Hi,
I had been playing the mandolin for a couple of years (flat-back, A-style) - and you could say I'm still a beginner, although a late stage one - when I decided to try the octave mandolin because of my interest in Irish folk music. I purchased a second-hand Ashbury AM-325, which plays just fine except (in my hands) the G strings, which tend to make a nasty buzzing sound. The buzz is coming from the fret I am supposed to be fretting, and the reason is that I find it requires an inordinate amount of hand and finger strength the press both strings down hard enough so that they don't vibrate against the fret. Somebody told me the action might be too high. However, the strings look pretty close to the frets to me: 1 mm at the first fret, 1.5 at the fifth. I'd appreciate people's input on this. Is it a common problem? Is it just a matter of practice? Perhaps ultra light strings would help?
Many thanks.
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