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hikabe
Lokahi
USA
358 Posts |
 Posted - 03/13/2007 : 09:00:55 AM
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What are some of the reasons why strings buzz and how can you fix it? Is there a good book on the subject that someone can recommend? thanks
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Stay Tuned... |
Edited by - hikabe on 03/13/2007 09:04:01 AM |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 09:27:20 AM
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1. You're not pressing your finger down close enough to the fret.
2. You're not pressing your finger down hard enough.
3. The action is set too low.
4. The strings are too loose in the nut.
5. There isn't enough tension in the strings (they're tuned too low).
6. There's a bee trapped in your soundhole. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 03/13/2007 09:27:46 AM |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 10:13:28 AM
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7. One of your frets is high.
8. A tuner is rattling (not so likely with friction tuners?).
Search www.frets.com for Frank Ford's topic on string buzzes. It's aimed at steel string guitars, but some parts apply to ukes, too. |
Pauline |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2007 : 06:41:07 AM
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9) Your strings are excited about the rumors of new music that you are going to play.
Seriously, You can also check the Taylor Guitar website and the Gryphon Strings website for instrument setup information. It is always a compromise between loudness and playing style versus ease of playing (finger pressure) and the pitch stability. Higher action reduces buzzing but makes the instrument harder to play and causes also notes to play at a higher pitch when pressed down against the frets.
This is also been discussed on Taropatch before and you can do a search for "action" or "buzz" or "setup".
Reid has turned me onto the Pleck? Machine and I might try setting up one of my guitars that way (there is a Luthier with a Pleck in SF).
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
Edited by - Lawrence on 03/14/2007 06:41:26 AM |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2007 : 08:00:49 AM
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Lawrence,
The Plek fret grind I had done cost only about 100-150 - less than a setup. Of course, as Fran pointed out, that was around 2001, so prices may have changed.
If you have a really nice guitar with really nice big frets (I love big fat frets, like Kim Walker and Paul McGill use), this should be easy. If you and the Plek guy think you need more meat on the frets to get the fret grind properly done, you might have to factor in a refret. That is no big deal, but it will add about 200-250 to the whole act.
Anyway, a good talk with a luthier (maybe Frank Ford?) and/or the Plek operator might be in order before you do this. And,maybe play one that had been ground and make up your own mind. Of course Ford may think the Plek is black magic and not worth it. My satisfaction with it is only one data point.
But, good luck with it and tell us how it comes out.
...Reid |
Edited by - Reid on 03/14/2007 08:01:41 AM |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2007 : 08:03:13 AM
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They go for $220 in L.A. You can find more information at:
http://www.plek.com
Unless you're a serious player with a serious guitar you're probably better off finding a decent guitar tech and have them do a full setup on the guitar...much cheaper and you'll still get the results you want if the buzzing is a setup issue. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 03/14/2007 08:03:45 AM |
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Julie H
Ha`aha`a
USA
1206 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2007 : 6:42:58 PM
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So what is really involved when you say "set up"? What things does the guitar tech actually do to your instrument during this operation?
And why does the luthier not do these things when he makes the instrument? Duh questions, but I'd just like more information...
Julie |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2007 : 03:04:28 AM
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Julie, here's what goes into setups on our guitars:
1. Nut height adjustment and recountouring (if needed)
2. Saddle height adjustment recountouring (if needed)
3. Truss rod adjustment (for neck relief = curve)
4. Fret dress and level
Each of these is done to taste. (I can do the first 3).
The reason a set up has to be done every year or two is that Real Guitars (tm) are living things and change over time due to temperature and humidity changes and usage. The tops swell and shrink, moving the bridge/saddle. The backs and necks shorten or elongate and thus move the nut and lessen or increase the relief of the neck. Frets pop out due to dryness and shrinkage of fretboards, or wetness and swelling. (I have cut myself on sharp popped fret ends.) Usage causes grooves and wear of frets and they need to be dressed - the dressing causes irregularities in fret height, unless you dress all, which drops all of them. Nut slots wear in width and depth, and sometimes, their front edges wear out of shape. The same for saddles (but that is rare).
