Fret Buzz on acoustic guitar advice please

[Comus]

Hi Guys
I have some fret Buzz on the high E string of my acoustic guitar which is driving me a bit crazy
I have been playing guitar since 1987 and have always set up my own guitars, I consider my a self to be reasonable proficient at setting up my own guitars how i like them to play, i have learn everything i know through watching video's and reading books and just getting my hands dirty and giving it a go.
in fact i really enjoy fixing and fettling guitar and basses whether electric or acoustic.

I have an issue on my 6 string acoustic which is foxing me though, I have fret buzz on the high E string, i have checked the saddle height, nut height, neck relief etc, and i can find absolutely no reason why I am getting this buzzing, i put a capo on fret 1 and i could get a 25" feeler gauge under the second fret and the action at the 12th fret is 2.5mm.

without the capo on there is a very slight forward Bow on the neck and i can fit a 70" feeler gauge under the first fret and the action at the 12th fret is 3.7mm

I took the E string completely out of its slot on the Nut and put it on top of the nut next to the slot and tightened it up as i wanted to eliminate and possibility of the nut being at fault and it was still buzzing.

I have visually checked all of the frets and cant see any raised or popped frets on the high E side

Im beginning to wonder if i might have a slightly loose brace where the High E is Buzzing in Sympathy.!!!! (is this Possible) .iv had a feel inside with my hand and nothing seems to be loose

I have to say i have run out of ideas..so any suggestions would be greatly received

Thank you in advance for your suggestions

 

[irocdave12]

I've never even seen a 70 inch feeler gauge. But seriously have you changed strings and had the buzz on both string sets? If so I'd say since you raised the string by lifting it on top of nut and still had the issue I'd bet you have a vibration noise and mistake it as being fret buzz?

 

[Comus]

Hi thanks for getting back to me so quickly..maybe i wrote it wrong what a meant to say was i could get a 70 thousands of an Inch feeler gauge under the 1st fret (i don't have any metric feeler gauges ) but i do have a metric steel ruler which i used to measure the string height as the 12 fret.

in regards to changing the strings..i didn't change the complete set but i did change the high E string for a different one but it didn't make any difference still the same vibration

so you think it may be a vibration as well..any ideas of checks i could do or what might be causing the vibration ?

 

[BrianB]

Start with the simple stuff if you think it's a sympathetic vibration... are the strap buttons tight? Tuners tight? Give the whole guitar a once over and see if it's still buzzing...

 

[irocdave12]

Look very close for cracks. Cracks buzz. Check your pins are tight in body, bridge where string touches the nut closely etc etc. You could try a tone tap with your hand to see if you can replicate the noise in a few places too

 

[jkes01]

Acoustics are very subject to changes in humidity. Any recent changes in environment?

Get a fret rocker or use a credit/gift card to span 3 frets. A rocking fret is high and would need to be leveled with the rest.

Sight down both sides if the neck and check for a hump in the fretboard where the body meets the neck. Use a straight edge to check for fallaway in that area. Also look at the bridge from the side of the guitar. See if the top is sunken around the bridge area or if the bridge is leaning forward.

To check if a brace is loose, tap with your finger on the top and back. If one is loose, you will likely hear it.

I would change all the strings, just to be sure. If that didn't work, stick a small strip of veneer under the treble side of the saddle. That should fix it

.

 

[Comus]

Start with the simple stuff if you think it's a sympathetic vibration... are the strap buttons tight? Tuners tight? Give the whole guitar a once over and see if it's still buzzing...

Look very close for cracks. Cracks buzz. Check your pins are tight in body, bridge where string touches the nut closely etc etc. You could try a tone tap with your hand to see if you can replicate the noise in a few places too

Acoustics are very subject to changes in humidity. Any recent changes in environment?

Get a fret rocker or use a credit/gift card to span 3 frets. A rocking fret is high and would need to be leveled with the rest.

Sight down both sides if the neck and check for a hump in the fretboard where the body meets the neck. Use a straight edge to check for fallaway in that area. Also look at the bridge from the side of the guitar. See if the top is sunken around the bridge area or if the bridge is leaning forward.

To check if a brace is loose, tap with your finger on the top and back. If one is loose, you will likely hear it.

I would change all the strings, just to be sure. If that didn't work, stick a small strip of veneer under the treble side of the saddle. That should fix it

.

Thank you all for the suggestions..i will get down to trying them out today and let you know how it goes

 

[Comus]

I seem to have sorted out the vibration issue ..i think it was a split bone bridge pin (but i cant be sure) I put a new set of strings and new bridge pins and it is now playing properly again...thanks again for all the suggestions