G String 12th fret buzzing

[unccrombie]

ive chagned my strings twice now, and know it isnt a dead string, and this is the only place im getting a buzz. here's a short clip of the sound im getting: www.john.itypical.com/buzz.mp3

can anyone tell me whats wrong?

[HolyCow]

G String....i gotta a kick out of that. I don't have any advice, but you made me laugh.

[unccrombie]

:lol +1 for being the first to mock my g string

[GeorgeJr.]

sometimes going from winter to summer adjustments need to be made... look at the brigde and see if it is worn or cracked... try tightening the nut where the strings are wound(not the place where you put you finger to tune but the "washer" that keeps the tuning put tight to the head

George

[unccrombie]

sometimes going from winter to summer adjustments need to be made... look at the brigde and see if it is worn or cracked... try tightening the nut where the strings are wound(not the place where you put you finger to tune but the "washer" that keeps the tuning put tight to the head

George
i remember the bridge being a tad giggly when i put the strings on. is that normal? i tightened the screw a bit more, but to no avail

[jmkratt]

Could be an intonation problem, or you might have to adjust your truss rod, though my guess would be that an adjustment is needed either at the bridge or the peice of bone (or plastic) at the top of the neck. I had a similar problem a few years ago and took my guitar to a local guitar tech who charged me $30 to "tune-up" my guitar. I have found it is a good idea to have the instruments tuned up annually (depending on how much action/abuse your guitars get), I haven't had a problem since. Hope that helps/

[unccrombie]

Could be an intonation problem, or you might have to adjust your truss rod, though my guess would be that an adjustment is needed either at the bridge or the peice of bone (or plastic) at the top of the neck. I had a similar problem a few years ago and took my guitar to a local guitar tech who charged me $30 to "tune-up" my guitar. I have found it is a good idea to have the instruments tuned up annually (depending on how much action/abuse your guitars get), I haven't had a problem since. Hope that helps/
:thumbsup thanks for the info, ill give them a call

[jmkratt]

:thumbsup thanks for the info, ill give them a call

Right on. Out of curiousity I would be interested to hear if it was a different problem, let me know!

John K

[jmkratt]

Oh. If you are looking for a guy, your local guitar shop should be able to direct you to a tech/luthier who could handle it, in fact they might have the service available at the store.

[Rob]

What kind of guitar? Age? Is it kept in its case and properly humidified?

[unccrombie]

What kind of guitar? Age? Is it kept in its case and properly humidified?
alvarez, 3 years old, yes

[Rob]

Do you know how to sight down the neck? Check it out- make sure things are relatively straight. My only experience with Alvarez (I had one many moons ago) saw the wood of the headstock give up and two of the tuning pegs and their wood snapped off and came flying at me. If your headstock were similarly warped it could cause some funky things as well.

Have you investigated other areas of the fretboard for buzzing? Do you know where the buzzing is happening? Using an index card or business card, you can localize the problem by sliding it under the strings and playing the note. When you find the area that's buzzing the string will slap against the business card as well. If you have one string that buzzes in one place you can likely fix it with a new bridge or nut. If you find it gets worse and other strings start buzzing, you could be in deep shit with a neck reset (all guitars, except Taylors, bend at the 14th fret naturally due to the way the neck is joined to the body). Sighting down the neck can confirm this.

[alphatabs]

When my G String buzzes I just take the vibrator out. :lol Okay, one too many G-String jokes.

[pay4whatuget]

i had the same problem a few months ago with my martin d35...the nut that holds the tuning machine in place on the headstock was loose, and the washer under that was buzzing only when i hit the 12th fret harmonic or hit the 12 or 13 fret. check that nut...

[unccrombie]

Do you know how to sight down the neck? Check it out- make sure things are relatively straight. My only experience with Alvarez (I had one many moons ago) saw the wood of the headstock give up and two of the tuning pegs and their wood snapped off and came flying at me. If your headstock were similarly warped it could cause some funky things as well.

Have you investigated other areas of the fretboard for buzzing? Do you know where the buzzing is happening? Using an index card or business card, you can localize the problem by sliding it under the strings and playing the note. When you find the area that's buzzing the string will slap against the business card as well. If you have one string that buzzes in one place you can likely fix it with a new bridge or nut. If you find it gets worse and other strings start buzzing, you could be in deep shit with a neck reset (all guitars, except Taylors, bend at the 14th fret naturally due to the way the neck is joined to the body). Sighting down the neck can confirm this.
not sure i completely understand the card trick there. but i did it wth my finger, and anywhere i put my finger on the fret it buzzes

[unccrombie]

i had the same problem a few months ago with my martin d35...the nut that holds the tuning machine in place on the headstock was loose, and the washer under that was buzzing only when i hit the 12th fret harmonic or hit the 12 or 13 fret. check that nut...
i tried that earlier, but to no avail

[Rob]

not sure i completely understand the card trick there. but i did it wth my finger, and anywhere i put my finger on the fret it buzzes

Put the card between the strings and the fretboard. Pluck the string where it causes a buzz. Move the card back and forth until you localize the buzzing (it's often the string vibrating against a fret). If the issue is at the 14th fret, you have a problem (that's where the neck meets the body, and the area where the worst warping occurs. A higher bridge or nut is a temporary solution with a higher action, but the guitar ultimately needs a neck reset). If it's a sympathetic vibration from hardware (like the washers on the tuning pegs) you obviously won't be able to localize this way.

