Which action height?

Tommasino

I own a Du Pont MD50, with which I am immensely happy. When I first started playing Gypsy Jazz, I was only concerned with comping, and my Savarez Mediums (red silk) floated at what I saw as an ideal height with my N.2 bridge.

Now, after buying Michael's book on solo picking, I have noticed that when I use the rest-stroke I get a slight buzz in the area between the fourth and the seventh frets.

My questions are:

1 - Is a moderate amount of fret buzz acceptable in this style over loud lead notes? This may be (and probably is!) a dumb question, but I'd rather hear the answer from those more knowledgeable than me.

2 - If not, what do I need to do to the neck to adjust this problem? I have never messed with a truss-rod, so I am not sure about a) whether acting on it would cure the problem and b) how to do it properly.

3 - I have read on the Gitane thread (below) that proper string height at the 12th fret should be around 2.5/2.75mm with 11's. What is the ideal set for the neck with these strings?

4 - What (if any) would be the drawback of moving to a N.3 bridge?

Thank you in advance for your replies and your help.

Tom

Mark

Hi Tommasino,

some people can't stand fret buzz at any level, others don't mind it - I'd recommend recording yourself playing (lines and chords) and listen back to see if it bugs you.

If the fret buzz if only over a couple of frets, it's possible that the frets need dressing (leveling). That occurs if you play constantly in the same positions - I imagine your chord playing would centre around 4th-7th frets. You need to check whether the frets are uneven or whether the neck is 'warped'. Perhaps both. If you're not sure about truss rod adjustment I'd recommend taking it to a pro, and get them to check whether it's frets or neck. Fret leveling is definately a pro job.

String height is personal preference. Usually people strive for the lowest possible action without buzzing, but your tone will be fatter if you have a high action. Pros and Cons for both.

Not sure about the bridge change - not really familiar with the differences.

cheers,

Mark

Bob Holo

The reds are the 11's. You will get some buzz when you really "step on it" in Gypsy Jazz. It's part of the sound. Listen to Birelli Langrene or Yorgui Loeffler play "Fiso Place" there is a lot of buzz in the intro and it sounds great - it's part of the sound.

There is no set height - just somewhere in that range will probably get you where you want to be. A couple of things could be happening. As our esteemed colleague pointed out - you could have worn frets or just frets that need dressing.... most of the time if you buzz around one or two frets... this is it.

Another thing that might be happening - if you're buzzing around the 7th fret... that's dead center of the apex of the neck's relief. If you have too much relief, you might be getting buzz on the 14th fret (where the neck meets the guitar) where there is usually a little bump (due to many factors including age) as a result of having to stretch the string down to fret the 7th which is recessed too far due to excessive neck relief. If your string height seems greater at the seventh fret than the 12th, this might be the cause. Hopefully, if this is the case, you have a truss rod. In any case, it doesn't sound severe so a decent fret dressing would probably do the trick even if you have a tiny bit too much relief and/or a small rise near the body. Worst case circumstance - if your frets are completely toasted and your neck has too much relief - you can get it re-fretted - and ask the luthier to plane the fretboard or use slightly larger frets which will put a little "backbow pressure" on the neck. Likley you will not have to do either. The luthier will know what to do if anything is necessary. My guess is that a fret dress and setup would be the most you'd have to do - re-fretting - planing the fretboard - changing fret sizes.... that's all pretty severe stuff.

Another thing that could be happening - is that you're just not getting the rest stroke right. The rest stroke is a cool tool, but people tend to get absorbed in the power you can develop with a rest stroke when they first start doing it. You may just be getting carried away with the attack and volume and hammering the hell out of your strings. I guarantee you can drive any guitar into serious fret buzz with a properly zealous rest stroke.

Have a good guitar tech check for high frets and look at the relief and setup.

Mark

As our esteemed colleague pointed out - you could have worn frets or just frets that need dressing.... most of the time if you buzz around one or two frets... this is it.

"Esteemed" seems a little too kind for the likes of me! :oops:

Tommasino, I agree with every thing Bob wrote - hope we've helped.

Mark