Troubleshooting multiple buzzes in an acoustic.

[RandomHero]

I just recieved an acoustic for free. IT's an Oscar Schmidt, and has a beautiful, deep voice... I'm using old strings on it still, but still love the sound. The only problem is that it's buzzing from multiple locations. I'm almost positive it's not fret buzz because I'm familiar with that sound and it doesn't seem to be coming from the frets... one string buzzes equally from the bridge in all locations. Help!! I'm an acousti-dummy!

[R]

if its not the frets then the only other thing that could be buzzing is the tuners

they could be loose from age so check them you could try to tighen them up or replace them if thats the problem anything else you need a luthier to check cause it could be the saddle slot a bracing or even the neck joint

[UnklMickey]

r said:

if its not the frets then the only other thing that could be buzzing is the tuners...

R, my friend, you have made the classic error of using an ultimate in your assesment.

Never, Always, Best, Worst, Only...etc. can come back to haunt you.

a classic source of buzz is the tuner's bushing nut and washer on the front face of the headstock.

while the tuners ARE the most likely candidates, other than fret buzz, there are other possiblities.

if there are any wood laminations or bracing that are beginning to separate, they will cause a buzz.

loose hardware like strap buttons or tailpieces can cause a buzz.

even the bridge height adjustment mechanism can cause a buzz.

one of the most interesting sources of buzz i have seen in an acoustic was caused by some excess string vibrating against a pin in a string-through configuration.

i'm sure there are other possibilities that we haven't thought of, but the ones listed above are good places to start.


unk

[R]

you are right uncle about my comment but i guess i made a bad choice in wording i meant to say that the only thing an acoustic-dummy ( as the hero calls himself) can diagnose and fix are the tuners, bushings, and other hardware anything else needs skilled hands and ears

[RandomHero]

Again with the final statements! The actual source of the buzz, as I found, was some chippy loose wood beneath the bridge, where the string's ball ends had torn up the grain so bad it was splitting out all over the place. I removed the excess crud from in there, and no more buzz!

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

Found via a link that Runewalker posted in a different thread: www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Setup/BuzzDiagnosis/buzzintro.html

I learned several new things today.