Acoustic fret buzz!

It could be a couple things.

1. Maybe the string isn't sitting correctly in the saddle, or nut, or has worn down lowering the action on that one string
2. You may need to have your frets dressed

You could also have a warped neck, but I wouldn't worry about that yet. Take it to a tech.

Don't think there is any serious fret wear so that should be OK, but did wonder about the nut or saddle wearing enough to cause the one string to buzz. Will likely do what you say and have it checked out. Thanx for the input. Anybody else with a suggestion?
Robbie

I should also mention I'm from southern Ontario, so I feel your pain about the changing weather and the dry cold. My guitars need almost full setups at least twice a year to stay working well, with small adjustments along the way.

We have some of the largest temperature/climate differences in the world. It can be 40 celsius and humid in the summer, and then -40 and dry in the winter. (104 to -40 for you non-metric americans)

im having a similar issue on my strat. I've determined it to be the nut slot wearing. I've since ordered a new Tusq nut that's a pretty direct replacement, meaning little to no filing will be necessay...or so i hope. i'd be willing to guess you have a similar issue. maybe you could shim the nut a little and see what happens.

It doesn't seem to me that it would be the nut or the buzzing would be at the lower frets only and disappear as you went up the neck. With the dry weather perhaps one of the frets has come up a bit? Have a look at the fret ends on the high e string side. Maybe a bit of moisture in the guitar case and a light oiling of the fretboard would help it out?

Going to try your idea of a some humidity in the case. Have checked the nut and saddle very closely and they look to be as they should. Also can't seem to find any fret that is raised using a straight edge. Thanx to all replies so far. The guitar is in relatively great shape and until recently has played very well. I am thinking the dry weather and electric baseboard heat in my guitar room is the problem.
Robbie

It doesn't seem to me that it would be the nut or the buzzing would be at the lower frets only and disappear as you went up the neck. With the dry weather perhaps one of the frets has come up a bit? Have a look at the fret ends on the high e string side. Maybe a bit of moisture in the guitar case and a light oiling of the fretboard would help it out?

agree. buzz due to the nut only would happen on an open string. as soon as one frets, the nut is out of the picture for buzz issues(but not tuning and intonation).

wood shrinkage is probably the issue -- could be fretboard, neck, top of guitar (change in bellying). unless a fret has popped up, dimensional changes due to shrinkage are addressed by adjusting relief (truss rod) and saddle height.

I keep all my "sensitive" guitars in a humidified room during the winter. lessens the problems, but is not perfect.

agree. buzz due to the nut only would happen on an open string. as soon as one frets, the nut is out of the picture for buzz issues(but not tuning and intonation).

wood shrinkage is probably the issue -- could be fretboard, neck, top of guitar (change in bellying). unless a fret has popped up, dimensional changes due to shrinkage are addressed by adjusting relief (truss rod) and saddle height.

I keep all my "sensitive" guitars in a humidified room during the winter. lessens the problems, but is not perfect.

Thats a good point about nut height not mattering on a fretted note, I didn't even think of that.

Not to hijack the thread, but gnease do you notice any problems using a humidified room when it comes to fast humidity changes? I've never used humidifiers because a) I can't find any definitive evidence that they do more good than harm and b) because I always wondered if fast humidity changes were worse than gradual ones, ie: taking your guitar out of a humidified room into a dry room once a day.

jeffster-

I'm not a militant humidifier, but use humidification just enough to take the dry edge out of the air. and I do have humidifiers in the rest of the house in addition to my main "guitar room", which has a dedicated humidifier. but I gauge the need for humidification by how I feel, not on a humidity meter. I don't worry about subjecting a guitar to rapid humidity changes, because it's pretty difficult to inflict an instant humidity change to most materials unless you hose them down. the humidity in the air may change rapidly from one environment to another, but the changes in the wood take quite some time to happen, as the absorption and release of humidity is a slow process for many materials. a concrete example: in the automotive and consumer product design, products are tested for resistance to thermal shock -- equivalent to taking a cellphone from the toasty inside out into an International Falls, MN winter, or from a Phoenix afternoon in the brutal sun into a meat locker. in these tests, humidity conditions will be combined with the temp change conditions because resulting condensation kills many devices. however, there is rarely -- if ever -- a standalone humidity shock test. I've always assumed that's because -- condensation out of the air aside -- not many materials really react to rapid humidity changes. so all the critical humidity testing is done by longer time"soaking" (in the exposure, not wetness sense) to give the devices or materials time to absorb or release the moisture.

I do believe that long term over-humidifying is a problem. I try to avoid that.