Dead note on 12th fret (high E-string)

[Big Red]

Hi Folks,

I have a bit of a weird problem that started a few days ago. Whenever I go to play an E note at the 12th fret on the high E-string, it sounds dead (along with fret buzz). All of the other notes in the surrounding area sound perfect.
The strings are about 6 months old, and I haven't adjusted anything since I last changed the strings.

The guitar is a Lado Earth, which is a neck-thru design. Do I need to simply re-adjust the action, or change strings? Could it be that the neck is re-adjusting to the recent warm weather (I live in Toronto Canada)? Or is this an indication of a bigger problem (e.g. slightly warped neck)?

Thanks in advance.


Cheers and Up The Irons!!!

[DarthLamer]

Change your strings.

[albee1952]

1 dead note usually indicates a high fret. Since you are on the E string, maybe the end of the 13th fret has lifted a bit so check to see if you can slip the edge of a razor blade under that fret. If you can, get a luthier to superglue the fret end back down. I would try a new string anyway as it could be a bad string but I suspect a fret problem.

[Big Red]

Thanks for the feedback.

Okay...I changed the strings and checked the frets in the area, which look fine (but what do I know), but the problem has not gone away. I'm guessing that the next move is to raise the action by 1mm or so.

Cheers

[albee1952]

You need to have the frets checked to see if there is a high fret. Any luthier will have small metal straight-edges just for checking for high frets. You may have a high fret and not be able to eyeball it.

[kspeed]

Originally Posted by albee1952

You need to have the frets checked to see if there is a high fret. Any luthier will have small metal straight-edges just for checking for high frets. You may have a high fret and not be able to eyeball it.

Quoted for truth. It happens over time due to changes in humidity and temperature, among other things. It may not even be clearly visible but, like albee said, your 13th fret is sitting too high if the 12th fret is the only note that's dead.

Lay the guitar flat on a bench with proper support for the lower and upper neck. Take a brass hammer and gently (but firmly) tap the fret back into place on the High E side. Brass is important - it's softer than the fretwire.

Conversely, if you're not comfortable trying this, any local luthier should be able to fix it.