Guitar Buzzing D:

[Q.K.]

I figured I would ask here in case any of the guitar players knew what was up with my acoustic... been getting some really ugly buzzing and notes not playing the way they should..

I should start by saying it gets pretty dry here during the winter. I've tried to keep it humidified well but it's likely that this problem was caused by dryness. I'm using a relatively heavy gauge set of strings too. Anyways, I'll attach an audio file, but this is basically what's happening. Notes sound perfect when playing open frets (with the exception of the low E, if I pluck excessively hard - not a real problem). Whenever I fret basically any note however, except on the low A string I get one of two things:

1) On the low end of the neck, especially on the higher strings I get a rattling, tinny sound to the notes.

2) Even worse, on most of the strings towards the 11th/12th fret and on, they don't even sound normally, and when fretted lightly, will play the same note regardless of me moving up the neck. You can kind of hear this in the recording, after the chords. Especially bad on the high and low E string.

It's not an issue with finger strength or even the new heavier gauge I think, because this only surfaced in the past month or so, and I got these strings in the fall. Does anybody know what's up? Help would be much appreciated.

http://www.box.net/shared/f27cgholps

[SnappleMan]

That's a matter of your guitar neck needing straightening. You should be taking it to a luthier for a setup every year (preferably every 6 months). A standard tuneup/setup shouldn't cost you more than $25-40 and it's well worth it. If it was electric I'd advise you do set up the action yourself, but for an acoustic I'd take it to a pro. Just look for guitar techs in your area (if all else fails just go to guitar center.... )

[po!]

the buzzing comes from the strings touching the frets when they vibrate. you'll have to adjust the truss rod so that your neck is at the right angle since it's probably too far back. there should be plenty of tutorials about this if you search "guitar setup"

[Q.K.]

Alright, I was considering just taking it to a luthier once this dry weather clears up and getting them to fix things. I figured it was the neck, because the relief is ridiculously low.. doing a quick test by fretting pretty much every string at the first and 14th-ish fret leaves virtually no gap. The truss rod has also been tightened just last month to the point where it's very tight and probably wouldn't turn anymore. If I'm correct, this might have sent the neck into a back bow, which is what's giving me troubles.

[Lunarfall]

If it's not tightening, do not tighten it anymore. Definitely take it to a luthier like Snappleman said.

[Q.K.]

Yeah, I haven't done any extra adjustments to the truss rod in several months - I'm just saying that last time I checked it was already fairly tight and I didn't want to overdo things. I'll probably just end up waiting this weather out and taking it to a luthier in a month or so. Thanks.