Quick Buzz Fix

[Frank T.]

I lowered (very low) the strings on my Eastman and developed a little buzz on the G strings. The other strings are perfect. I put a tiny piece of tape under the strings at the nut and a tiny piece of card board under strings at the bridge. I understand there is a procedure to fill in the nut with crazy glue and re cut to get it right but I was wondering what types of materials others use to put at nut or bridge for a quick fix. Let me know.

[pops1]

If you use super glue, you have to use bone dust with it to make it hard. I will put super glue in the slot and add bone dust then add a touch more glue. This is a quick fix, but will last some time. Check your neck relief, it might be that when you lowered your strings that the g is buzzing because your neck is too flat to work at the lower action.

[jim_n_virginia]

I lowered (very low) the strings on my Eastman and developed a little buzz on the G strings. The other strings are perfect. I put a tiny piece of tape under the strings at the nut and a tiny piece of card board under strings at the bridge. I understand there is a procedure to fill in the nut with crazy glue and re cut to get it right but I was wondering what types of materials others use to put at nut or bridge for a quick fix. Let me know.

Frank couldn't you have just raised the bridge a tiny bit to eliminate shimming up the bridge. I'm no luthier but I am thinking shimming up one side of the bridge changes the way the bridge seats on the mandolin thus affecting sound and that coupled with "very low" action will decrease tone and volume.

I have put shims under nuts before. I used a very thing wood shaving. If I needed more then I would just get a new nut.

[Fretbear]

Yeah, you don't need to shim the bridge, you should just raise it a little and it is possible, though unlikely, that you might stop the buzzing altogether. A sliver of string package paper will serve as a nut slot shim, often without any ill-effect on the sound, but it is a PIA when changing strings, especially as the shim pulls forward out of position as you tune up. A more permanent fix than filling can be to cut out a wedge to replace the nut material where the low slot is, replace it and re-groove it.

[Philphool]

Frank,
Did you try JUST the tape on the nut or JUST the cardboard on the saddle or did you just go straight to putting BOTH in place?

Diagnose before treating.

Is the buzz just when the open strings are plucked? If so, then the nut could be the problem.

If you have the buzz when fretting the G strings, then the nut isn't the whole problem (although it could still be a problem).

Do BOTH G strings buzz for sure? If not, change the buzzing string & see what happens.

If both strings DO buzz, You could try changing to a heavier gauge G string (if you don't mind the increase in tension) to see if this will eliminate the buzz.

Raising the saddle using just the bass side wheel would be the next experiment to try.

If the nut is the problem, you've gotten advice above.
If none of this works, it's also possible to have a fret that's high on the bass side & lets the G strings buzz. Might need a professional look.

What else have I left out? ( rattlesnake tail inside :)) )

[Frank T.]

Thanks to all of you for your replies...