.

RandallFlagg

After many years and many guitars I routinely set action to 4/64ths high E to 5/64ths low E and 0.010 relief with 10 gauge strings on all guitars as a starting point, typically it will buzz when I dig in hard and not when I play lightly. 

I will adjust the top E and B up a touch if they choke on large bends until they stop choking, for instance my Tele with 7.25” radius needs 5/64ths across all strings.

Any buzz I hear when I dig in is only heard acoustically and doesn't come through the amp. It's easy to disappear down a rabbit hole of misery and insecurity over fret buzz, just set your guitar up sensibly, plug in and play. Some guitars will rattle more than others, but in a band mix you will barely hear it. For some reason amp modellers can make guitars sound more rattly than a valve amp.

I used to listen out for buzz on pro recordings because I'm a saddo, Paul Weller's Rickenbackers used to rattle a bit on some Jam records as did Andy Summers Tele on some early Police tracks, not to mention Ed King's Strat with Lynyrd Skynyrd!

axisus

I don't like any buzzing, I don't have my action that low.

grungebob

I don’t like any buzzing, but I also don’t bother measuring anything or checking against factory specs. 

I get the action where I’d like it and adjust the relief as required.  Fret the strings at the third fret and you should be able to see the strings almost touching the first fret, this is a good guide to having the nut slots at the correct depth. 
Fret around the 17th and check the string height at the 7th get, again it should be around the strings thickness above the fret (or less if you like and can get away with it). 

I find if if both of those are right I can set the action as low as I’d like, but different guitars require different set ups.  

HAL9000

None. You would not accept it on an a acoustic, so why even ask how much is acceptable on an electric?