Fret buzz diagnosis

The process of working out why one or more strings rattle against a fret, by isolating where and when the noise occurs.

The first question is which strings and which positions, since that narrows the cause immediately. A buzz across all positions points to action or relief; one that appears only around the middle frets suggests a high fret or a back bow; one only on the low strings under a hard attack is usually a setup that is simply too low for the player. Damping each string in turn and playing up the neck reveals the pattern, and a straightedge or notched straightedge then shows whether the fret plane or the neck itself is at fault.

Example: a rattle on the fifth and seventh frets of the G string alone, gone everywhere else, usually means one fret has lifted rather than the whole setup being wrong.

Fret buzz diagnosis

See also