Fret Buzz after Making a Nut

parasko · #1 07-12-2022, 07:02 AM

Hi all,

I’ve tried my hand at making my first nut on my Martin D16. However, the notes play sharp at the first fret only and I’m trying to work out the issue.

At the same time I had fret rewiring done on this guitar by a luthier who used .50” high fret wire which I have now realized is relatively high. The original frets were only .43” tall.

My questions are:
1. Could the high fret wire be the cause of the notes playing sharp on the first fret? The intonation is fine on all other notes up the neck, including at the 12th fret.
2. If I file the nut slots deeper, will this remedy the situation?

Any advice appreciated.

redir · #2 07-12-2022, 07:10 AM

It could be that your nut slots are too tall but I would expect you would notice that even past the first fret.

To test the nut slot height press and hold a string on the first fret then press and hold the same string on the 4th fret and look at how much airspace you see over the second fret and make a mental image of it.

Then to test your nut slot height you do the same thing a half step down. So press and hold the third fret and observe the height of air space over the 1st. Does it look like the mental image you have of the previous test? If so you are good to go, if not then you need to lower the slot till it is.

Taller frets could cause players to play out of tune at least until they get used to the technique required to play them but that would be all over the fret board and not just on fret one.

Rudy4 · #3 07-12-2022, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parasko

Hi all,

I’ve tried my hand at making my first nut on my Martin D16. However, the notes play sharp at the first fret only and I’m trying to work out the issue.

At the same time I had fret rewiring done on this guitar by a luthier who used .50” high fret wire which I have now realized is relatively high. The original frets were only .43” tall.

My questions are:
1. Could the high fret wire be the cause of the notes playing sharp on the first fret? The intonation is fine on all other notes up the neck, including at the 12th fret.
2. If I file the nut slots deeper, will this remedy the situation?

Any advice appreciated.

1. Yes, if you are heavy handed when fretting. Any more pressure when fretting beyond what produces a clear note will stretch your note sharp. Higher frets exacerbate this problem.

What causes this to be particularly noticeable is when pulling the string sharp over the fret is combined with slots that aren't quite deep enough. (See answer #2...)

2. High slots are probably the root cause of the problem you're having, so yes.

Any doubt about high slots being the root cause of your problem can be quickly and easily verified by applying a capo at fret one. If your "problem" goes away then your slots are too high.

redir · #4 07-12-2022, 07:14 AM

Picture = 1000 words.

parasko · #5 07-12-2022, 08:19 AM

Thanks for the quick responses.

When I am checking these measurements and making adjustments should the neck be completely straight or should the neck be how I intend to play the guitar with some relief in the neck?

redir · #6 07-12-2022, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parasko

Thanks for the quick responses.

When I am checking these measurements and making adjustments should the neck be completely straight or should the neck be how I intend to play the guitar (that is, with some relief on the neck)?

Doesn't matter. The theory here is that the nut slots should be the exact same height as the fret in front of it, the first fret. In practice the strings can actually go lower then the first fret since when they exit the nut they actually bend upwards. So it doesn't matter what height your saddle is or weather or not the neck is flat or has the relief already set.

Rudy4 · #7 07-12-2022, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parasko

Thanks for the quick responses.

When I am checking these measurements and making adjustments should the neck be completely straight or should the neck be how I intend to play the guitar with some relief in the neck?

The "FIRST" note directly under the title spells out how to eliminate "string arch" from the procedure of setting nut slot depth. DO NOT set the string height lower than the first fret height, EVER!

There is no need to remove any intentional neck relief before checking and setting nut slot depth. The amount of fretboard curvature introduced by the truss rod in the area of the first few frets is so small that you can essentially disregard it.

rick-slo · #8 07-12-2022, 12:29 PM

If some of the nut slots are not ramped correctly the last contact point of the string with the nut could be behind the
anterior edge of the nut - thus you tune up higher and the string plays sharp.

parasko · #9 07-13-2022, 08:19 AM

Thanks to you all for your advice. I’ll re-assess the nut slots at the weekend.

PaulVA · #10 07-21-2022, 06:29 AM

As Rudy4 suggests, a quick way to check if nut slots are too high is to capo at the first fret and play. If it plays a lot easier with the capo than without, you can be sure that one or more of the nut slots is too high. I would do that before taking any measurements etc., it will tell the tale and then you can investigate further as needed: measure, adjust, measure again etc. One thing to be aware of, it's not hard to go too far when lowering the slots, you may want to go slowly when filing and re-check the measurement often. I learned this the hard way....