Temp/humidity and fret buzz a.k.a Am I ruining my guitars?

Switch625

This is a 2 part thread so bear with me...

Part 1:

About 1.5-2 years ago I decided to take my guitars out of their soft cases and put them in a 6 way stand so I'd be more inclined to pick them up and play more often. I didn't really start picking them up until recently and I've noticed that they're mostly starting to buzz. I have a Mex Strat, a Jackson and an Epiphone LP and they've all started to do it.

I bought the Mexican Strat about a year ago and I'm pretty sure it was fine when I bought it, but now it's also buzzing. They mostly do it around the 5-10th frets, though with the Epiphone it's more around the 1-4th frets.

So I'm thinking that maybe the temperature/humidity isn't right in my room. I don't have a thermometer but I'd guess that on average it would be around 13-15C when the heating is off and maybe around 22-23C when the heating is on. I'm just basing this on my own comfort levels.

I'm thinking maybe I should buy one of those temperature/hygrometer things, was looking around at some on Amazon/Ebay and the reviews can be quite mixed. Does anybody use one and can recommend a decent one?

Part 2:

Because of the fret buzz on the Jackson and Epiphone I took them in to have a set up just before lockdown. I wanted to put new pickups in the Jackson anyway so it was the right time to get it set up too. I thought that the setup would eliminate the buzzing on both guitars but it was still there. I took both guitars back and asked the luthier to have another look and adjust the neck accordingly. He happily did but I'm still noticing the buzz. He said that he couldn't hear it when they were plugged in, but I'm pretty sure I can. I didn't want to keep going back and bothering him for something I'm not even sure is normal or not... so is it normal for guitars to buzz when played unplugged and if they don't do it when plugged in - is it right (even though in my case I'm sure I'm still hearing it when plugged in).

Sorry for the long post...

WezV

Part 1 - worth getting a cheap hygrometer to monitor... but its also worth learning how to tweak your guitars to cope with seasonal changes.  Shouldn't need much

Part 2 -  its  personal.  Some are fine with buzzing unplugged as long as its not amplified, and its certainly the easy answer the tech has gone for.  Some are heavy handed and it will always buzz with any reasonable action.  learning to do your own tweaks will allow you to dial in what works for you.. I prefer to get things as buzz free as possible unplugged, with a low action, but I have had players that still manage to pick them up and make it buzzy as hell. 

Switch625

Thanks, I'll look into the hygrometer... the ones I was looking at on Amazon seemed to have poor construction so will keep researching.

I've also ordered a notched straight edge so I can hopefully take a look at tweaking the action and truss rod to eliminate as much of the buzz as possible.

skunkwerx

1.5 to 2 years is a long time, especially if they’ve sat unused. Mine need a set up annually at least, but the room varies from stuffy as hell in the summer to cold as fuck in the winter. 

I’ve never given a thought to humidity. In England/London where I am, its probably not a huge issue. 

Thing with buzz is, it could be a couple things. Uneven frets, they can raise over time, the neck could have bowed etc. As long as the neck hasnt warped it’s normal. 

If I dont play a guitar for a couple days, I often find them sharp. 

I can play a bit, warm the neck and strings up and its flattened a little. 

How low is your action and flat is your relief? 

Some guitars can benefit from some fallaway on the highest frets to help prevent buzzing/choking. 

Bolt on’s can also develop a hump around where the neck joins the body.

might be worth checking your frets are all level as well. I would have presumed the luthier would have done this, but you never know. 

Switch625

I'm in London too, and similar to you my room can vary in temperature depending on season and whether the heating is on. Maybe humidity isn't such an issue and I just need to learn to tweak things myself.

The luthier did check the fret levels as he mentioned he had to sort one out on the Epiphone, but maybe the buzz wasn't bad enough to him to warrant any further adjustments. Or maybe I'm too picky!

zedhex

you probably just need a truss rod adjustment - many guitars need a minor tweak about once a year

PrecisionGuided

This one is a good one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01H1R0K68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Switch625

zedhex said:

you probably just need a truss rod adjustment - many guitars need a minor tweak about once a year

I thought the luthier would've done it in the set up, but maybe he didn't deem it necessary. I took it back to ask him to do and he said he tweaked it a bit but the buzz is still there.

Switch625

PrecisionGuided said:

This one is a good one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01H1R0K68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's the one I was looking at yesterday actually, a lot of the reviews say the display goes wrong after a few months. Shame as it would be decent otherwise.