Fret Buzz

[peteko]

Hi,

My relatively new Paul buzzez when I bend the b string at the 11th fret. The only buzz I get on this thing is at this point when I bend. Any ideas how to fix this? I have tried to wear down the 12th, 13th, 14th fret a bit, but that didnt do the trick. I am on the generous side of relief, so I dont want to push that any further.

Thanks,
Pete

[Just Bob]

Stop the string with a capo and use a feeler gauge or scrap of paper to see what/where is buzzing. I wouldn't file any frets until I knew which one exactly. Could be lots of things, including a bad string. If it only happens when you bend, maybe one fret is a bit high, but not under the b string. It's only going to be a couple thousandths of an inch. Could be a fret that isn't perfectly seated. Look carefully for any gap between the fingerboard and bottom of the fret wire. Tap it down carefully with a small hammer and a wood block to avoid squashing the fret profile. Could also be just a bit too little neck relief. Might need to back off on the truss rod a fraction of a turn.

[David Schwab]

You can try to use a little less relief... so you want to tighten the rod in that case. My experience is that many brand new guitars have less than ideal fretwork. A good leveling and crowning can do wonders!

It sounds like you might have one unlevel fret.

[peteko]

I really appreciate your responces, I will check out both methods and post an update.

Thanks for your time.
Pete

[mick]

I would also look at bridge height , past the 7th or 8th fret buzzing can be can be caused by this rather than trussrod relief , using less relief and a bit more more bridge height can sometimes do the trick.
Mick

[peteko]

Thanks Mick and everyone else who responded. A combo of raising the bridge and decreasing relief did the trick. Thanks again for all of your time.

Pete