Lowden advice

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Merlemantel

I agree. The more obvious observation to my mind is the fact that people dont take guitars into techs as a test, for recreational purposes. People take in their guitar and say, "It's doing xyz" - can you figure that out and fix it? I mean, who takes a guitar, hands it over, and says, "Please do an annual physical examination. (and I'll see if you catch the problem - tee-hee-hee-hee. Oh what fun. This is better than binge watching old episodes of Hawaii 5-0)

If you bring a guitar to a tech, one of the first things they should do is play the thing. Not rocket science. I have brought guitars in for sale to GC and the techs looked at a lot of different things, but they also played chords up and down the neck. Its not playing a game, a qualified tech doesn't need someone to tell them what to do. Key word is Qualified.

I'm done here.

[Gordon Currie]

Have you checked for a loose brace? Those can sometimes be frequency dependent.

I had a buzz one time caused by a faulty tuner mechanism. It was hard to track down. Very frequency dependent!

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by TBman

Not to nit pick and argue, but a customer (like me) would assume the tech would play the guitar up and down the neck at some point to see if there are issues. How does a tech do a setup without at least playing the guitar before giving it back to the customer?

Let's say they play a couple songs that go up and down the neck, but the key they play in misses the one note/fret you're having trouble with. That's more common than you think. There's no good reason to play games. I can't imagine telling my doctor to look me over and find what she thinks is wrong, when I went in for a specific issue. It's not productive and there's no advantage to it.

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by Gordon Currie

Have you checked for a loose brace? Those can sometimes be frequency dependent.

I had a buzz one time caused by a faulty tuner mechanism. It was hard to track down. Very frequency dependent!

Yep, no loose braces.

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by Bowie

Let's say they play a couple songs that go up and down the neck, but the key they play in misses the one note/fret you're having trouble with. That's more common than you think. There's no good reason to play games. I can't imagine telling my doctor to look me over and find what she thinks is wrong, when I went in for a specific issue. It's not productive and there's no advantage to it.

Exactly. No one seriously stressed about their guitar would do that - they would not go in and say "Give it a look see doc. Here, take it." You go in on a mission. You provide crucial information regarding the "diagnosis" - I expect a technician to play, to some degree, but they may not be a virtuoso. In fact, they may be expert on some other acoustic stringed instrument, as far as playing goes. I expect them to know their way around a guitar, to have fixed many other problems and similar problems before I walk in the door. I expect them to think systematically and logically about the problem I am describing, and any playing they do, should be designed to glean more information about what I am subjectively describing and/or demonstrating.

[BlueBowman]

Originally Posted by Merlemantel

Exactly. No one seriously stressed about their guitar would do that - they would not go in and say "Give it a look see doc. Here, take it." You go in on a mission. You provide crucial information regarding the "diagnosis" - I expect a technician to play, to some degree, but they may not be a virtuoso. In fact, they may be expert on some other acoustic stringed instrument, as far as playing goes. I expect them to know their way around a guitar, to have fixed many other problems and similar problems before I walk in the door. I expect them to think systematically and logically about the problem I am describing, and any playing they do, should be designed to glean more information about what I am subjectively describing and/or demonstrating.

I just had a complete re-fret done on a guitar. The tech does not play guitar, he plays bass. First time I hired him for work, and it wasn't until after the work was concluded that I found out he didn't play guitar. To be honest, I'm not sure I would've used him had I known this. Bias? Yes. Dealing with him personally was a near disaster, but the work was fantastic. What a difference a great fret job makes! It made a good guitar even better. He also nailed my set-up more accurately than other guitar-playing techs I've used in the past. Nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Best of luck on the annoying fret buzz, Merlemantel. I once had the absolute worst, most annoying buzz I had ever heard. It took a long while to identify it, but with the help of Google U, I was able to find the answer: a back buzz. Never had even heard of it until then. I'm sure that's not what yours is, but I do know how frustrating it can be. Hope it gets resolved!

