Need help with fret buzz

[Lodos]

I'm thinking of buying this old Martin DC-28 from a friend who doesn't even play it. I thought the action was really high so I sanded the saddle a bit but it wasn't enough. Then I tightened the truss rod and achieved my desired action, unfortunately I got horrible buzzing at the second fret, particularly on the D and G strings. The frets seem fine since the guitar hasn't been played that much. I'm not sure whether the neck is bowed right now but I know the kind of action that I want and this is it.

Is there a way I can fix this without having to change the action? Could a new nut with higher slots be a solution? The instrument is fairly old, it sounds great, the price is unbelievably good and I really can't deal with a neck reset right now. All I need is to get rid of this stupid buzz at the second fret.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[JayBee1404]

I recommend that, before you start changing things willy-nilly, you read Charles Tauber’s ‘Basic Guitar Setup 101’…

https://www.charlestauber.com/luthie...May%202015.pdf

It’s a long read, but it contains all the information you need to set your guitar up to play perfectly. Messing with truss-rods, nut-slots, saddles, etc. without at least the basic knowledge re: guitar setup is not a good idea.

As always, the standard disclaimer applies - IMHO. However, I realise that YMMV, and I’m cool with that.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Lodos

I'm thinking of buying this old Martin DC-28 from a friend who doesn't even play it. I thought the action was really high so I sanded the saddle a bit but it wasn't enough. Then I tightened the truss rod and achieved my desired action, unfortunately I got horrible buzzing at the second fret, particularly on the D and G strings. The frets seem fine since the guitar hasn't been played that much. I'm not sure whether the neck is bowed right now but I know the kind of action that I want and this is it.

Is there a way I can fix this without having to change the action? Could a new nut with higher slots be a solution? The instrument is fairly old, it sounds great, the price is unbelievably good and I really can't deal with a neck reset right now. All I need is to get rid of this stupid buzz at the second fret.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

If you can't "deal with" a neck reset right now I'd opt to pass on purchasing it. If the price is "unbelievably good" then factoring in another $500 for a proper reset wouldn't be an issue.

[phavriluk]

Time for some quality time with a fret rocker and a 24-inch straightedge. And altering an instrument - - - without an idea of what to do - - - that someone doesn't own??? Buy it first.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

I recommend that, before you start changing things willy-nilly, you read Charles Tauber’s ‘Basic Guitar Setup 101’…

https://www.charlestauber.com/luthie...May%202015.pdf

It’s a long read, but it contains all the information you need to set your guitar up to play perfectly.

As always, the standard disclaimer applies - IMHO. However, I realise that YMMV, and I’m cool with that.

+1☝️. That tutorial is excellent.
My process is to check the nut first. Measure action at 12, then capo 1 and measure again. if the capoed action is lower when capoed, you might need to look at nut slots- which is where my DIY setup will stop. I won’t mess with the nut-
But if the nut action measures are fine, I then check the relief, by again capo 1, press your finger on the first fret past the body joint (14th fret on a 14 fret, 12th fret on a 12 fret) measure RELIEF at the 7th fret (or the middle between your capo 1 and your finger past the body joint) the string should pinch and hold a dollar bill folded in thirds- Personally I like the finger board a hair straighter than the recommended 3 bill width, so I’ll do about a 1/16th turn tighter on the truss rod once I’ve hit my relief target.

Once the nut and relief are checked and correct- then I move on to the saddle.
I like the action on my guitars at about 2.5mmB and 2mmt.
If my action is high, I’ll measure the difference between my target action height and current- If my action height is 3mm, I want to bring it down to 2.5 so I need to remove 1mm from the saddle height.
Measure the saddle height before removing it from the bridge and see if you have 1mm of saddle to remove, making sure what’s left is about 1/8 inch of saddle clearance off the top of the bridge- If my saddle is already very low- And I don’t have enough room to bring it down more- it might need a neck reset.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

Time for some quality time with a fret rocker and a 24-inch straightedge. And altering an instrument - - - without an idea of what to do - - - that someone doesn't own??? Buy it first.

Oh yes- This is pretty important.

[CowhornShoehorn]

If the price is "unbelivable", buy it acknowledging it needs a neck reset and knowing that until a reset is done, everything else is a bandaid that may have consequences. I've had guitars come in for "just a reset" that got quite a bit more expensive as they also needed a new bridge, saddle, nut, fret work, etc.

[John Arnold]

My interpretation of your post is that you have buzzing on the second fret, but none on open strings. Nut action has no effect on buzzing when fretting a string.
A truss rod that is too tight will result in a back bow, which will tend to cause buzzing on the first few frets.
You have a couple of choices. Both involve a relief adjustment. Relief should be between 0.004" and 0.010". Loosening the rod and lowering the saddle further is the simplest. You can also increase the relief with a fret level, but that will reduce the fret height in the middle of the neck.

[steve gray]

Seems odd you are getting the buzz on the 2nd fret, when you tightened the truss rod how far did you go? have you checked to see whether you have created a back bow. You should be able to tell by looking down the neck from the headstock. Failing that you will be able to tell how your frets are looking with a small ruler, a lamp and a piece of paper.

[CharlieBman]

Originally Posted by Lodos

Then I tightened the truss rod and achieved my desired action

This statement is likely contributing to your cause. Truss rods are typically not adjusted for action (unless the neck is seriously bowed away from the strings). They are used to either straighten the neck for fret/neck work or to add a slight relief on fully tensioned set of strings to allow strings not to buzz at their mid-point. If you are tightening the truss rod you are forcing the neck to bow toward the strings. If the guitar has been sitting around awhile in a dry environment, some of the frets can creep out as the wood shrinks. Coupled with tightening the truss could cause the kind of issue you're having.

Truss rod adjustments and raised frets are simple fixes, as long as you're very confident in what you're doing, if not, I'd take the guitar to someone who is. If the guitar really is a great deal, it would be worth the trouble. YMMV