String buzz?

Jetfire

A real newbie question but if an acoustic's string sounds muted, dull and buzzy, fretted or unfretted, is it likely to be the string or the bridge?

guitars4you

more likely the strings - but if muted, dull and buzzy on open strings then the nut/bridge might require attention - Are all strings buzzing on an open note ?

Look at the strings - do they look dirty - Look on the E+B - are they covered in muck - rub your hand and/or clean cloth underneath those strings and see if you can now see a black line on the cloth as you wipe some of the caked up crap off the string

Rabs

Could also be the truss rod needs a slight tweak..

Jetfire

Its just my G string.... 

guitars4you

Jetfire said:

Its just my G string.... 

just the G string buzzing - is this on open strings and fretted - if fretted then all over or just isolated spots

Jetfire

On the open string and all of the frets...

Cols

Probably just a duff string; it can occasionally happen with a fresh set.  Change it and see if that sorts it out.

Funkfingers

+1 for tired string ... or previous owner had corrosive sweat issues ... or, even worse, Elixir Polyweb.

Does the guitar have an undersaddle transducer? It is possible that the fit between the slot floor, the transducer strip and the underside of the bridge saddle is less than ideal. This is more likely to reduce mechanical volume than kill off the higher frequency content.

guitars4you

Jetfire said:

On the open string and all of the frets...

Cols said:

Probably just a duff string; it can occasionally happen with a fresh set.  Change it and see if that sorts it out.

endorse that - probably only other option is a low cut nut slot -as this is isolated to one string

check the nut slot - 3rd G string - fret the string at the 3rd fret - whilst keeping this note fretted, check the gap over the 1st fret - should be minimal - barely a gap at all - no gap and that will cause the open buzzing - to high a gap and will cause tuning issues and harder to play - If okay then check the string

Jetfire

Turns out it was an old dead string. Happy days!

Cols

Glad to hear a new string was all that was required.

Mrs Cols the bass player used to have endless fun by walking into music shops, fluttering her eyelashes at the staff and saying “Please can one of you help me?  My G string snapped on stage last night....”

guitars4you

good news - something simple and unexpected can be such a pain