I recently build my own electric guitar from an old one using the old parts and the neck and pickups from another old guitar. when the guitar was finished i put on the strings and it sounded great until i played the 12th fret. the 12th fret has an extreme buzz sound especially when playing the D, G or B string. i tried to higher the action but that didn't help. also the nut was pretty low so i filled it with colth to higher it but that didn't work either. the bridge is an old floyd rose bridge and i put 5 springs at the back so it doesn't lift that much anymore i don't know if this can be a problem. i didn't change anything about the truss rod because i was affraid to break the neck. i hope any of you can help me. oh and sorry for my bad english it's not my native language.
Before you adjust action or fill/file the nut, you must assess the truss rod. That is the first thing to tackle in the procedure order of doing a proper set-up. The neck has to be adjusted correctly to be sure the string has room to vibrate. You may also want to check the frets to see there isn't a high fret or flat/damaged fret.
You should never fill the nut slot with cloth; this will deaden the transmission between string and neck/body resulting in a muted sound and loss of sustain.
Be sure to check our COMPLETE Guitar Repair & Set-Up Clinic page at: http://supremesoundstudio.com/clinics-workshops/complete-guitar-repairset-up-clinic/ to see if there is a class near you.
