Advice requested regarding frets and buzzes

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, I'd really appreciate observations from builders and repairers.

This issue may also indicate something inside the body.

I have two guitars - one a 12 fret dreadnought and a 000 12 fret built by a highly respected builder. The dread was built in '98, built new, worked pretty hard by me, and has now been refretted three times.

The 000 was built in 2003, bought by me in 2005 and has been very lightly used.

I use D'addario strings - EJ17 mediums on the dread and EJ16 on the 000.
Both are 25.5" scale and the actions are set at .105/.110" bass and .080"/.090" treble with a relief measured at 8th fret with a capo on 1st and strings held back on highest fret - .006" (using feeler gauge)

Due to my illness and cancer treatment in 2017/18 - they were left in cases and I was unable to monitor RH which I suspect became rather low last winter (2017/18).
NOTE: I normally keep and eye on my instruments and put hygrometers and humidifiers in cases during winter.

I expect a certain variance in my guitars in extreme temps and RH but as I live in the south of the UK -neither get particularly extreme, and my house seems to be around 50% RH pretty much all year apart from the depth of winter when it can drop to 25-30%.

The dread has been set up, adjusted , new nut and saddle, and then EVO frets removed and replaced with fretwire from maker. Made it worse. Took it elsewhere and had it "PLEKed"

Problems with overly buzzy/bright notes still show, with other notes sounding very dull , esp. at and near to 12th fret.

0002h is even more lightly built than the dread and cannot be used for my usual performance style because I am aware that my flat picking style is rather heavy. It has also been PLEKed.

Both instruments exhibit notes that buzz more than others. and sem to have an irritating resonance or dead spots. Maybe it is formerly un-noticed "overtones/buzzing" These are not on consistent notes.

My usual tech has inspected the interior of both instruments and could not find anything loose inside. They both have bridgeplate mounted pick ups.

Does this "phenomenon" ring any bells with you?

Can you advise any further ways to pursue this situation?

Thanks in advance.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Like other fret dressing methods, the PLEK process is only a momentary solution no matter how well executed. And also like other fret dressing methods, not every PLEK machine/operator is created equal. You do seem to be describing an uneven fret path. If your guitars have been subjected to an extreme humidity cycle or two there is every reason to imagine the wood has become relatively misshapen. We’re talking thousands of an inch, which is not much.

[Silly Moustache]

Thanks Bruce,

Sound info.
I asked a friend around this afternoon who is a superb player and plays a guitar by the same maker. We discovered that he has similar "symptoms" to mine although mine are are older.

Do I understand that you'd indicate a further manual set up AFTER the PLEK process?