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Okay.  Before I say anything about Buzz Feiten...

Just call or email me.  Set up an appointment to meet me.  Day, night, weekend - whatever works for you.  Bring your guitar - electric or acoustic, or both if you want.  You can compare your guitar with my demo guitar equipped with the Buzz Feiten Tuning System.  Find out for yourself what all the hype is about.

I believe the Buzz Feiten Tuning System will sell itself.  Especially if you do a side-by-side comparison.

Basically, the Feiten Shelf Nut, combined with patented intonation pitch offsets at each string, evens out fretboard inconsistencies associated with normally intonated guitars.  If you play with distortion, and play a power chord above the 12th fret, you know what I'm talking about.  It "warbles", even when your strings are in tune and properly intonated.  And it's not just limited to playing above the 12th fret - chords that you play all the time, like the bar-A and bar-D, are inherently out of tune with one another.  The Feiten System corrects this.  The Buzz Feiten Tuning System allows your guitar to play in perfect tune everywhere on the neck.  Open chords sound better, 7th position chords sounds better, 15th position chords sound better - the whole darn guitar sounds better.

Now, if you go to your local guitar shop that isn't an authorized Buzz Feiten retrofitter, and ask them about it, they're going to say it's no big deal.  Of course they are - Why in the world would they want to send a customer to a competitor?  In fact, they'll probably tell you that the Earvana nut does the same thing, and try to sell you one.  They either have no idea how the Feiten system works, or they are simply lying to you to make a sale for themselves.  Visit my shop, and you can decide for yourself.  No pressure, no gimmicks.  Just two guitars, one amp, and your own pair of ears. 

 

The information that follows comes off the Buzz Feiten website.

They've got lots more information posted than I do, so feel free to check it out.

How It Works:


The Buzz Feiten Tuning System solves tuning and intonation problems with 2 simple steps:

1. Shelf Nut
Our exclusive Buzz Feiten Tuning System¨ (BFTS) Shelf Nut moves the strings closer to the first fret according to our Patented Formula. This eliminates sharp notes at the first three frets.

Buzz Feiten Tuning System Shelf Nut

BFTS Shelf Nut Top View Top View : Each Shelf Nut is precision machined from high quality bone for superb tonal response. Our Lightning Bolt Logo is machined into the top of each Shelf Nut for authenticity.


BFTS Shelf Nut Side ViewSide View : The strings are moved closer to the first fret a precise distance based on the scale length, fret width and string gauge of your guitar. The slight overhang of our nut (the 'Shelf') does this without altering your guitar in any way. So it's even fine for vintage guitars.

2. Intonation
Your guitar's bridge is adjusted according to our Patented Pitch Offsets, creating balanced intonation over the entire fingerboard - every fret - every string.

BridgeYour Bridge Is Adjusted to BFTS Pitch Offsets

 
  • Will having the Buzz Feiten Tuning System installed on my guitar affect the way I play?

    No. Just play as you normally would and enjoy playing in tune across every string, every fret, everywhere on the neck. The beauty of having a guitar that is truly in tune and properly intonated with the Buzz Feiten Tuning System is that you can focus on your technique and expression rather than being distracted by the tuning inconsistencies inherent with standard intonation.

 

  • Will there be any visual difference after the tuning system is on my guitar?

    The only visual difference will be a very slight overhang of the BFTS Shelf Nut. This is nearly imperceptible and has absolutely no effect on fingering at the first fret. The beauty of the system is that it is totally non-invasive on electric guitars and basses since it uses your existing adjustable bridge saddles for setting the intonation. Acoustic guitars require additional modification to the bridge and saddle because acoustics employ a fixed saddle; that is, they do not have individually adjustable bridge saddles. Other than that, your guitar will play and sound exactly the same...except beautifully in tune. Every string, every fret, everywhere on the fingerboard.

 

  • Is the tuning system compatible with my Bigsby/Floyd Rose/Kahler bridge and Locking Nut?

    Yes. The Buzz Feiten Tuning System is implemented by the movement of the nut and adjustment of the bridge saddles. Trem systems and locking nuts perform the same as stock nuts and saddles when retrofitted to our specifications. As with any retrofit, your Authorized Retrofitter is expertly trained to handle such installations.

 

How about some Player Quotes?

Robben Ford Steve Vai Larry Carlton
Now, intonation problems are gone. I'm in tune One of the greatest innovations in guitar technology I've been playing since I was six years old and it's finally in tune

"What's the buzz about? Perfect intonation. With the Buzz Feiten Tuning System every note, every chord will be in tune across the entire fretboard. A fundamental requirement but something guitarists have never had until now."
 Adrian Belew

"The effect is so undeniable that we switched over the very next day and we're now making our electric guitars differently... it's an incredibly pleasing experience to play..."
Tom Anderson

"For as long as I can remember, the guitars that my fellow classical guitarists and I have played always sounded slightly out of tune and I just assumed that tuning our instruments was always a matter of compromise - that they would never sound perfectly in tune in the upper frets if the open strings were in pitch. Having recently discovered Buzz Feiten's amazing system, I realize that what I had always believed is untrue. A guitar can be in tune in any fret! I would highly recommend his revolutionary approach to guitar tuning for any performer or builder, no matter what style. It will change your life.
Liona Boyd

"Amazing, it really works! from the 1st fret on my low E to the 24th fret on my high G, the bass is finally in tune. Having the 1st four frets in tune (not sharp) has made my life in the studio much easier. I'M SOLD!"
Stu Hamm

"With an amazingly simple adjustment my instruments are now all in tune! The Buzz Feiten Tuning System works. It has changed my professional life. Now, I can just concentrate on the music at hand with a new found level of confidence! A definite improvement to my overall performance."
Jimmy Haslip

"I'm over the moon about the Buzz Feiten Tuning System. Chords ring so true it's out of this world. It's one small step for the nut and , one giant step for intonation."  "After the constant struggle with intonation - some chords being in tune while others aren't - I can finally hear all my chords and voicings ring true in perfect harmony. The Buzz Feiten Tuning System is a giant step in the advancement of the guitar."
Lyle Workman

 

"It increased my efficiency in the studio by 30 percent, because I don't spend all that time messing with my tuning."
Gary Burnette

"Long overdue and overlooked, this system has finally made the guitar in tune from top to bottom. Radical bends and steel licks above the 12th fret have never sounded sweeter. I no longer have to fight pitch!"
Pete Anderson

"Listening to the Anderson 25.5"-scale and 24.75"-scale guitars they brought quickly convinced us of the Buzz Feiten System's abilities. We know Anderson builds great sounding guitars, but these were unreal. Gone were the sharp low-register notes. Close interval chords sounded much more in tune than they did on any of our guitars, and the bloom of sustained chords was beyond anything we've heard."
Bench Tests: "The Buzz Feiten Tuning System"
Guitar Player Oct. 1996

"Many have attempted ingenious systems to repair the fretting errors, but none have been entirely successful until now... Listen, do you hear that distant rumble? Sounds like the Big One coming... could it be? Yes, (cue the trumpet fanfare) a solution is at hand. With it a radical shifting of paradigms for designing and building fretted musical instruments. The Buzz Feiten Tuning System has arrived.
Luthiers Mercantile 1997 Catalog

"It's a pretty incredible system that really works. I'm not a tuning nut and I never really have been, but his system is so good that when you really want to get in tune, it makes it possible, whereas before - forget about it. You can never really be in [tune] with regular guitar tuning. It's in tune all over the neck now, which is something that most guitars aren't."
Scott Henderson