Buzzing on my guitar

carpet
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Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:23 pm

My D string is buzzing. Actually, I don't think it's the string, but I hear a buzz when I play say, the 9th fret of the D string, and all up around that area of the neck. does anyone know what types of things it might be? and how to fix them?

If anyone can give any good advice, I'd really appreciate it - it's really annoying.


ffsooo3
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Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:25 pm

Did anything change recently? New strings? A bump to the guitar? Are all the strings sitting properly in the nut and saddle? What happens when you use a capo? Are the guitar strap pin tight? Is it an acoustic/electric? Is there loose wiring?


dennisg
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Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:38 pm

This is the time of year when things like that start happening because of the dry indoor heat due to running the heater 24 hours a day. The fix to the problem is probably as simple as adjusting the truss rod. I'd take the guitar to your local luthier and have him or her check it out. Assuming that's what the problem is, it's a quick and cheap fix.


carpet
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Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:57 pm

Wow Dennis, I think you may have nailed it. I bought a little fan heater, and I've been sitting in front of it with my guitar! ffsoo, it's both - an electric acoustic. Everything else seems fine. i generally go straight for the pins when I hear buzzing, but it ain't them. everything else seems in place too.

Can I reverse the effects of heat? I'm definitely not sitting with my window open though!


AndyT
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Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:48 pm

Make sure you have a humidifier running in the house to keep the moisture balanced.
Check your tuning pegs also. Sometimes the small screws come a bit loose and rattle.

If you don't have or can't afford a humidifier, then boil a big pot of water on the stove to put moisture back in the air. It also helps to keep colds at bay this time of year.


dennisg
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Sun Nov 21, 2010 9:46 am

Carpet,

The most reliable solution I've found is the Planet Waves HumidPaks, which you keep in the guitar case along with the guitar. One of the HumidPaks goes under the guitar neck, and two others fit in a saddlebag-like pouch which gets inserted into the sound hole. In the winter, the HumidPaks will raise the humidity between 45 and 50 percent (ideal for guitar wood), and in the summer they will reduce the humidity to the same level.

The downside to HumidPaks is that you have to keep your guitar in the case. But I keep a beater guitar outside of the case on a stand for those times when I need to bash out a couple of chords. Another downside to HumidPaks is that they're more expensive than boiling water, but infinitely safer, and a far better long-term solution.

The likelihood is that whatever dryness effects your guitar may have experienced can be easily reversed with proper humidity control. Guitars are like expensive sponges, absorbing humidity from the air in the summer and giving it away in the winter.

Something you might also want to consider buying is an inexpensive hygrometer to measure the humidity level in your guitar room. Even in a moderate climate like Seattle's, my winter humidity level in 40 percent and the summer level is around 60 percent. I ran out of HumidPaks this summer, and I noticed some buzzing from the guitar due to the wood swelling after absorbing humidity. But like I side, it's not a catastrophic problem. The real problem is when you allow the wood to get too dry, and it cracks. That's a very common occurrence in hot, dry climates.


carpet
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Sun Nov 21, 2010 10:20 am

Cheers, Dennis. Cracking shouldn't be a problem here in Glasgow, which I imagine is quite similar to Seattle, weatherwise.

I generally never leave my guitar in its case. I will check out some of those humidifiers though. It's a nause having to think about all this other stuff, when all I want to do is play the damn thing!But needs must I guess. thanks for all the help. Thanks Andy too, I might experiment with the boiling water first, to see if it makes a difference.

Cheers.


Hydroman52
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Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:05 am

Hi Carpet,

This helped me to diagnose a loose wire on my bridge pickup as the culprit for a buzzing problem on one of my acoustic/electrics.

Diagnose guitar buzzing

This is a great site for exploring the technical side of your guitar. It helped me confirm the need for a neck reset on a guitar that I was buying . . . . saved me hundreds of dollars as I was able to get it repaired for free before actually buying it. You should really bookmark this site as a favorite.

Here's another cool thing that I learned at the www.frets.com site . . . . . . if you want to use Google to search a WEB site that doesn't have a search feature (or even one that does) go to Google search and type in site: "". For example, to find the page that I am pointing you to above, I typed the following into a Google search:

site:www.frets.com "buzz"


This seems to work on most WEB sites . . . . even here on TG. I was able to type in site:www.totallyguitars.com "buzz" and found your post along with a bunch of other interesting stuff that I wasn't aware of. Life is good.


Hope this helps,
Hydroman52


carpet
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Sun Nov 21, 2010 1:17 pm

Hydro, that was a super helpful link mate - I'm pretty certain now that it's the relief. i'll adjust the truss rod. Many thanks!


gchapel
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Tue Nov 23, 2010 3:22 pm

Instead of messing with the truss rod, an easy way to correct small relief issues is to just change the strings to the next closest set.

For example, If your action is too low and you hear buzzing on a string, buy the next larger set of strings and see if the buzzing goes away when installed and properly tuned. If you are using lights change to Mediums.

If your relief is too high, move a the next smaller set of strings. So if you have mediums installed switch to lights.

If you do mess with the truss rod, first turn in the direction to loosen the nut (Generally Counter clockwise), just to make sure that the truss rod nut is not sticking and is free to move properly. Next turn the nut in 1/8 to 1/4 turn increments then let the guitar adjust over a 24 hour period. It takes a while for the guitar to fully correct. Never apply a lot of force when adjusting the trust rod nut. You might permanently damage the truss rod and ruin your guitar. If the nut is difficult to turn, try detuning the guitar so that the tension is removed from the neck. If the nut is still difficult to turn, I would recommend taking it to a good luthier to make sure the trust rod is not damaged.


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