Buzzing from Guitar

most of the time when I play my guitar without the amp I can hear buzzing coming from most of the strings. Most of the time the 1st(high E) is the only string that doesn't buzz. I have been to two different stores. The first said to change the strings and it will go away. I changed the strings and MOST of the buzzing went away. So I went to another store. The guy said my neck was not adjusted properly. He adjusted the truss rod. However two days later, the guitar is still buzzing. It's a real pain because all I hear when I strum is a low growling sound. Tell me what should I do?
(I am not made of money and cannot aford to buy new strings every week. And the Guitar is only 6 months old. Fender Standard(Mexican) Telecaster.)

It could be humidity, where about are you ?
Are you doing USA extreme winter at the moment?

I would recommend that you get a book / video by a well-known guy called Dan Erlewine. I have one of his books (second link) and one of his videos (how to do strat electrics). Both are very good.


They will tell you all you need to know about setting up and looking after your axe check out:

http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=SERVE&sku=5524&ITEM=catalog/sku.html

and

http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=SERVE&sku=3720&ITEM=catalog/sku.html

Best of luck
S

I think the good Doctor has it just about right. The action may be a bit low for your playing style. You can adjust either the guitar, or the way you play it.

I am living near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Right now it is very cold, reaching -35C a few times this week. Could the humidity be the problem? I only play inside the house and keep it out of the case when I am not using it. My house sits around 21degreesC all yaer round.

Yes, sounds like humidity to me ! I have a similar problem during winters here in Iowa !

I think that your guitar is losing moisture and shrinking at the moment. During the summer it will probably take in water and expand.

This would be a good time to learn how to set up your own axe.

Whilst this shrinking and expanding is not dangerous for electric guitars, you will probably need to adjust the action periodically!

The guitar will react to changing conditions. With the recent cold snap, the humidity is probably down to about 10-15%, which isn't good for it.

As it happens, I moved to Calgary from Ottawa three years ago. I suggest you drop in to Metro Music on Bank Street near Second Ave. Mark Warren runs The Fret Clinic at the back of the store. If he can't put you right, it can't be done!

I've heard about Metro Music but have never been there. I bought my guitar from International Musicland in St.Laurent Shopping Centre, but they closed. So I visited Steve's and liked them very much. Kevin McPhil gave the truss rod a slight turn. However, like I think I said before, the guitar seems to be buzzing much more now. What involves setting up the guitar?

Will keeping my guitar inside its case when it is not in use help?
In the summer can the guitar go out of wack also. Even if it does take in more water, wil too much humidity hurt it? What can I do to help prevent more buzzing all year round?

Keeping it in the case will help to slow down any changes in temperature or humidity, but if your house is kept at a fairly steady temperature, then shifts in humidity should take a long time, like a week or two, to affect your guitar.

Like I said, visit Mark, preferably on a Wednesday or Saturday, and see what he has in the way of advice. He can seem like an opinionated old fart sometimes (it takes one to know one :) ), but he knows his stuff, and someone who can examine your axe in person always has better information to base an opinion on than someone (like me) who is thousands of miles away.