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by BlueBowman

I just had a complete re-fret done on a guitar. The tech does not play guitar, he plays bass. First time I hired him for work, and it wasn't until after the work was concluded that I found out he didn't play guitar. To be honest, I'm not sure I would've used him had I known this. Bias? Yes. Dealing with him personally was a near disaster, but the work was fantastic. What a difference a great fret job makes! It made a good guitar even better. He also nailed my set-up more accurately than other guitar-playing techs I've used in the past. Nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Best of luck on the annoying fret buzz, Merlemantel. I once had the absolute worst, most annoying buzz I had ever heard. It took a long while to identify it, but with the help of Google U, I was able to find the answer: a back buzz. Never had even heard of it until then. I'm sure that's not what yours is, but I do know how frustrating it can be. Hope it gets resolved!

Super supportive reply. Thanks. I am very glad things worked out with both your guitars. People seem to think that the origin of string buzz is an easy find. That isn't true. Finding the origin of a buzz can be really frustrating. I am glad you localized yours. Glad your fret job turned out great!

[BluesKing777]

It may sound silly, but one more thing to try is the pickup controls....can buzz if the contact is loose....

So hold the control against the body while playing the buzz notes. Then you will know!


BluesKing777.

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

It may sound silly, but one more thing to try is the pickup controls....can buzz if the contact is loose....

So hold the control against the body while playing the buzz notes. Then you will know!


BluesKing777.

Thank you. Not silly at all. That is the first thing I did. Then I asked the tech to make sure all the electronics were anchored inside the guitar. Unfortunately, we didn't find the problem in the pickup system.

[hamburg325]

Have owned several Lowdens, wonderful guitars, but I also experienced buzzing (on the B and G strings) that was not easily traced nor fixed.

In one case, it was a slightly loose nut around a tuning machine that vibrated at only certain frequencies. In another case, a tiny strip of tin foil placed into an uneven nut slot tamed the problem.

[Misifus]

Another possibility is that something besides the strings is vibrating. A brace, or part of the pickup system, if used. Almost any part of the guitar can vibrate sympathetically with your D. Does it vibrate on all notes on the D string, or just open?

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by hamburg325

Have owned several Lowdens, wonderful guitars, but I also experienced buzzing (on the B and G strings) that was not easily traced nor fixed.

In one case, it was a slightly loose nut around a tuning machine that vibrated at only certain frequencies. In another case, a tiny strip of tin foil placed into an uneven nut slot tamed the problem.

I can well imagine what the process of finding those sources entailed. I will check the tuning machines again. I love this guitar. Like all Lowdens, it is resonant and projects wonderfully. But, I wonder, if those lively properties make buzzing issues more likely to occur as every sonic element is robustly projected, even those that might contaminate the sound. Anyhow, Thanks

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by Misifus

Another possibility is that something besides the strings is vibrating. A brace, or part of the pickup system, if used. Almost any part of the guitar can vibrate sympathetically with your D. Does it vibrate on all notes on the D string, or just open?

Only on the D string, only fretted, and in multiple positions (multiple notes). Frets have been checked, braces okay, electronics okay, tuning machines okay. Action raised to the extreme, still buzzes.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Bowie

Let's say they play a couple songs that go up and down the neck, but the key they play in misses the one note/fret you're having trouble with. That's more common than you think. There's no good reason to play games. I can't imagine telling my doctor to look me over and find what she thinks is wrong, when I went in for a specific issue. It's not productive and there's no advantage to it.

Songs? How about the good old F chord barre played hard at every fret (or a one finger full barre)? You drop the guitar off and say "I'm getting some buzzing and another had tech made things worse." A good tech will find it and fix it.

4 pages about a buzzing string? Really? I don't mean to sound harsh or offend, but come on.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by TBman

Songs? How about the good old F chord barre played hard at every fret (or a one finger full barre)? You drop the guitar off and say "I'm getting some buzzing and another had tech made things worse." A good tech will find it and fix it.

4 pages about a buzzing string? Really? I don't mean to sound harsh or offend, but come on.

I'm not sure what you're arguing about, and I'm not not even sure if you know because your 2nd sentence backs up what I've been saying. And, why complain about 4 pages then post more just to make the thread longer?