Annoying harmonic sounds

[fabhertz]

Hi everyone!

On one of my guitars, when I play the G string at the 7th and 12th fret, beyond the note sound I get a very annoying harmonic sound. I checked the action many times (1.75mm at the 17th fret, 0.10’’ of neck relief measured at the 8th fret with a capo and pressing the last fret). Can I do something about it or should I bring it to the shop where I bought it for them to check? I read online that it could be due to the fret not being equally leveled…

Thanks in advance!

[sequences]

Your descriptions sound a bit off.

A harmonic is (typically) a sound that is double or triple the frequency of what you are playing. Is this what you mean?

Possibly you may be hearing another string ringing. Playing string 3 at the 7th fret would be same as the 2nd harmonic of the 4th string open. Does that sound like what you are hearing?

Checking the relief would be a good check for hearing fret buzz which is what you kind of describe. You are more likely to hear it at lower frets than 7 or 12 because the action is likely set high enough to keep the string away from buzzing in that area, but it is not impossible. Buzzing is just the string rattling against a higher fret, often the next one higher, than you are fretting. Does this sound more like what you are hearing? It is a part of what you describe at then end of your question.

Also, for checking the relief, the capo goes on fret 1, you push the string onto your highest fret, and check the string to fret12 distance. 100mils is a lot, so I think you are not setting up the test correctly.

[fabhertz]

Hi,
thanks for the reply, you are right

For the setup, I follow Fender’s guidelines: How do I set up my Stratocaster® guitar properly?  · Customer Self-Service. So to measure neck relief I did:

“ First, check your tuning. Affix a capo at the first fret and depress the sixth string at the last fret. With a feeler gauge, check the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret—see the spec chart below for the proper gap.”

The radius is 9.5”, so should be ok!
The sound I hear superposed is this: https://youtube.com/shorts/xnzUdyhYdVo?si=a7xZwBbWk8I9ITR9. Does not sound like buzz to me

[fabhertz]

I take that back, you might be right and it could be buzzing! But sounds weird!

https://youtube.com/shorts/HCgN2oFdJLM?si=ySQO4MqHF4Rmirtq

[sequences]

fret 8 is probably closer to the center of the relief, so better than my fret 12. I have a 24 fret neck in one case. Basically you want about the center of the neck. Sounds like you got that ironed out, but did the measurement change?

Regarding the sound you hear, since it does sound like a harmonic, can you match it somewhere on your fretboard? The goal is to see if it is truly a harmonic of what you are playing or if it is another string ringing. Also, can you hear it only after picking up your fingers to go to another fret? Here are some things I can think of:

• picking up fingers makes the sound - you are probably moving fast and the string vibration is not muted as you pick up the finger. You can unintentionally get a harmonic this way and you’d need to mute it or change the way you pick up fingers… or both.
• If you are hearing another string ringing as a harmonic of the note you play on another string, then you need to mute the ringing string. This is very common and there are lessons that teach muting. This is your first post, but you didn’t mention your general level of playing skill. If you are in grade 1, you may not have seen this lesson yet.
• You link a strat measurement, but don’t mention if it is the guitar you are hearing the trouble on. I have one guitar that I hear ringing from the bridge to tailpiece string area on some notes. I have another two others that I can hear the strings ringing between the nut and tuning machine. On the latter, I use a piece of foam to quiet them. On the former, I usually have my wrist there to mute them. The last thing I hear is on my strat. The bridge springs will vibrate loudly enough that I put a piece of foam under the cover to keep them from vibrating.

– just saw your buzzing remark - see if the measurement is lower (FAR lower!) and get back to me here. If your relief is as big as you initially mentioned, then you would want to flatten that out and see what happens to the buzzing. If you have not had a professional setup done, you should consider that (or learn how if you tend to be handy with doing things yourself) and that should fix it.

[fabhertz]

I relieved the neck and I had still that sound! Then I notice that when adjusting the truss rod, the strings of the bridge were “resonating”:

Well, if Input a piece of paper there, the noise almost disappears! Amazing, ahah. Thanks for the pointer!!

[sequences]

lol, I suppose that will do. Be careful that the springs are able to retract properly and fully or you will have trouble that appears like tuning won’t stay in after you use the whammy bar.

[fabhertz]

Ahahah yes, I will put a small hair band in the future! I never use the tremolo, the bridge is screwed in the body, so all good for now Thanks again!!!

[Ontime]

Nice, looks good. There are a few ways to do this.

I put some dense foam under the springs. I also wedged a piece of hard wood in the open space to block off the trem block.