need some help on something....Last couple of builds I've done I have struggled a little with buzzing at the bridge or nut. Not sure why. Doesn't seem to matter what material I am using. I've used lots of stuff from bone to brass rods to bolts to corian. Any idea what may be causing this??

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It could be the angle of the string break, the action could be too low, or the strings may not be seated well in whatever grooves you are using on the nut/saddle. You could use string trees if its an angle from headstock issue or you could put in a taller nut or saddle if actions the issue, or you could carefully refile the nut or saddle slots to see if that makes a difference. My last build had a "sitar" thing going on for one string - I ended up changing the nut which worked.
Hi,
Are you making necks with or without frets? Last time I spent ages sorting out a guitar with a buzz I changed the nut and then realised the buzz was from the second fret being a bit too high.

My last reso build had a buzz because I didn't give it enough angle over the biscuit bridge - a higher bridge and increasing the angle of the neck with a shim sorted it out.

Another guitar with a buzz turned out to have a loose screw holding the bridge in place hidden by a plastic disc - I only realised as I was about to take the bridge off.

It might help if you have a picture of the CBG
Regards,
David
David-Thanks for commenting. I am sure it isn't fret noise. Could it be because I am using a floating bridge??

David Lloyd said:
Hi,
Are you making necks with or without frets? Last time I spent ages sorting out a guitar with a buzz I changed the nut and then realised the buzz was from the second fret being a bit too high.

My last reso build had a buzz because I didn't give it enough angle over the biscuit bridge - a higher bridge and increasing the angle of the neck with a shim sorted it out.

Another guitar with a buzz turned out to have a loose screw holding the bridge in place hidden by a plastic disc - I only realised as I was about to take the bridge off.

It might help if you have a picture of the CBG
Regards,
David
Possibly - going back to the resonator it is in effect a floating bridge on top of a metal cone and it buzzed because the sting angle over it was not enough. A quick way to check is to push down on the strings behind the bridge and see if the buzz stops - in my case it did so initially I put some string trees in place to increase the angle and later redid a new taller bridge.

Good luck,
David
what are you using to slot your nut. if the nut slot is too wide it will allow the string to vibrate in the slot itself and cause a buzz. a good set of nut files are expensive but will help greatly in this area.
Hi,
I am unable to find the link to a previous posting regarding fret files but the item suggested as a cheap alternative these
WELDING / CUTTING GAS TORCH TIP / NOZZLE CLEANERS
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WELDING-CUTTING-GAS-TORCH-TIP-NOZZLE-CLEANERS...
I recently bought a set and I am impressed at how well they cut slots in plastic nuts and saddles (not sure how they would cope with bone)

Tim said:
what are you using to slot your nut. if the nut slot is too wide it will allow the string to vibrate in the slot itself and cause a buzz. a good set of nut files are expensive but will help greatly in this area.
I just got a set and did a bone nut with them . slow but it worked. I also saw somebody cure a buzz on a nut with a blob of super glue under the string , let it harden to fill an over sized Slot . i also had a friend who put ciggerette papers under a buzzing nut slot ! All a bit of a bodge though! in my limited experiance i would apply pressure to parts of guitar to isolate problem area , then investigate solutions. sounds easy?

David Lloyd said:
Hi,
I am unable to find the link to a previous posting regarding fret files but the item suggested as a cheap alternative these
WELDING / CUTTING GAS TORCH TIP / NOZZLE CLEANERS
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WELDING-CUTTING-GAS-TORCH-TIP-NOZZLE-CLEANERS...
I recently bought a set and I am impressed at how well they cut slots in plastic nuts and saddles (not sure how they would cope with bone)

Tim said:
what are you using to slot your nut. if the nut slot is too wide it will allow the string to vibrate in the slot itself and cause a buzz. a good set of nut files are expensive but will help greatly in this area.
This is it,, string slot size, must match string size.

Tim said:
what are you using to slot your nut. if the nut slot is too wide it will allow the string to vibrate in the slot itself and cause a buzz. a good set of nut files are expensive but will help greatly in this area.
I am pretty confident that it is a slot issue at the nut. I have different sized coping saw blades to cut these, no fancy files. I may invest in them though because this is a pain. I have used string trees before and they have worked great and I have used them where they made the buzz worse. Weird but all good experiences to learn from in the long run.

Thanks everyone.

Mortimer Snerd said:
This is it,, string slot size, must match string size.

Tim said:
what are you using to slot your nut. if the nut slot is too wide it will allow the string to vibrate in the slot itself and cause a buzz. a good set of nut files are expensive but will help greatly in this area.
Use a zero fret instead of a regular nut, that way you could use a lower nut with shallower notches that are just for string guidence instead of filing a deep and narrow enough slot for the string's to rest in and be intonated correct.

