Derwood

The #4 string on my acoustic is buzzing like a sonofabitch. I just restrung it yesterday, and I can't seem to diagnose the problem. It seems to buzz anywhere from open up to around the 12th fret. The guitar was brand new in August (though a bit cheap, I'll admit) but it seems to be strung properly and I don't see any contact between the string and other frets. Can someone help me out?

Chamaeleontidae

Buzz is probably caused by the string when it vibrates touching a fret.

On the simple side of things, did you buy the same thickness strings that were on it originally?

Otherwise, It could be that the string has a little clearance when the string is not in motion, but has contact with a fret when it vibrates... If you press at each fret and there is only buzzing up to the 12th fret, the 11th, 12th or 13th may be the issue. Take a closer look there to see if that is what is causing the buzzing. Also, is the space between the string and neck consistent? or is it bigger in the middle then on the ends?

The issue may be caused by the neck bending a little bit, or the fret being a little too high. The neck may have an adjustment.

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shakran

it could also be your nut - if the #4 string slot is cut too deep it can allow the string to buzz the fret when it's plucked. You could try shimming that slot to raise the string up.

ratbastid

Same could be true at the neck, too. Check out the whole travel of the string and see if you can find any place it seems out of position relative to the other strings, or close to a fret. If your action is low, of course, it might get hard to see...

Remember, new strings put different tension on the neck than the old strings did, and things aren't going to have exactly the same geometry they used to. In most cases it's a matter of microns, but with very low action, that can be enough to cause buzzing.

Derwood

i did restring it one string at a time (so as to not completely relieve the tension on the neck). I'm not positive they are the same strings, but I told the guy at the store my brand and he gave me No. 12's

btw, how do you shim the groove in the nut? that seems like the easiest (and cheapest) thing to try

pig

derwood,

i'd recommend the following, depending on how much money you want to spend on this:

buy a humidifier, or else make one. its not hard...however, the neck will bend a significant amount (relative to what it takes to give you a buzz). if the string used to come clean, and now does not, after you restrung it...your number four is your g, as your counting (i assume). completely blind, i'd guess neck tension. regardless, keeping your guitar humidied is always a good option. the best i've used is the planet waves in-the-box model...but its not what i use. what i use is a sponge inside of a tupperware container, with holes cut in it so it can humidify the case.

i'd also wait / try restringing it. i could be something fairly innocuous - the string has a little split in the windings somewhere, or it's not taught down at the bridge.

so, pigglet's recommendations are: 1. humidy, 2. restring, 3. if the guitar is nice enough that you really care about the sound, take it to a luthier and have it set up correctly. then humidify.

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Fly

does said guitar have a truss rod running the length of the neck?

if so.......an allen key,and a righty tighty or lefty loosey should put your neck into the proper position.

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pig

fly, you do your own neck adjustments? crazy man...how do you judge your...um adjustments? i'm sure i could look this up in a book, but i've always been very leary of messing with my neck using the truss rod.

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Derwood

i have a sponge-based humidifier that fits into the hole in the guitar, but haven't been good about using it. I bet that's all it is

pig

particularly in the winter when you have the heater running all the time, it can have a pretty strong affect. its also really cheap to rectify and see how it affects your instrument before doing anything really drastic. good luck.

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Derwood

i'll keep the sponge thingy in there the next few days and see if the buzz goes away. I feel stupid for not having thought of it

pig

well, i'd think about giving it a little more time to truly work (or not). however, i would also consider taking it to a guitar tech regardless. it's usually only about $50 or so - depending on the price of your guitar and how much you care about the sound, it might well be worth the money. after the wood warps in and out - it won't necessarily return to its former position with only humidification. i've had it work both ways - really depends on how far the wood has warped out, in my experience.

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Derwood

the guitar was bought in august so i can't imagine it warped that much. i haven't used the humidifier for maybe a month, so it seems hard to believe that it would be unfixable. Then again, it was a $250 guitar....

pig

yeah, i'd definitely try the humidifier trick...i picked up a buzz on my g string a while back when i was up in illinois during the winter months. humidifier definitely did the trick. on a previous occasion, the neck was so out that i had to have someone work it out for me...but they also reworked the nut and the saddle, and replaced all the tuners. now the tuners have to be replaced again...but i guess that's the price of doing business...

really, i'm not a sound guy freak - but i've had a similar problem with my guitar...as evidenced above. it took a while to get it taken care of, but she really sounds great these days. regular maintenence really is the key...just like everything else. and like everything else, its so easy to let it slide...

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Fly

it's not hard man....loosen strings....little tweak on the trussrod,couple strums in problem area(fret buzz),maybe another little tweak,check problem area again.

retune....

good to go.




good luck Derwood

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jth

I do all my own set up work unless it's a serious problem.

Buzzing can be.... your nut, your action, your trust rod all as mentioned.

With the nut a quick fix can be to take a pencil and rub it into the groove, this should temporarily stop minor buzzes but you do have to keep doing it.

If it's the action I can't help you with acoustics

Trust rod, you have to be very careful. Don't completely detune your guitar, tune it down enough to gain access to the trust rod cap, right to tight, left to loosen. Only do quarter turns with your Tools at a time. If your neck is to tight it will be bowed up, if it's to lose it is to straight.

Again most guitars under 500 bucks are going to have problems out of the factory. They're made with cheap ass wood, low quality tuners and nuts and in some cases are completely impossible to work with.

Go and pick up a case dehumidifyer and when you are done playing return your guitar to the case. This is very important with newer instruments for the first year probably to help it while the wood is still young. Older guitars are pretty much set in how they will react.

It's a good idea to twice a year take your instrument to a Tech when the weather shifts from Fall to Winter and Spring to Summer.

I spent 30 minutes last night going over everything on my main axe, with a little practice you won't really need to spend money unless you get something bad happening to your baby.

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Derwood

well after several days of humidifying, still no change. I loosened the string enough to make sure it was properly seated in its grooves at either end of the guitar. It actually sound like the buzz is near the hole of the guitar, not at the frets. The peg that holds that string in is sitting higher than the rest....I wonder if I should loosen it up again and try to reseat the end of the string into the hole ....