G string blues

[jesserules]

Any tips on getting clean, musical notes on the bottom string? Too often the notes come out kind of buzzy & thumping when reaching way over there (yeah, I can hear the guitar players snickering at that, but it's a relative thing). E, A, and (sometimes) D strings seem much easier to play.

[Randi Gormley]

no idea if this has any merit, but is your mandolin set up correctly? you might need to tweak the bass side of the bridge. just a thought.

[jesserules]

Thanks! But the setup is OK. The problem is with my fingering technique, which obviously needs work. Just wondering what kind of work (don't mind practicing but want to try & practice in a correct manner).

[billhay4]

Fret notes on the G string a lot. Doesn't matter how really -- scales, arpeggios, songs, riffs. If it's chords that you're having trouble with, ditto. Use them a lot. If you're muting adjacent strings, arch your hand when chording or fretting.
Do you have a radiused fretboard? That causes me issues.
Bill

[AndyPanda]

I don't want to assume what you know or don't know - so please don't take offense. This is very basic fretting but some people believe they should press the string down directly on top of the fret - but that is not good, it will rattle. Ideally you press as close to the fret but behind the fret as you can - that is the spot where you need the least amount of force from the finger pressing down. When you are right on top of the fret, you have to press very hard or it will buzz between your finger and the fret. Back too far and the string isn't tight enough on the fret and can buzz on it.

[Tom Wright]

It is not my experience that fingering directly on top causes buzzing, unless so far forward that the string buzzes on the next fret, in low-action setups. It is more likely to cause a damped, muted tone, as your flesh is touching the vibrating string. (This is useful at times.)

I find that accidentally muting is the main risk for me, but I have strong fingers by now, and tend to squeeze pretty hard. I get better results most of the time fingering well back but applying enough pressure.

All that said, it is just not easy to get clean tone. I've been chasing it for years. The G string tone will depend on accurate finger location, sufficient pressure, and balanced pressure--not leaning on one string moire than the other. It will also depend on the way you pick---driving it too hard asks for buzzing, and it will take some experimenting to find the best angle and stroke to get a rich tone.

[Mark Gunter]

not leaning on one string moire than the other.

Takes us away from the OP's buzzing issue, but just to say that this is a big and recurring problem for me with the G course, I find it very difficult to depress both strings with "accurate finger location, sufficient pressure, and balanced pressure" - to the extent that I can pull or push one way out of tune with the other, and to the extent that even when they sound alright I can see in a video of myself that they are drawn together or pushed apart at the point of fretting. I'm not certain how to improve this.

[Jes Woodland]

....."G string blues" eh!.......over here it's called the thong song!......


I'll get me coat!......TAXI !!!!!!!

[jshane]

Another possible factor, especially if coming from guitar, is proper hand/finger position on the neck. On mandolin, like violin, it's better to have your overall finger position extending more DOWN the neck than ACROSS the neck. I found that once I really started to do this, my overall tone improved, and I think it really helped on the lower strings--like the G. I don't know what the ideal angle is, and it certainly changes in context... but it is a lot less than the almost perpendicular angle when fretting a guitar.

[s1m0n]

I've found that most perplexing musical connundra of this nature go away on their own if you continue to practice while being mindful of the tone you're producing. Your hand will sort out what to do, and your ears will tell your hand when it's right. Getting your head too involved just makes you crazy.

[JeffD]

but it is a lot less than the almost perpendicular angle when fretting a guitar.

Yes!

[Dave Sheets]

I'm kinda wondering about your hand position, though I obviously can't see it. If your wrist and thumb are too "clenched up" on the neck, you won't be able to reach your fingers over the fretboard to it the G string cleanly. No idea if this is the issue you've got, but it might be worth checking, make sure your hand is loose and the left wrist is low enough, and far enough toward the front of the neck that you can reach the G strings cleanly. Maybe look at your left hand position in a mirror while playing and then look at some videos of good players and/or teachers to see how your hand position compares. Just my 2 cents here, no warranty real or implied .