Fixing sitar-style fret buzz?

scarry67

Just got a well-used Blueridge dread and there's a fair bit of fretwear evident. The high E string makes an obvious sitar buzz at 5th fret but not elsewhere - what are my options bar paying for fret level? Action's low and I've put on new 11-52s. Tweak truss rod, raise saddle (how), or try 12s? Any help appreciated...

AliGorie

u seem to know u'r options 67, yeah - check neck for relief - tweak T/rod. Raise saddle by laying a 'shim' or two of hardwood veneer under it -it is usually .6 mm thick.
The guitar may not sound at it's best with 11's so I'd up to 12's.
Re-stones aren't that difficult to do - I use a 'diamond' stone or leveling.

scarry67

I've lowered saddles successfully but not raised. Being able to stone frets would indeed be a useful skill. Will order some 12s too...

scarry67

Hurrah! Truss rod tweak yielded excellent results. A happy strummer...

AliGorie

Hurrah

WezV

It's likely you have just hidden the issue for a while as you wouldn't get fret buzz in such a specific location just from inappropriate relief.

worth checking if it is a high fret with a rocker and taking some steps to fix it.  Then you can set the relief to your preference, not just to hide an issue

scarry67

Agreed. At some point frets will need work but for now I'm happy. Someone on here was selling a Blueridge BG for £225 I think. A steal...

AliGorie

yeah, have a 'good' guitar that the E+B strings had eaten into the frets right down the 'treble' side - they tend to do that cause they're 'solid' metal wire. The ware was even over all the frets so I stoned it and re-profiled the crowns.
This has the effect of the f/board having a SLIGHTLY bigger radius under those two strings - it's actually imperceptible.
In the middle of f/board it would be noticeably - string bends etc.