String action and buzzing

[MetalWerk]

I've got this guitar I've owned forever. It's a Tanara and it's okay. The problem is how hard I have to press the strings. My fingers have gotten pretty darn strong and I use medium elixar strings. But I went to Mike's music last week and played a $1700 Gibson acoustic. Holy cow! It was so easy to play and sounded way better than my guitar. I could actually hold my bar chords with no buzzing or dead strings. So I got to thinking, 'what's wrong with MY guitar?'

I can't adjust the nut or bridge (like an electric guitar). How high should the strings be off the fretboard? Maybe the frets themselves are too high or maybe I need to go to lighter strings. Or maybe I need a better guitar.

Any ideas?

[AcousticShred]

It may be because its 1700 dollar Gibson. It also may have lower action.

[SlowDance]

I beleive the reason cheaper guitars buzz as opposed to higher priced ones with the same action is becasue of the actual neck angle. It's all about the neck.

[phingerboard]

If it's a steel string guitar it should have a truss rod that can be adjusted to either straighten the neck or to add relief if needed. The saddlebone can be filed down. The top nut may be cut too low. Some frets may need levelling.

If your guitar is worth sinking, say, $50 to $100 labor cost into to improve the action, have a guitar tech take a look at it.

[PerianArdocyl]

Blech, I hate buzzing...one of the worst problems, and I've got it. I don't get it on some other guitars though, and I've noticed one different. The others I play have wire strings and I have nylon. There's a pretty big difference.