Why Is My Guitar Buzzing? Fret Buzz Causes and Fixes

Fret buzz is probably the number one complaint that comes through the door at the shop. The good news is it almost always comes down to a short list of causes, and every one of them is fixable. Today we had a guitar on the bench that buzzed just about everywhere, so it makes a good example of how we figure out what is actually going on.

The two usual suspects

When a guitar buzzes, it is almost always one of two things, and quite often both. Either the action is too low, meaning the strings are sitting too close to the frets, or the frets themselves are out of whack, with some sitting higher than others. The one in the video had massive buzz and quite low action, so on paper raising the action should fix it. In practice, raising the action on a guitar with uneven frets helps a little, but it usually does not get you where you want to go.

Finding the high frets

To work out whether the frets are part of the problem, we pull out the fret rocker, a small straight edge that sits across three frets at a time. If it rocks, the middle fret is high. It is super common to find a rise right where the neck joins the body. Most guitars have a bit of a hump there, and if it never gets taken care of you will get buzzing or dead notes, sometimes starting as low as the seventh or eighth fret.

Partial or full fret levelling

If the problem lives up past the ninth or tenth fret, a partial fret levelling can be enough. We level that section so that when the guitar is set up, nothing is fighting to clear a high fret.

Down in the lower part of the neck it is a different story. It is extremely rare to do a partial levelling there, because when you take down one high fret, the one next to it suddenly reads high, and you end up chasing it fret by fret along the neck. Rather than playing that game, we will usually just level everything, and then the whole neck agrees with itself.

The finish work is what makes it play well

Levelling is only half the job. After the frets are level we re-crown them, so each fret comes back to a clean arc instead of a flat top, then file the fret ends, and sand and polish everything. That is the difference between a guitar that technically does not buzz and one that plays and sounds better than it ever has.

A word about Calgary

Dry air moves necks. Our winters pull the moisture out of a fretboard, the neck straightens or back bows a touch, and a guitar that played fine in the fall starts buzzing by February. If your guitar has developed a buzz and nothing else has changed, the climate is a prime suspect, and it is exactly the kind of thing a setup assessment gets to the bottom of.

Common questions

Will raising the action fix my fret buzz?

Sometimes, and it is the first thing we look at. But if the frets are uneven, raising the action only hides the problem, and you pay for it in playability. That is why we check the frets before deciding.

Is a little fret buzz normal?

A touch of buzz that does not come through the amp or affect the note is pretty common, especially with low action. Buzzing you can hear in the room, dead notes, or notes that choke out on bends are worth getting looked at.

Do I need a full fret levelling or a partial?

Depends where the problem is. High frets up past the ninth or tenth can often be handled with a partial. Problems lower down usually mean levelling the whole neck, because taking down one fret makes its neighbour read high.

Why does my guitar buzz more in winter?

Calgary winters are dry, and dry necks straighten out and lose relief. Less relief means less clearance over the frets, and buzz shows up without anyone touching a thing. It is normal here, and it is fixable.

If your guitar is buzzing, get in touch or call us at 403-253-9006 and we will figure out what is going on. And if you want the odd bit of guitar advice from the bench, join the Repair Bench mailing list and get $25 off your next repair or setup.