Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:22 am
Lil,
Low humidity usually isn't a problem. Most woods used in Guitar Building (in fact, most construction of any kind) is dried before the woods are even sawn or shaped. High humidity will cause problems as water is soaked in and the woods tend to 'swell'.
I don't know exactly what Guitar you have, so, does it have a 'truss rod'?
Your problem could be several things. Firstly, dirt and oils can build up 'under' the string that normal wiping down with a towel will not clear. The same can be said about the 'top' of the fret. that being the top side of the fret against the fretboard, the actual wood. The same can be said for the bottom of the fret.
Also, when is the last time strings were changed? New strings that aren't 'set-up' correctly can cause buzz. Too small, the string can seat too deeply in the nut and buzz. Too big and they may not clear correctly as your guitar is set up for smaller gauge. Anytime the gauge of strings are changed (nearly almost) a set-up needs to be done. Going down in gauge may even require the nut be changed and re-grooved if the nut is set up for larger gauge.
Some of the plastic saddles in use today, and even some of the man-made type, will 'groove'. This usually has no effect on fret buzz as the groove is so small and so far down the string it has no direct effect on the clearance.
It sounds like your 'relief' may have changed, the neck needs some 'relief' or. in other words. a tiny bit of a bow to it. Absolutely level necks are usually not desirable. They should bow 'up' meaning the headstock should have an ever so slight rise to it from the neck joint (where the neck joins the body). This is usually done by 'tightening' the truss rod, in slow yet deliberate increments. Too much neck relief and you have a new problem, too little or even the opposite bow, and string buzz happens.
Another thing may be the bridge is 'lifting', Look at the bottom of the bridge and see if anything looks different. Your looking for any kind of crack or space that shouldn't be there.
Or, the frets themselves may be 'lifting'. Look down the side of the neck and see if the fret is pulling up. You can also remove the strings (or leave them on) and place a credit card (or small three inch or so long straight edge) and if the straight edge 'rocks' then you probably have a lifted fret wire.
One last probably unbelievable cause can be the gauge of pick you are using. If you are currently using a 'thin' gauge, try moving up in thickness a notch or two. Unless you are a 'shredder' or the like, thin picks can actually take away from the tone of the guitar. This one I learned the 'hard' way. After checking, re-checking and changing even brand new strings on my Gibson, I still heard a buzz. I took the Gibby down to the local guy and he smiled and grinned as he banged away, no buzz! He then handed me a thicker pick than I had been using. Problem solved!
Oh yea, putting the guitar in a 'shower' like you are talking about can cause a lot more damage then good. Lots of factory made guitars use glues that are somewhat water-based. Shocking them with a blast of steam can cause the glue to loosen and then you really have a problem. In the old days, and even a few nowadays, there was no truss rod. Martin and Gibson had a big lawsuit many years ago over this very thing. So, some luthiers would take the warped necks (necks can also warp side to side) and place them in a controlled, high humidity sort of closet in hopes the humidity would be replaced. Nowadays we have the technology so that the natural waters in wood are dried before anything is done.
I have seen several things on the net where folks have actually taken a glass of water, lowered it into the sound hole, enclosed the guitar in it's case and left it in a closet undisturbed for say a week or so. Problem is, what happens after the guitar is removed. That water is going to go somewhere! Even if the wood has soaked some of the water up, sooner rather than later it's going to once agian dry out!
Maybe that could be the problem?