Interesting buzz mystery? Help!

[jazzguy]

I have buzz coming from my low E primarily when I fret the F# and G. I have made sure the ball ends of ALL strings seated properly, checked the bottom of the saddle to make sure it is flat, etc. Changed strings too. Still the buzz. I've encountered ball end buzz before and thought that is what it was, but it is still there. The buzz sounds like it is coming from the bridge area but I understand that can be misleading. BTW - I'm using Elixir PB Lights. My guitar is perfectly set up with correct relief and no other buzzing on any frets.

So I was trouble shooting with the Capo on the F# and noticed that the buzz was there but not as much because of the high tension of my Thalia capo. So I took off the Capo and fretted the note normally - still buzz. But then... I pressed much harder...and low and behold the buzz goes away! What the heck is going on? Is it a nut issue? Help!

[mattd]

Nut slot might be a little high, does it go away as you move up the neck?

[jazzguy]

Yes it does go away as I move up the neck. In addition, I do see that the LOW E string sits much higher than every other string, and higher than the low E of my other Martin. I think you are on to something. How does that introduce buzz?

[mattd]

Fret with normal pressure and you will likely see the string is barely above the next fret or two up then push the string down harder and you'll see it sit a little higher above those frets and enough to keep it from buzzing. If your string slot is high it takes a lot more force to fully fret it. This is the first thing I check on my new guitars and when the nut is set up correctly it makes playability way better. I ended up finally buying a set of stew mac nut slot files. There is some good info on the net that will show how to properly do this or take it in to a tech.

[StephenHD35]

If it’s a Martin check the washers on the tuning posts, if you haven’t already removed them. They can rattle. My D-15 had a g string that buzzed, and I couldn’t figure it out. Someone suggested removing those washers, and that solved my problem. If you have washers on the headstock, it’s worth checking out.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by jazzguy

I took off the Capo and fretted the note normally - still buzz. But then... I pressed much harder...and low and behold the buzz goes away! What the heck is going on?

One likely possibility is a high or loose fret end.

Take the eraser end of a pencil and push down on the top of the end of the F# fret. Observe it carefully to see if it moves up and down as you apply and remove pressure with the pencil/eraser. Do the same for the G fret. If there is any movement of the fret end, the buzzing might simply be a fret that isn't fully seated and is a little high. That isn't uncommon.

If so, one option is to glue it down. If you aren't experienced with gluing fret ends down, take it to a professional. It won't cost much to have it glued, if it needs to be.

[jazzguy]

I took it to my Luthier yesterday. Will provide feedback tomorrow. I highly suspect it is the nut. Since I've never done nut work and didn't want to screw it up, I thought best to leave to the experts. Stay tuned...

[jazzguy]

Fixed. Different strings did it.