Topic: Guitars buzzing
My guitars buzz continuously and it gets annoying.
I'd like to know how to fix them.
Thanks.
- Guitarpix
- Underwater Firefighter
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Re: Guitars buzzing
Fretted or open? Which strings? And can you tell where it's buzzing from (nut, saddle, frets) listen closely and you should be able to tell.... Have the guitars ever been set up properly? Just trying to narrow it down so I/we can offer you the best advice 
[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b] [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]
[/color][/b] [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]
Re: Guitars buzzing
I've played it fretted and open and it happens both ways. I think it's buzzing from the frets.
- Guitarpix
- Underwater Firefighter
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Re: Guitars buzzing
Take a piece of paper and put it between the frets and strings and move it around while picking them till you mute the buzz with the paper.... That will pinpoint the problem fret and we'll go from there.
[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b] [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]
[/color][/b] [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]
- beamer
- THE METALIZER. Naughty Rocker Boy.
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Re: Guitars buzzing
or you can suck it up and go to teh shop for a setup with a fret dressing. Maybe you can get away with just a fret dressing.
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– George Lynch 2013 (Dokken, Lynchmob, KXM, Tooth & Nail etc....)
- mekidsmom
- The Chick Moderator
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Re: Guitars buzzing
Although, if it's more than one guitar it could be in your fingering position. I was having the same issue and after handing my guitar to a much better player I found the buzzing was all in my error not the guitar.
Taking it in for a pro set up, and first seeing if it's you could save you a ton of money and time.
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What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.
Re: Guitars buzzing
Gotta tell ya, I love this site. It's an anti CRS invention for me. It's too true that youth is wasted on the young. Please don't think that I'm bitchin. but damn it goes by faaaasssssssssstttt. so quit wasting time. I'll try to remember to do the same. I remember a friend once sayin the proof is in the pudding? What does that mean?
Love the World and everything in it.
Re: Guitars buzzing
Try sighting down the neck, by looking across the body and down along the neck. You should be able to discern possible warpage in the neck and maybe even how even the frets are. If your guitar strings buzz when both fretted and open, your problem might be viewable in the manner described.
In the end, a visit to your local luthier is a good, though very rarely inexpensive, option. At that point, after the initial consultation and estimate, you will then have to decide if your guitar is worth the added expense. By now, after all the mods, tweaks, and neck adjustments on my Gretsch ProJet, I've put in more than what the damn thing cost me in the first place. Does it sound and play good? Definitely much better than when I first got it. Was it worth it? Dunno. I need to compare it to a Gretsch that has comparable pick ups to what I now have on there. Considering that a Gretsch that comes stock with TV Jones pups usually go for lots more than my total investment, maybe I need to stop judging myself.
Re: Guitars buzzing
the tips of my fingers have pads but still hurt. I found some finger tip guards or gloves. are there other more common solutions?
btw is there a way to search the forums?
10 2012-12-28 06:50:35 (edited by bunbun 2012-12-28 07:02:53)
Re: Guitars buzzing
johnspc9951 wrote:
the tips of my fingers have pads but still hurt. I found some finger tip guards or gloves. are there other more common solutions?
btw is there a way to search the forums?
First of all, not to berate but to educate: It would have been better to start another thread for this or look to see if another has been started on this subject. You will get a faster answer if you start another thread or continue one that is of the same subject. Education over.
How long have you been playing? Has it been a few weeks or a few years? If you have just started you will develop the calluses but your fingers are still going through a transition. Every time you play, and fret, you are causing trauma (yes trauma) to your finger tips. The calluses are your body's response to this trauma but that is just the start. Now the nerves have to adjust to the trauma and that will take longer.
When I started playing it took just a few weeks for the calluses to form but it took about two to three months for my fingers to stop feeling "funny". The pain stopped after a few more weeks but then my finger tips were numb under the calluses. The adjustment from that numbness took longer but it did go away.
How long it takes depends upon how much you play. If you only play for 1/2 hour every other day it will take longer. When I started I played, (and still play), about an hour a day. If my fingers hurt I set the guitar down and came back later. As with anything it will pass. Don't let it discourage you but don't play so much with pain that you stop enjoying the guitar.
I see from one of your prior posts that you have a Strat and a Martin acoustic. If you are using the Martin more than the Strat try playing the Strat a bit more. The strings on an electric don't require as much pressure so they are a bit easier on the fingers. Another thing you may try when the finger tips get tender is try working on power chords as you don't need the finger tips, but the pads of the fingers, to shape those. That way you get more guitar time without beating up on the fingertips as much.
Lastly, try tuning down half a step and/or going to thinner strings on both guitars. Tuning down half a step will not require different chord shapes but will go easier on the fingers. This is one of the first things I did to help my finger tips. Going to a thinner gauge string will help in that less pressure is required to fret a note. Thinner gauge will make the strings sound twangy but if you tune down 1/2 step it will lose some of that twangyness and, this is what I liked, it lessens the pressure required to fret even more!
NOTE: Thinner strings with down tuning may affect the neck, requiring some truss-rod adjustment to avoid fret buzz. If you choose to go to thinner strings and down-tuning, and it results in truss-rod adjustments one of us can help you do the adjustment yourself or you can pay a tech to do the adjustment along with a string change. When I went to a lighter gauge on my acoustic (from 12's to 10's) I did the adjustment myself with no problems. Took about five minutes.
Good luck.