Fret buzz...

[Edutainment]

...on my Squier Strat when I pluck semi-hard. How do I fix it?

[Skyone]

Restring the guitar?

[Shadeslayer]

Restring the guitar?

Most likely. I used to play but havent in a while. Don't take my word for it lol

[Edutainment]

How does that work? (Not as in how do I change the strings, as in why would restringing it eliminate fret buzz?)

[sgtpepper]

Are you familiar with guitar terms? The problem is your "action" on your guitar, which is how close the strings are to the neck of your guitar. Inside of guitar necks, there is a metal rod that's called a truss rod. It is used to keep the neck in the same shape, and also to adjust the action on your guitar. I pulled this image off of Google images that shows you where the adjustment screw is for your guitar. Rotating either clockwise or counter-clockwise lowers or raises the action, but I don't remember which direction does what

Basically what you want to do is adjust the truss screw back and forth while your strings are on the guitar, but you might want to loosen them a tad first! While adjusting, find a good "action" that suits your needs. Pretty simple really, it's mainly preference.

EDIT: Oh and here's a Wiki article that might give you some more info if you need it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truss_rod

[Edutainment]

I adjusted it slightly earlier today, didn't do anything. I didn't wanna over-do it 'cause I hear it's quite costly to fix. Plus, I didn't want the action too high.

[sgtpepper]

I've never heard of anyone stressing their truss rod enough that it would break, but if it's really resisting that much, then maybe it's the bridge that needs adjusting. Keep me posted, I'm curious!

[Edutainment]

No it's not that I felt any resistance. I just read that nubs like me shouldn't screw around with the truss rod. I didn't expect it to break but I've been wrong about stuff like that before so I thought I should be careful. I think I might try to adjust it again though 'cause I'd prefer high action over fret buzz.

[sgtpepper]

No it's not that I felt any resistance. I just read that nubs like me shouldn't screw around with the truss rod. I didn't expect it to break but I've been wrong about stuff like that before so I thought I should be careful. I think I might try to adjust it again though 'cause I'd prefer high action over fret buzz.

If you're getting buzz closer to the headstock, adjust the truss rod, if it's closer to the bridge, then adjust the bridge height. As long as you do that, I think you'll be fine.

[ghosstt]

...on my Squier Strat when I pluck semi-hard. How do I fix it?

That could be a problem? On a more serious note, It could be the strings are just crapped out. Or maybe your pickups are screwed up. What setting is your pickup selector on? Does it do it on all of them?

[Edutainment]

It's not the pickups. It's the strings vibrating against the frets.

[Edutainment]

New somewhat unrelated question... What do I do when a strings ball-end is stuck in the bridge. I can't get it out!

EDIT: Never mind, it came out with force.

[ghosstt]

lol, ive had that happen to me too. Im guessing you have a vibrato/tremolo bridge design right? you can raise and lower that to adjust the action (will give you WAAAY better results than the truss rod method).

[Edutainment]

lol, ive had that happen to me too. Im guessing you have a vibrato/tremolo bridge design right? you can raise and lower that to adjust the action (will give you WAAAY better results than the truss rod method).

How?

[Edutainment]

I'm going to Long & McQuade today. I might just ask those dudes what to do.