Weird fret buzz / harmonic

[Mrbabo91]

Hi, 

 

I’ve got a relatively new guitar (around 9 months old). For the last few months, I’m getting some intermittent fret buzz/choking on certain notes/frets. It’s usually either B or E notes (mostly B). So when I get the buzz, I will experience it across the entire neck on every B note. So I’ll get it at the 9th fret on the D, 4th fret on the G, 12th fret on the B etc. It doesn’t sound like your standard fret buzz. It sounds like some minor fret buzz + a harmonic. For example, when you play the B note on the 4th fret of the G, you can almost hear the same note the octave above. It sounds like I’m using an octave pedal. This happens on and off. Some days, I don’t experience this problem at all. 
 

Anybody have an idea what’s going on and how to fix it? 

[Dad3353]

22 minutes ago, Mrbabo91 said:

... Anybody have an idea what’s going on and how to fix it? 

 

Firstly (Good evening...), are we talking acoustic or electric guitar..? Any chance of a recording (a video with a 'phone should be enough, if it picks it up...), which would help enormously. Over to you... 

Edited November 16, 2024 by Dad3353

[Kiwi]

Checking frets with with a fret rocker would be the second thing to do after checking the neck relief and string height.

[Mrbabo91]

9 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Firstly (Good evening...), are we talking acoustic or electric guitar..? Any chance of a recording (a video with a 'phone should be enough, if it picks it up...), which would help enormously. Over to you... 

 

I woke up this morning and annoyingly, it’s not doing it! It was quite bad last night. We had the heating on most of the day yesterday, but it’s quite cold this morning. I’m wondering if the temp changes have something to do with it. 
 

It’s an electric. I’ll try to get a video uploaded when it starts doing it again. 
 

Thanks both for your replies so far. 

[Mrbabo91]

Hi,

 

Here’s a video I just captured. It’s strange. This morning, it was doing it on E notes. Now the E is fine and it’s doing it on pretty much every B note across the neck. It even does it if you play a note below the B and bend up to it. 
 

Hope the video works.  

 

 

[ezbass]

Something is vibrating in the trem system I reckon.

[Mrbabo91]

7 hours ago, ezbass said:

Something is vibrating in the trem system I reckon.

Something a decent tech would be able to figure out?
 

Just weird how it’s so on and off. And that it’s only ever the B and E notes. 

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Mrbabo91 said:

Something a decent tech would be able to figure out?
 

Just weird how it’s so on and off. And that it’s only ever the B and E notes. 

A tech will sort that easily, I would have thought, although I’d be tempted to try and track it down myself.

 

E&B share particular harmonic vibrations, so that doesn’t come as a surprise.