G strings buzz on octave mandolin

[Walt B]

I bought a used Johnson Celtic-style octave mandolin a few months ago. I just wanted to learn a few basic chords to play along in jam sessions. When I strum with a medium gauge pick, the bass strings seem to buzz fairly often. Is there a way I can stop that from happening? #I play 6 and 12-string guitar and 5 string banjo so I don't know if I'm strumming incorrectly (too hard?) The strings are the original (bought it used) and seem to be in good condition. Also, the original equipment bridge was replaced (by the previous owner) with one that looks to be of better quality.
Thank you ... WB

[Dagger Gordon]

Maybe try a different guage of string?
I use a 42 on the bottom, but I tune mine up to A.

[sunburst]

You might have to raise the action and/or increase the bow in the neck. A heavier string gauge might help too.
I've had to add a little extra relief on the bass sides of the fingerboards of long scale instruments like zouks and octaves. Some folks play so hard that buzzing bass strings are just a way of life for them.

[Eddie Sheehy]

Check the frets, check the bridge, check the nut, check the tailpiece cover. Are the strings buzzing against each other, or off a fret, or at the tail, or at the nut?

[Walt B]

Thank you all for your advice and comments. I have a feeling that my technique may be the answer (playing hard --> buzzing bass strings. I don't want to go to heavier strings because the fingers of my left hand are not the strongest in the world (a touch of arthritis). The frets (and other hardware) look good (it is almost like new). I think I'll try to tweek the neck bow as little. I've never done this to any guitar or banjo I've owned ... is the technique similar? ... e.g., adjust the coordinator rod in the neck? If so, which direction should I turn it to relieve the buzz?
Again, thank you so much ...
WB

[Jim]

Likely you should loosten it, I usually only loosten 1/4 turn and wait for it to settle for improvment.

[John Flynn]

Mine does that a little too, even though I have good neck relief, a medium-high action and I use heavier strings. I'm sure that some of it is technique: When your pick is coming down, the outside G string would naturally get the heaviest blow, unless you intentionally smooth that out. Just a personal opinion, though: I think a tiny bit of buzz on an OM is not bad. It's kind of part of the signature OM/zouk sound.

[Coffeecup]

Not sure if it was mentioned in the forums here or in one of the online tutorials, but it was suggested to take care with the direction of picking. It's good if the picking action is parallel to the fingerboard but if it's more vertical, relative to the board, the string vibrates vertically also and is more likely to contact a fret.

Just went to a very informative Tim O'Brien workshop. One of his tips is that picking close to the bridge helps with speed as the pick slips over the string more and doesn't deflect it so much. Maybe that helps with buzzing too. I'm away from home without an instrument at present so haven't been able to try.

[Sean Greer]

I had a buzz recently and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I have a solid tailpiece, so it wasn't that. Even if I fretted hard it still occurred. I finally determined that one of my short string ends was buzzing against the tuner post. I changed the strings the next day and now leave the tails longer (1/2 inch) and bend them away from the post. I often wondered why some people left them so long and "unkempt" looking...seems I may have found out why. Just a thought...

[Stephanie Reiser]

What John said.
I recently built a dreadnaught, and let a couple of bluegrassers try her out. You could hear the bass-side E buzz just a tad, but when I played it, it never buzzed. I strum it much more lightly when I'm not finger-picking. I raised the action on the bass side just a teeny bit anyway, to silence the naysayers.

[Michael Lewis]

A good possibility as mentioned above is the strings hitting each other. Bottom course usually needs wider spacing than the other courses. Some folks remove one string to prevent the buzzing. It could be the "new" bridge you mentioned has closer spacing than you need.

If you don't understand the hows and whys of adjusting the truss rod my advice is to leave it alone until you do know what to do. There are some threads on this site that cover the process.

[Doug Hoople]

A good possibility as mentioned above is the strings hitting each other.
One surefire way to test for this is to slacken one of the pair and pull it off to the side past the nut and side of the saddle. If the buzz goes away, then that's a smoking gun on strings hitting each other.

It's a one-minute test, so there's no excuse for not performing it.

[Eddie Sheehy]

I enjoy a good buzz while I'm playing.....