Zero fret's are a little bit higher than regular fret's so you wont have any intonation problems at the nut as long as your fretboard and fret's are leveld. The notches in the nut can be as deep or as shallow if you want as long as they keep the string in place.

If it still rattles then it will be:
1 A hell of a lot less loud because the stringpart that is buzzing at the nut isnt directley connected to the soundboard on the other end of the nut (Tuner-nut-zero fret-soundboard vs Tuner-nut-soundboard)
2 A lot easier to fix since it doesnt effect the intonation or action of the string's themselves, the zero fret acts as a perfect nut on those aspects and you can file the slots as deep as you want (at a slight angle). If the slot is to low the strings will toutch nothing but wood from the fretboard, that will dampen that part of the string instead of buzz. Problem fixed.



If you incist on having a regular nut your in for a whole lot of delicate work.
You take the nut and file very shallow notches in the places you want according to your string spacing. So shallow the string's bearley hold into place and the action is waaaaaaaay to high.
Than you angle the slot downwards at the headstock side so it leaves an allmost sharpe edge at the fingerboard end of the slot.
Put the string in and tune it a little (not to pitch but two or three steps lower), push down on the second fret and hit the note, than while still pushing down at 2nd you push down on the first fret. If the pitch of the note at 2nd goes up the nut is to high and you need to file deeper untill pushing down on the 1st fret doesnt effect the pitch of the note on the 2nd fret. Then tune the string to pitch and check again if 1st doesnt effect 2nd (should be good) correct any pitch problems like you did before and your good to go.
But do remember to keep the correct angle when filing the slot deeper and that its better to file 5-10 times to get to the correct hight than it is to file twice and go to deep.

This way in the hands of a professional Luthier can be done in about 30-45 minutes for a 6 string, maybe a little bit faster if the Luthier is realy good at that particular subject but us amateur's can take up to about 4 times that much time (if we succeed at all, i suggest practising on scrapwood a couple of times) so in my opinion the zero fret is easier to work with.
Hope this helps, good luck on your build!
Bluesdog said:
Use a zero fret instead of a regular nut, that way you could use a lower nut with shallower notches that are just for string guidence instead of filing a deep and narrow enough slot for the string's to rest in and be intonated correct. snip Hope this helps, good luck on your build!

Bluesdog, that was a great summary: I didn't know the 2nd fret - 1st fret dance at all. Thanks!
Thanks for the post...that's a whole lot to digest for an ADD victim like me...any chance you could send me a picture of what you are talking about?? I am concerned that a "zero fret" would not raise the action high enough. Anyway, a picture would be great!!!

Thanks

Bluesdog said:
Use a zero fret instead of a regular nut, that way you could use a lower nut with shallower notches that are just for string guidence instead of filing a deep and narrow enough slot for the string's to rest in and be intonated correct.

Zero fret's are a little bit higher than regular fret's so you wont have any intonation problems at the nut as long as your fretboard and fret's are leveld. The notches in the nut can be as deep or as shallow if you want as long as they keep the string in place.

If it still rattles then it will be:
1 A hell of a lot less loud because the stringpart that is buzzing at the nut isnt directley connected to the soundboard on the other end of the nut (Tuner-nut-zero fret-soundboard vs Tuner-nut-soundboard)
2 A lot easier to fix since it doesnt effect the intonation or action of the string's themselves, the zero fret acts as a perfect nut on those aspects and you can file the slots as deep as you want (at a slight angle). If the slot is to low the strings will toutch nothing but wood from the fretboard, that will dampen that part of the string instead of buzz. Problem fixed.



If you incist on having a regular nut your in for a whole lot of delicate work.
You take the nut and file very shallow notches in the places you want according to your string spacing. So shallow the string's bearley hold into place and the action is waaaaaaaay to high.
Than you angle the slot downwards at the headstock side so it leaves an allmost sharpe edge at the fingerboard end of the slot.
Put the string in and tune it a little (not to pitch but two or three steps lower), push down on the second fret and hit the note, than while still pushing down at 2nd you push down on the first fret. If the pitch of the note at 2nd goes up the nut is to high and you need to file deeper untill pushing down on the 1st fret doesnt effect the pitch of the note on the 2nd fret. Then tune the string to pitch and check again if 1st doesnt effect 2nd (should be good) correct any pitch problems like you did before and your good to go.
But do remember to keep the correct angle when filing the slot deeper and that its better to file 5-10 times to get to the correct hight than it is to file twice and go to deep.

This way in the hands of a professional Luthier can be done in about 30-45 minutes for a 6 string, maybe a little bit faster if the Luthier is realy good at that particular subject but us amateur's can take up to about 4 times that much time (if we succeed at all, i suggest practising on scrapwood a couple of times) so in my opinion the zero fret is easier to work with.
Hope this helps, good luck on your build!

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