Question about string noise

Xcaliber

Xcaliber

New member
I had one of my guitars professionally set up by the tech in the local music store last summer (so about a year ago) and it was playing great until about a week ago. Now I have this buzzing at the nut on the G string (not fret buzz, but a very fast and quiet buzz). It only happens when I have the guitar in "normal" playing position ("horizontal" to the floor), if I point the head stock at the ceiling and play the G string the buzz is gone. Also I've noticed a loss of sustain at the 12th fret on the same string and another sort of "buzzing" noise at the 7th fret.

Do I need another set up? The strings are pretty old, but I'd rather not waste a new pack of strings (which I can put on) if something else needs to be adjusted.

Thanks.
 
I had a problem kind of similar to this on one of my guitars. It was the high E string, and it turns out it started unraveling itself at the ball end.
 
Also remember that since your neck is made of wood, it swells and contracts as the average temperature and humidity change through the seasons. A lot of times a guitar will need a setup twice per year to keep it in ideal adjustment through the cold, dry months and the hot, humid months.

A couple of my guitars are finicky about this, and a couple aren't. My Telecaster, P-bass and Martin acoustic definitely need tweaking throughout the year, but my Les Paul seems to be happy no matter the temp/humidity. Most of the time all it takes is just a little tweak to the truss rod and I'm back in business.
 
You'll need to change the strings before a setup anyway, so do that first. Strings are what, $4 a set? Buy a 10 pack of your favorite brand off Amazon and change them often.

First thing you need to figure out is whether the buzz is behind the nut or ahead of it. Some guitars (and basses) are prone to buzz between the tuning peg and nut, due to a loose nut slot or too little break angle over the nut. If the buzz is coming from the part of the string between the nut and bridge, then you probably need a truss rod adjustment.

Do yourself a favor. Learn to do your own setups. Beats paying someone to do it for you, and you can tweak them as often as you like. The tools you need are simple: A wrench that fits your truss rod, an automotive feeler gauge, a capo, allen wrenches or whatever fits your bridge saddles, a small ruler marked in millimeters or 1/32 inches, the manufacturers specs off their website, and an accurate tuner for setting intonation. You can find the how-to's on Youtube, but watch a number of videos to filter out the bad advice. Alternately, look for sticky threads on some of the major forums like Mylespaul, Fender Discussion Page, TRRI, etc. That advice you get there should be solid.
 
You say setup. What does that mean?
A proper and full setup would entail a few items.
neck adjust
fret dress
nut and bridge height adjustment
and finally new strings and intonation.

I'll usually do pickup adjustment and possibly clean up the electronics.
Also I go over every screw and nut and bolt.
tuners get loose and often times aren't tight from the factory to begin with.

With your situation, it IS a year later. So having been set up has no bearing on today.
Necks move, they aren't perfect. They respond to temp and humidty.

Put some new strings on it and see what it does. If needed mess with it a little, or take it somewhere.
 
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