New Weber

[JasonN]

Greetings,

I received a new Weber a week or so ago and the G string has a buzz. It's a Weber Gallatin with a custom finish and an arm rest (beautiful!). Here's what I have assessed so far...

It's not the action. The strings are definitely nowhere near the frets. The buzz sound seems to be coming from the bridge, but it's difficult to tell. In any case it's being produced near my picking hand. I can control the buzz to an okay extent by holding the string down directly on the frets and using the flat part of my fingers rather than my finger tips (makes for hard playing). Also, increasing the string tension by tuning the G string slightly high (a bit sharp) helps eliminate the buzz as does playing with a 1.0 plastic pick rather than the thicker USA picks I like to use. It seems like, and I could be wrong, that the G string may not be seated well on the bridge? Is it possible that the groove on the bridge for the string is off a bit? I'm thinking about ordering a new bridge saddle, or maybe even a new bridge to see if that helps. Maybe it just needs to age and break in for awhile?

I love the sound of this thing. Compared to my old cheapo "Chinese special" mando the Gallatin is loud and rings on and on- really nice! I just want to get rid of the buzziness. BTW I played a Bitterroot the other day and it plays much cleaner (no buzz) so I don't think it's me.

Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated?


Thank you,
Jason

[Steven]

Hi Jason!
I have a gallatin myself and had the same thing happen to me ....it turned out to be the adjusting screw on the base side of the bridge had backed out (Brekke bridge).Sometimes it would buzz sometime not.The saddel did'nt sink down on that side because it turned out that the wedge on the base side that controls saddel hiegth was jamed in the slot.Dont know if this is the same problem with yours.These mandos are just super and if you think it sounds good now just wait till it starts to open up,they seem to be a bit "tight" when new,they need to be played alot!

[JasonN]

...it turned out to be the adjusting screw on the base side of the bridge had backed out ... it turned out that the wedge on the base side that controls saddel hiegth was jamed in the slot.
Thank you for the input. I don't think this is the case for me becasue, while trying to troubleshoot the problem, I was able to raise and lower the action using the screws. It went up and back down just fine.

-Jason

[Dan Cole]

I have the exact same problem with my Big Sky. Its driving me crazy! I thought maybe its the way I fret the strings, but thats not it. I replaced the Brekke with a traditional Brekke, better sound, same buzz. In my case the buzz is coming from the bridge area too.

I've checked nuts, slots, action height, screws, you name it. I'm out of options.

The mandos a killer, but the buzz is killing me!

[mpeknox]

Get a dental mirror and look around inside for anything...probably nothing visible causing the buzz but it's still cool to look. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Also, not near the picking hand but could it be your tuner buttons? I've had problems with them being loose before and it drove me crazy.

[Billiam]

It's a new instrument, right? Sounds like a call to Weber is in order. They seem to be good folks, I'm sure they'll try to make it right.

[Mando4Life]

Check the tailpiece...make sure the felt strip is in place..

just a thought.

WBL

[dave42]

I'd do what 'Mando4life' said first. If it doesn't seem to be there, try putting something between the strings as seen here. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/dave42/FrontofMandolin3closeup.jpg) If that solves your problem, then the felt is gone or has moved for sure.

Then, or if it doesn't work, I'd give Weber a call. 888-886-7598 . I had a small issue with my Weber when new, and I'm here to say that they were fantastic with helping me out!! Good Luck, Dave.

[JasonN]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I may give the Weber folks a call. I have to say, they are some of the nicest folks I've had the pleasure to deal with! That's why I don't want to bother them until I've absolutely exhausted all other avenues first. I'll check into all the suggestions here and see if I can solve this one on my own. If not, I know they'll take great care of me.

Cheers!
Jason

[TonyP]

I had what seems like the same problem years ago. It about drove me nuts because it was hard to localize as you are dealing with something that's supposed to transmit sound. What it turned out to be on my Newson was how I wound the strings on the tuner pegs. I had to wind one down from the hole in the peg and one up from the hole in the peg on just the G strings. It occurs to me you could try a piece of felt in the strings between the tuners and the nut and see if it goes away. Just a suggestion.

[Greg H.]

Another thought, go down to Radio Shack and get a pack of rubber grommets (they're cheap, maybe $2.00 for the pack). Take the smallest ones and put them between each pair of strings (look at the picture of the Rigel we're all trying to win, it looks as though it has grommets on the E and A strings). That may help with the buzz, and also gets rid of some 'wolf tones' you can get from sympathetic vibrations behind the bridge.

[AW Meyer]

I had a mysterious buzz appear on my Absaroka a couple of months back. I tried all of the obvious "buzz eliminators," -- felt in the tailpiece, tapping the mando to listen for loose pieces, etc. I emailed Weber and got a quick response. Bruce suggested that it might be a loose truss rod. I put in a new bridge saddle and had the truss rod tweaked. The buzz is gone.

[Scotti Adams]

..as strange as this may sound but..here it goes....look at your strings at the point where they go thru the hole on the tuner shaft...if any of that string at the point where you cut it off after stringing is touching another string or tuner shaft this can create a buzz that is sometimes hard to locate...as are the screws that hold tuner buttons on work themselves loose sometimes and buzz or rattle...I have experienced both the these buzzing problems in the past..

