One string buzz/rattling

[tcdk]

Hey everybody

After 10 years looking Mandolins, I finally impulsive bought one for the crazy amount of €30

It's an older Hondo II HM-6 and I'm aware that it's not a high end quality instrument (hence the price)

It sounds decent, but 1 string (top A string / 4th string from below) have a weird sound. Like buzz/rattling/muted sound. None of the other strings have this. It was the same with the old strings fitted, and I just refitted new D'Addario Phosphor bronze.
It's not the tailpiece making a sound vibrating sound, and I'm thinking it may be something caused by the wooden bridge?

Would it help if I recorded a comparsion of the 2 A strings? (one is clear, they other is strange sounding)

[tcdk]

If I press first "fret"/band the rattling is gone. So it's a nut problem?

[JimCh]

Seems like.

[Richard500]

Sort of. Photos of this model (all of them ?) show a zero fret. Thats the fret very close to the nut. The string has to be in solid contact with it. The nut could have a slot that’s not quite deep enough. Clean out that slot. Don’t worry about precision; the slots are only lateral positioning.
If you don’t have the zero fret, adjusting the nut is a delicate job and has to be just right.

[tcdk]

Thank you.

The intonation was way off (½ tone)
Adjusting that and the string height (Bridge was all the way down) removed the rattling.

And it has a zero fret