High fret

[PeteUK]

I recently bought a Washburn N2, about 30 years after having one before. It looks like it's hardly been played. I played an E major as a test, it worked, so I paid and went home with it.

However, playing all the notes, it buzzes on the high E string at the 15th fret. 12th fret E is ok, so is F, just a little buzzy. F# sounds like a buzzing G, then G is ok. Its definitely higher fret. I can feel it when I close my eyes and run my finger down the fretboard.

My question is really this. Should I just hit it with a hammer?

 

[Dad3353]

49 minutes ago, PeteUK said:

... Should I just hit it with a hammer?

 

 

Almost, but not quite. If you're really sure that it's only one high fret (you really need a 'fret rocker' to ascertain this...), here's a good description of the way to go about it. If using a 'normal' hammer, put a decent bit of plastic between the blow and the fret, to reduce the risk of flattening the crown of the fret. If possible, try it out as a technique on a less important fretboard, if you have one. Good luck with it. 

[PeteUK]

I could try that. My main hesitation is because I dont know if it was ever correct in the first place. The lady I bought it off had it from new, about 10 years, and I dont know if it was ever played that high, or much at all. 

If I knew it was once ok, then now high, then tapping it back into place might not be too difficult, but if it was never set correctly in the first place then I might be trying to tap the fret down but the groove might be too shallow, i cant see a gap, but then its maybe only a fraction of a mm anyway.

What are the chances that a guitar leaves the factory with a groove not cut deep enough? I assume they are all done by robots not by hand. It's not like it was hand made by a luthier.

[Dad3353]

There's no answer to your questions or doubts for your own particular instrument. What would a guitar tech do..? He/she would check it with a fret rocker, and, if it warranted it, would set it back to the correct height, most likely with a brass or nylon mallet (or, if there's very little, with a fret dress and re-crowning...). All the other frets would get a check, whilst it's on the bench, with maybe a tweak of the intonation before handing it back, all fixed and ready to go. There would be no discussion as to how guitar makers set up their tooling for cutting fret slots (many are done by hand, anyway...). 

Soooooo... Either leave it as it is, bite the bullet and do the job yourself, or take it to a competent tech for set-up. There's not much point in over-thinking things. Just my tuppence-worth; hope this helps. 

 

Douglas

[PeteUK]

Yeah thank you Douglas. I'll give it a few gentle taps myself, and if I dont see any improvement I'll take it to a repairer to get it done properly. I think there is one locally for about £30 an hour.