D String Buzz On 12th Fret

[Pluckoff]

Ibanez TMB100 purchased used a couple months ago.

When I purchased this guitar it had a lot of buzz from the 12th fret and up on all strings. I replaced the strings and adjusted the neck which had way too much relief. I held the body between my knees, pulled the headstock back with my left and tensioned the truss-rod with my right hand turning a quarter at a time and allowing a few minutes in-between turns. Afterwards, I set intonation and lowered the action by feel and sound (no buzzing). I kept it this way for a couple weeks and it sounded very clean, but this setup had too much tension and action too high for my liking.

I first tried lowering action but that created buzzing near the middle frets. I decided to add relief to the neck which (obviously) helped relieve tension and allowed me to lower the saddles and drop action even more. It's now setup very nicely with low action and (good) pop on all strings and every note besides the "D" string 12th fret. That note farts out quickly and sounds dead. Only that note and string, all other strings on the 12th fret are clear and correct. Raising or lowering the saddle height does not solve the issue.

Replace 12th fret wire or other issue?

 

[DrBnz]

Loosen the string (a lot - like 3 turns) and look at the string. Is it straight or did you create a bend/kink in it when you were stringing it. I had a similar situation but on a thicker (B) string. It sounded dead and buzzed ONLY when I fretted just behind where the bend/kink was. When it was under tension you couldn't really see it. That made me think I had a high fret too. But that I could measure and see that it wasn't. The string was bent.

 

[scobis215]

Sounds like a dead spot. If so, I don’t know of any reliable way to fix it, but there are smarter people than me here that might have good advice.

 

[Pluckoff]

Sounds like a dead spot. If so, I don’t know of any reliable way to fix it, but there are smarter people than me here that might have good advice.

Thanks.

 

[skycruiser]

Is the 12th fret low? Is the string buzzing against the higher frets?

What if you tune that string up or down a full step (or more)? Same problem? Or does the dead note move to another fret? I don't fully understand dead spots but if it is a resonance effect changing the note played on that fret might confirm that. If not seems like it could just be a low fret.

 

[Turnaround]

Could be a high fret. Could be a low fret. Could be a loose fret. Could be a bad string. Could be a dead spot. Could be a poor setup.

Start with the setup. Check for relief between .010 and .020. Set the strings to 5/64" on the G string, increasing on the D and A, to 3/32" on the E string. If the problem persists, look for a high or low fret around the 12th fret using a fret rocker. If it is OK try another string. Still a problem - check to see if the 12th fret is loose.

 

[Pluckoff]

Thanks for the replies. By feel I'm leaning towards a low fret taper on the D string, but a fret rocker (which I don't have) would confirm that. I could call Ibanez tech support to find out which gauge of fret wire is used on this guitar and replace myself, or bring it to a local shop and have them replace if need be. Last year I had a guy that's 30 minutes drive from my place do a complete fret replacement on a Japanese lawsuit Les Paul and he did a great job on it for $275. If it needed one or two frets I think he'd be very reasonable.

 

[Turnaround]

Unless the frets are worn right down you don't need to replace them. They probably just need levelling.

 

[Pluckoff]

Unless the frets are worn right down you don't need to replace them. They probably just need levelling.

Thanks