Is my nut shit? Please advise.

EdGrip

I just realised that my neck relief was a bit extreme by most other people's standards, so I flattened the neck out nearly level. It all seems easier to play now, and with a bit of saddle tweaking the fretboard is largely buzz-free. Broad strokes at this point, of course, I'm just experimenting. The open low E string, however, is all buzz. I realise now I had adjusted the neck relief to such extremes to make this problem go away, but now I think that I was just cut a bad nut by Local Luthier. 

The low E is visibly closer to the first fret than all the other strings when no strings are fretted. This is definitely the source of the buzz. This, combined with the problem of the g-string ringing behind the nut and requiring me to fit a string dampener made out of old pickup wire where other vintage one-string-tree Teles do not have an old-pickup-wire string dampener, leads me to think that the nut may be less than ideal.

Here is a picture of the first fret, no strings fretted. What d'y'all think?

BenSirAmos

There isn't enough information in that photo for me to have an opinion.  But there are a few questions.

1. Does it buzz though an amp, or only when you play it unplugged?

2. How old are the strings?

3. If you put a capo at the first string, does the problem go away?

mike_l

Without seeing the rest of the guitar it's impossible to say. I'd say try raising the bridge a tiny amount for a start, to remove/reduce the buzz.

ICBM will be along in a minute with a better solution.

EdGrip

Not tried it through an amp; of course, I can make any string buzz at almost any fret if I pick hard enough in the wrong way, but the open E string is something else entirely. It really is ALL buzz. None of the other open strings buzz unless I force them to.

(With regard to the "through an amp" thing... Always confused me a bit... if the string is rattling against a fret somewhere, this modulation will be audible through the pickups, no? It's just a matter of how does it sound, and do you care?)

The strings aren't new, but not old enough to sound totally dead. They've still got some ring to them.

A light pick with the string fretted at the first fret gives a totally clean note; an even lighter pick without the string fretted gives instant buzz.

impmann

Put a capo on the third fret. Is there a gap between the bottom of the string and the 1st fret? If so how big is it (feeler gauges help here). If not - your nut is cut too low.

Andyjr1515

Can you take a shot including the nut and the first two frets? Also, how many mm above the 12 th fret is the bottom E?

Gagaryn

If all strings are the same height the low E is more likely to buzz than the other strings purely because it's natural vibrations are 'bigger'. A properly cut nut would take this into account. If it is buzzing all the way up the fretboard raising the saddle isn't the proper fix, or likely to solve the issues in any case. Without seeing the guitar, my best guess would be that the nut needs fixed, and possibly a bit of relief put back into the neck.

BenSirAmos

EdGrip said:

Not tried it through an amp; of course, I can make any string buzz at almost any fret if I pick hard enough in the wrong way, but the open E string is something else entirely. It really is ALL buzz. None of the other open strings buzz unless I force them to.

(With regard to the "through an amp" thing... Always confused me a bit... if the string is rattling against a fret somewhere, this modulation will be audible through the pickups, no? It's just a matter of how does it sound, and do you care?)

The strings aren't new, but not old enough to sound totally dead. They've still got some ring to them.

A light pick with the string fretted at the first fret gives a totally clean note; an even lighter pick without the string fretted gives instant buzz.

People think new strings rattle but then they can't hear the rattle through an amp so we need to eliminate that one.

If it is okay fretted at the first fret, the next step is, as impman says above, capo at third fret - the nut slot might be cut too deeply

richardhomer

impmann;253153" said:

Put a capo on the third fret. Is there a gap between the bottom of the string and the 1st fret? If so how big is it (feeler gauges help here). If not - your nut is cut too low.

You don't really need feeler gauges. If you tap the string with the same kind of force you would use to play a hammer-on, you should be able to hear it hit the first fret.

Adjusting relief out is more likely to create buzz in the middle of the neck, because you have effectively lowered the action where the arc in which the string vibrates is at its greatest. A capo at the first fret will tell you if this is the case. Assuming it is, you need to raise the saddle.

The other possibility is that the first fret is slightly high on the bass side. A photo taken from the bass side as others have said, would be helpful.

ICBM

It's hard to be 100% certain from that pic, but looking at the relative shadows of the strings I would say that the nut is much too low on the E string, yes. It's certainly a lot lower than the other five strings, so if the E is not too low then the others are too high! The only proper solution if the groove is that much too deep is a new nut really - you can fill the groove with various mixtures of glue and other things if you like, and it usually does do quite a good job, but really a new nut is best.

Skipped

1. Put a tiny piece of folded aluminium foil in the low E string slot. Just enough to stop the buzz. I want to emphasize that this is just a fix to get you over the next couple of days and absolutely not for longer than that. 2. Fit a new piece of foil every 10 years.

Deadman

Anyone done an anal joke yet?

drwiddly

Deadman;253303" said:

Anyone done an anal joke yet?

Nah, no squirrel jokes either.

breakstuff

mike_l said

M D Phillips will be along in a minute with a better solution.

Edited for accuracy. 

EdGrip

With regard to how things are at the first fret when the string is fretted at the third fret, things are like this:

[Deleted User]

yes, your nut is shit - from your first picture all the slots look like they're probably pretttty low

EdGrip

That's the conclusion I've come to. So, with that in mind, who do people recommend to do this sort of work in the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire area?

I will be working in London for a bit later next month, so I could wait til then if there's anyone in London that comes highly recommended. Been playing the guitar daily for two years now, so I might splash out on a fret level and dress too, since it never had one before.

fretfinder

Take a look at this thread:

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/18/recommended-luthiers-techs#latest

EdGrip

Aaah yes, forgot about that thread!

Maybe I'll just take it to Feline Guitars while I'm down there...

57Deluxe

You can build up your dodgy nut slots with super glue and baking soda and refile with nut files...

drwiddly

Trouble with that is a decent set of nut files will cost more than a tech will charge for a new nut, fret dress and set up.