The luthier does do all this when the guitar is born, but, like people, they need regular medical checkups :-(
So, you do a setup continually throughout a guitar's life. Especially in environments like ours that go from one extreme to another. Actually, we have summer and winter saddles and shims for both nuts and saddles.
Capisce?
...Reid
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2007 : 06:28:30 AM
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quote:
The luthier does do all this when the guitar is born, but, like people, they need regular medical checkups :-(
I might also add ... The manufacturer sets-up the guitar for one particular situation. Taylor, for instance, sets up most of it's guitars for medium tension strings and a moderate playing style. If you use heavy guage strings or light gauge strings, or if you play quietly or play loud with a heavy pick, then your setup should be changed to accommodate your style.
I also do all my guitar adjustments, except for filing frets, hence the interest in the Plek. If you see my guitars you will notice the truss-rod cover plate on the head is missing. I leave it off now because I used to take it off very often (but not so much anymore).
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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KoAloha
Akahai
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2007 : 8:28:39 PM
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Although it's rare, it may also be a loose fret. I've worked on a couple of ukes and went through the ringers for days, until I noticed that a few frets were loose. I pulled them out, reset new ones with krazy glue and no more buzz!
The most common reasons are an uneven fret board, twisted neck, or the action is too low.
Like most other manufacturers, we set the strings at a moderate height, with normal tension strings, because it satisfies a majority of the people who purchase an instrument. Serious players may want to adjust the set up in the future, which we will do for free, if they bring the instrument back. Strummers usually prefer higher action to gain volume and a little less playability is okay, because they're usually fingering common chords by the nut. Finger pickers tend to like lower action, sacrificing a little volume for ease of play. |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2007 : 09:53:55 AM
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Hey Paul,
How's the family? Good to see you back on the 'patch. Are you guys ever going to add a "blog" on your web site? Still playing and loving "Eijiro" and "D-VI". That reminds me, I need to order some more Worth stings from you guys. |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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hikabe
Lokahi
USA
358 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2007 : 08:46:20 AM
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| Mahalo for all the excellent info. ...Kaailau |
Stay Tuned... |
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Absolute
Lokahi
275 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2007 : 4:42:51 PM
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Things I've had to do to my homemade ukuleles to stop a string from buzzing:
1. Fill nut slot with superglue and recut nut (particularly after I first made it) with welding tip pipe cleaner into superglue after it had dried.
2. Fold a piece of transparent tape in two (with sticky sides together), and cradle string in it pushing string down into slot with tape front kept from sticking out over fingerboard in front of nut (before I recut the slot) as a temporary solution to stabilize string and prevent creation of both a major harmonic and a "secondary" harmonic due to string with, essentially, two terminal points on the nut end (on the lower and upper face of the nut) and thus two relevant lengths (with the longer one damped by contact with the nut slot over the last fraction of an inch thus producing the buzzing). (You can check for a bad nut slot to some extent by fretting on the top fret of a buzzing string nice and hard, then pluck the string. If it stops buzzing, you may need to do SOMETHING related to the nut, even if its only making sure you've got the buzzing string wound so that it is always wound down rather than winding down them back up again, which will reduce force holding the string against the bottom of the nut slot.)
3. Wind string the opposite direction around nut (to force it into contact with a side of slot and provide both better side and bottom stabilization and damping of secondary harmonic).
4. Make sure that I was winding the string ALWAYS downward to insure that it makes good contact with base of nut slot to produce good damping at lower side of nut and thus only one string length that would resonate.
5. Move bridge up because I'd lowered the nut slots (action) too much and the strings were encountering both the fret I pressed the string against and the next fret closer to the sound box. (I've got wide, square toothpick frets, so its more of a problem than with narrow fret wire.) (Making a new nut would have been another option, but I can manipulate height of strings at bridge more easily due to nut being superglued in place.)
I'm not making any recommendations here. Just my two cents worth. What they say about wood being affected by temperature and humidity is well known. I've already had to glue one panel back on one of mine because it expanded too much during the shift from early spring to heavy summer humidity. Good thing I kept the design simple and cheap, so I can do my own work on them. Please don't be offended by my effort to provide some input here. If it comes to that, say so. I'll stop.
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Thank you. |
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