[unccrombie]

Put the card between the strings and the fretboard. Pluck the string where it causes a buzz. Move the card back and forth until you localize the buzzing (it's often the string vibrating against a fret). If the issue is at the 14th fret, you have a problem (that's where the neck meets the body, and the area where the worst warping occurs. A higher bridge or nut is a temporary solution with a higher action, but the guitar ultimately needs a neck reset). If it's a sympathetic vibration from hardware (like the washers on the tuning pegs) you obviously won't be able to localize this way.
i put it in, and didnt hear anything. only the open g

[Rob]

No, not the open G. Argh, I've never had this problem explaining this before- I wonder what I'm doing differently. Slide the card under the strings at the 14th fret. Fret the 12th on the G string and pluck. Hear the buzz. If you hear the string slapping the card, you know where the buzz is coming from. If not, move the card down a bit and repeat, until you've cleared the fretboard.

[unccrombie]

No, not the open G. Argh, I've never had this problem explaining this before- I wonder what I'm doing differently. Slide the card under the strings at the 14th fret. Fret the 12th on the G string and pluck. Hear the buzz. If you hear the string slapping the card, you know where the buzz is coming from. If not, move the card down a bit and repeat, until you've cleared the fretboard.
ahhh ok, when i do that i think it slaps at the bottom of the 14th fret, close to the top of the 15th

[Rob]

Damn. That's the worst scenario- you have a warp developing where the neck meets the body. Like I said, you can temporarily correct it with a higher bridge or custom nut (resulting in higher action), but ultimately you'll need to have the neck reset.

[JHacker]

Rob (or anyone else who knows acoustics) - how exactly do you keep your acoustics? 75 degrees and 47% humidity? And say the temp goes to 80 with a humidity of 52%, is that bad or is it just not optimal? How exact do I need to keep my Taylor?

[mojo1210]

rob, what exactly do you mean by having the neck reset?

[unccrombie]

Damn. That's the worst scenario- you have a warp developing where the neck meets the body. Like I said, you can temporarily correct it with a higher bridge or custom nut (resulting in higher action), but ultimately you'll need to have the neck reset.
so what you're saying is that my guitar is going to have like its brain explode. i dont see how it could be warped i take care of it and everything.

[Rob]

It's inevitable. Your guitar is subjected to pretty tremendous forces. The strings are making the guitar want to fold in on itself, and the truss rod is balancing it. Every guitar, in time, will need this repair, no matter how well maintained. Build quality is the determining factor in when it finally needs to happen.

As for the other questions- jhacker- just be "close." Unless you have a room professionally built for the purpose of storing wood instruments, keep them in a case with a hygrometer. Try to keep humidity somewhere aroundd 50% (between 40 and 60 will work). Use humidifiers when it's dry, and use your dry humidifier when it's wet (they work great as dehumidifiers, too). Temperature, as long as it's not extreme, isn't nearly as much of an issue.

A neck reset involves steaming the guitar's neck and fretboard off the body. The fretboard on guitars is simply glued onto the body. As the guitar warps and stretches, the 14th fret is the indicator- it is sitting directly on the joint. The entire neck while have a slight bend to it, which is determined by the truss rod. When this problem occurs, there is a sharp (relatively speaking) change in the trend of the bend at the 14th fret. While the truss rod can counteract some of the problem, once a bend has occurred there it can't be fixed completely by the truss rod.

This is one of the reason Taylors are more expensive- the necks are bolted on, rather than glued, and shimmed to the right position. This has eliminated the 14th fret bend completely. When the neck needs to be reset, the neck is simply unbolted, shims are added or removed, and the neck is bolted back on. No expensive steaming, regluing, and refinishing is required, and because they have lifetime warranties, it's done for free.

[SevenMinarets]

G String....i gotta a kick out of that. I don't have any advice, but you made me laugh.
"that sounds like a personal problem to me..."

[JHacker]

What is a dry humidifier? I mean I obviously know what a humidifier is, but you said this works to dehumidify? Do you have a link to one from musiciansfriend or something? Thanks.

[alphatabs]

"that sounds like a personal problem to me..."

:lol Long live the mooninites! +1

[Rob]

A dry humidifier is one that doesn't have any water in it, and as a result will soak some moisture.

[JHacker]

Wow, duh, I never even thought to do that. And I was about to buy a dehumidifier for a humidity level of like 55%

[unccrombie]

so i took the guitar in today, and i guess there's cracking where the neck meets the body. he was going to adjust the truss rod, but i told him not to, and im going to send it back to the dealer. do you think that crack could be causing my problem? or have compounded it?

[Rob]

Could be either, to be honest. You could well end up spending more on the repair than you would for a new guitar, and it'll never be the same...

[unccrombie]

Could be either, to be honest. You could well end up spending more on the repair than you would for a new guitar, and it'll never be the same...
thats why i love the lifetime warranty :lol i'll be sending it out next monday