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Thread: Buzz On ANY Mandolin

  1. #1
    String Plucker Soupy1957's Avatar
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    Default Buzz On ANY Mandolin

    Is it fair to say that no matter how expensive the mandolin the amount of attack you put on the strings could create some buzz to the strings?

    I pulled the mandolin out a couple of days ago, (yes I’m not very regular with my practicing), and I was playing along with some songs on the radio, and I was noticing some buzzing; so I tried to adjust it with the bridge and so forth, but I wondered if I was attacking the strings to strongly?

    I guess there is such a potential problem as “too strong of an attack,” no matter how expensive the mandolin, right? Not that my mandolin is expensive or anything, but just wondering if it has little to do with the instrument, as much as it does “the player.”

    When I eased up a bit, the buzzing did subside, but if I was in a public setting and I was playing along with a group, I would imagine I would need to be a bit more aggressive with the strings, and that would bring the buzzing back, right?
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  2. #2
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buzz On ANY Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Soupy1957 View Post
    I guess there is such a potential problem as “too strong of an attack,” no matter how expensive the mandolin, right?
    There definitely is a "too strong of an attack", no matter how strong the fretting finger is: Buzz can occur in many places, from the fretted fret to the bridge, and an insufficient finger pressure on the fret is one of the options. That's what I would try first: does the buzz go away if I press harder? Mind you, this is only for locating the issue - not that high pressure should be neccessary for playing.

    If that's not it, the next thing to try is raising the action (if that makes the buzz go away, it may make stronger fretting neccessary as a side effect).
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  3. #3
    Unfamous String Buster Beanzy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buzz On ANY Mandolin

    Then there’s the intermittent buzzing that goes away when you wear a shirt with no buttons down the front.
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  5. #4
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    Default Re: Buzz On ANY Mandolin

    Playing too hard can also make the string pair vibrate against each other, depending on how far they are apart would make a difference on how hard you had to play to cause this effect. I find this more common in the wound strings.
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  6. #5
    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buzz On ANY Mandolin

    It could be a high fret that need seating or leveling
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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buzz On ANY Mandolin

    It's not just how hard you hit the strings but, probably more importantly, the direction in which you hit the strings. Ideally, you want the strings to oscillate only in the plane parallel to the fretboard, which you achieve if you hit the strings exactly side-on. In real life you will always hit the strings slightly off-balance, but you should try to minimise the extent to which the strings oscillate in an up-down directly vertical to the fretboard. If you hit the strings side-on you can play pretty hard even with a low action, but if you pull them up or down when you hit them, you can get buzzing even at fairly low volumes.

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