Buzz On My Acoustic

[john]

Hey

I've been getting a bit of work carried out on my Martin acoustic. It started with an annoying buzz when playing the low G note on the E string. I put it into shop to get fixed, and after some work the problem seemed to have disappeared...

but a new one has arrived!

Now i get a buzz that's really weird. When I pluck the D string in an open sounding It sounds fine..... but if I pluck the D string with my finger on the 7th fret of the low E string a bad buzz appears. Weird I thought.

After some investigation today the buzz appears to be fret buzz due to a sympathetic harmonic stimulation of the E string... between the 7th fret and the nut!

So I'm thinking either dampning or raise the nut a smidge. I'm reluctant to raise the nut as I really like the string height where it is.

I will probably put it back into the shop, but does anyone hane any ideas?

Cheers

John

[Nightwolf]

Do what I do, buy a new one

[Steve]

You could try this. Cut a small square from a plastic milk bottle and ease it under the nut at the string that is buzzing. Like this,

This will lift just that particular string enough to make it stop buzzing, but not enough to notice any change in the action. The other strings should remain the same.

I used to have an old Echo accoustic (didn't everybody in the world?) with much the same problem. This is how I cured it. Sometimes, the problem lies with the nut not the frets. If a guitar has been restrung too much, the slot in the nut wears down by the action of the string being tightened constantly. This, more so on the wound strings. If you are a regular string changer, have the nut changed now and then!

[typo]

i'd guess it's a combination of probs. you might not be able to cure the sympathetic vibrations, but you should be able to stop it being a problem:

change to a different weight of strings

adjust the truss rod (You might have to play with this to get a sweet spot where it is playable, and there is no sympathetic buzzes or direct fret buzz)

marginally raise the nut and or bridge

drop the fret height (not really recommended)

to try and reduce the sympathetic vibrations dampening could help a little, if overall harmonic vibration is causing the sympathetic vibration or contributing to it. it depends on how the main energy is being transferred to the string:

through the air

through a mechanical linkage (more likely)

[typo]

btw have you checked the neck relief yourself?

[john]

Hey

Good suggestions all. I've sorted the worst of the buzz, but at the moment it is a fudge of a fix. You're right I need to check the neck profile properly.

Thanks for the replies!

Cheers

John

[Nightwolf]

I've sorted the worst of the buzz, but at the moment it is a fudge of a fix.

yeah, me too, pain killers are really only a bandaid after all eh