[sunburst]

Does it buzz all the time, or only when you play loud?
How close together are the two G strings?

Sometimes the G strings will buzz against one another if they aren't spaced far enough apart at the bridge, and, to some extent, the nut. Only when you're playing hard, though.

[Dan Cole]

MIne buzzes when fretted. Only the G string(s). I'll check the truss rod

[Lee]

Here's goes my guess. #Believe it or not, your nut is too low, or the G-string nut slot was cut too deep. #Here's what happens. #You place your finger down on the string at a fret; say it's the 5th fret. #This divides the string into two "speaking" lengths. #The one you hear is the string from the 5th fret to the bridge. #The one you shouldn't hear is from the 4th fret back to the nut. #If the nut is too low, the string behind your fingers is vibrating against the frets and causing the elusive buzzing noise.

[Dan Cole]

Lee based on your hypothesis, I'm going to put a grommet in the strings on the fret side of the nut. Then when fretted and played listen for the buzz. We'll get back you.

[Dan Cole]

That was a bust! Oh Well.

[Lee]

Ask a friend to fret the string behind your finger towards the nut when you play, rather than the grommet. #
You say that was a bust? #You mean my guess was wrong and I shouldn't mail my invoice?
How about a loose tuning knob.

[Dan Cole]

No Lee you misunderstood me. Sorry, for that. The grommet Idea was the bust. It was too thick and didn't work like I had envisioned in my minds eye. I'll try your method. Makes more sense.

I'm also wondering if the bridge may be the issue. I replaced the Brekke, with a traditional style Brekke, but I think (again just a guess) there may be a chance that the brass bar that runs through the saddle vibrates. I have a new Gibson style bridge to test the theory, just haven't had the time nor energy to fit it.

Again sorry for the misunderstanding. That is a result of typing short blurbs and not really communicating.

[Steven]

Amazing to me is that no one from Sound to Earth has wieghed in on this (unless one of you guys work there),cant imagine they dont check in on this site from time to time.

[Dixieland]

I've been following this thread as I too have a buzz on my G string. Thought I'd see if it might be between my nut and tuning peg. When I turned from the computer and picked up
my mando, there on the bed lay my foam ear plugs that I had used running my mower earlier. The thought hit me ..."roll up the ear plug(compress) and stick it under the strings behind the nut, hold it there and let it expand back to it's shape". Wow! my buzz has all but disappeared! Only
at the 2nd fret do I get any buzz...This is a great
improvement for me. Thanks for all the ideas on troubleshooting a string buzz.

[testore]

I have seen this in used instrument or when I'm making a new nut for a new instrument. This happens to violins all the time too. The process of tuning an instrument,especially for a wound string, can work somewhat like a file. Eventually the string groove becomes rounded and the string leaves the nut just fractions of a millimeter inside the edge of the nut.Sometimes you can actually see a slightly polished area where the srting is leaving the nut. If it's not right at the end of the nut it can make a funny rattly noise. I just did this to a good used mando three days ago. It was an A string but it really cleared up the sound. This is a very common move I do all the time to violins. Just pull off a G string and check if theres a little shiny spot just inside the edge. If there is, have someone qualified just file it down. It doesn't take much,two or three strokes is uaually enough.
Gary Vessel

[Lee]

Gary, recently the official Journal of the Piano Technicians Guild ran a cover story dedicated to the topic of string termination points. It discussed the bridge, bridge pins, agraffes, and the pressure bar (underneath the plate). All very fascinating and interesting and in theory very applicable to any stringed instrument. Of course, copyright laws would prevent me from sending out copies...

[Dan Cole]

I've come the conclusion that the problem isn't my mandolin. Its set up perfectly and when others play it there isn't a buzz. Somehow the way I fret the G string is the issue. Maybe I have a death grip or something. But I think the problem is in my technique.

I'm basing this also on the fact I played a friends Kentucky DAWG with a radiused fretboard and I can make its G string buzz too.

The problem therefore must be ME!!!!

if you always wear shirts with buttons on the cuff.... beware!

[JasonN]

Problem solved!

My music teacher, who also repairs instruments, made a very slight adjustment on the truss rod and smoothed out the groove on the bridge saddle. Now it sounds and plays beautifully! Compared to his Bitterroots, my Gallatin is really loud and rings, quite literally, like a bell!

Cheers,
Jason

[Kevin Briggs]

I was going to suggest adjusting the truss rod. I got my custom bitteroot in good playing shape, but a local idiot setup guy made my second G-string buzz, somehow. He adjusted the neck to play like a Gibson Les Paul or something. The action was super low, and the neck was too straight. All necks need some neck relief.

I did research at Frets.com, and followed the mandolin/buzz diagnosis thread, which was great. Adjusting the truss rod fixed it, unless I really hammer on the G string, which I try not to do anyway.

[bradeinhorn]

did you try changing strings? sometimes bad strings buzz.