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I've had this Alvarez AC60S for a couple of months.
I bought it on eBay in what appears to be NEW condition.

Great guitar, but there were quite a few buzzes, especially on the first three strings, in the higher frets, especially when playing apoyando (rest stroke).

At first I thought it was a neck-angle issue.
The instrument does come with a truss rod, even though it is a classical.

So I measured the action at the 12th fret.
Of course, I measured it wrong, so I became very confused.
I put the guitar away, not knowing what to do. I did not want to goof it up.

After joining this forum, I gathered the courage to take it out again, and try to solve the problem.
I did tonight. At least I think I did :O)

First, I measured again. Of course, I had measured wrong before.
I had measured in a hurry, and did not use a precise ruler. Also, I measured from the top of the fingerboard, instead of the top of the fret. Go figure

What I thought was a 5mm and 4mm action (sixth and first strings respectively) turned out to be a 3.5 mm and 2.5 mm action. No wonder the poor thing was buzzing.

I had ordered some bone nuts and saddles, and tonight I changed the old ones with the new, filing the new ones to a better dimension.

The new setup is WONDERFUL. There is not one buzz anywhere on the guitar, even when I play the heaviest of a rest stroke. A very sweet sound also. The sixth string at the 12th fret is at 4.5mm and at the 7th fret it is 4mm.

Here's the old saddle - you can see how low it is, especially on the treble side...




Here are the new blanks...




After some filing...




The new nut...




With the strings on... a couple of the slots have to be made a bit deeper.




Here she is...



I recorded a short piece after the new setup, but I am not crazy about the sound quality. Sounds much better live.
I bought this new Blue SnowBall microphone, but I can't seem to find the right balance for it. Sounds too muffled and the basses are not live enough.

Boy, I look like a zomby at 3AM in the morning :O)

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Music Is Forever

It always feels good when you reach a point that you're able to diagnose a problem and fix it when you once weren't. Good work.

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David Morris

The guitar sounds incredibly better!
The action is still a bit high for my taste, but I can bring it a tiny bit lower next time I change the strings.

Thanks for the comment.

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Music Is Forever

nice playing! i am envious
can't you just loosen the strings off and slide the saddle out to work on it? thats what i do

thanks

I probably will loosen the strings and lower the action a bit more.
It is not too high for a typical classical, but I've been playing on a Flamenco model for a while, so it feels a bit different.
I do like the ability to dig into the string though, so I won't go too low on the action.

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Music Is Forever

Good fix. Nice sounding guitar, you play it well.

I have a nice Taylor nylon string cutaway that I need to play more than I do. (That Telecaster keeps me busy)

Thanks.
I know that compared to the work of others in here, this project is nothing, but for me it was very exciting.
Learning a lot in here.

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Music Is Forever

Beautiful playing, and the guitar sounds great also. You better
be careful reading about building guitars...it's a terrible addiction
once you give in

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

Nice playing!

Enjoyed your playing! If you're unhappy with your recording tone, may I suggest moving the mic to different locations? On some mics I find that if I point the mic towards the fretboard, it cleans up the highs. Clinton

Thanks for the comments.

I've had the SnowBall for about a week now.
I am still trying different setups and different positions.

I haven't found one variation that satisfies me yet.

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Music Is Forever