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#1
03-21-2024, 11:02 AM
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Finding The Buzz
A friend handed me his Petros guitar saying it recently developed a buzz. He called Bruce Petros who suspected a loose brace. Tapping and examination have resulted in no signs of a loose brace.
I did notice pitting in the upper frets so I filed them down, leveled the frets and polished them. I set the relief for a Martin 000 and it played fine for me. He came over and at first was happy but that didn't last as he played on. So he left it with me to do some more hunting for the loose brace he's convinced is there. This is what I'm dealing with: The proverbial needle in a haystack. I've spent hours looking for something that's causing the occasional buzz but have come up empty handed. Any suggestions? 
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#2
03-21-2024, 12:14 PM
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Good lord! There are SO many things that can vibrate and buzz on an acoustic guitar that it's difficult to nail it down to one thing... the kind of "buzz" it is can give you a clue, but, in no particular order, these are some of things I've dealt with over the past 45 years of playing handmade instruments...
First of all, you need to realize that the buzz can be caused by something nowhere near where you hear it happening! -check the tuning machines, the tightening screw as well as the washers. -any batteries, electronics, wires? A connecting wire that only slightly touches the guitar body can buzz... I've had them where it was a gravitational thing; they only buzzed when the guitar was held in a certain position... a battery cavity can be a source (Taylors are famous for this one!)... -I had the truss rod in my beloved Mark Angus F-40 develop a slight rattle/buzz - was maddening to isolate that one, both for me and for Mark! The "fix" was to remove one fret marker, drill a small hole in the fingerboard to the truss rod cavity, and fill it with some sort of caulking... fixed the issue, the truss rod still functioned perfectly, and cosmetically it was invisible... - even a ball end on a string that's not seated completely can buzz... I'm sure there are more "causes", but those are some I've run into...
__________________
"Home is where I hang my hat, but home is so much more than that. Home is where the ones and the things I hold dear are near... And I always find my way back home." "Home" (working title) J.S, Sherman
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#3
03-21-2024, 12:17 PM
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I don't like drooping wire to the output jack. It looks fine here but you don't know where it's going to end up as the instrument is played.
When I install SBT pickups I give the output jack a couple of turns while watching it with a mirror. The cable always curls up against itself so there's no loose loop. Just one thought. I also see cleats already on the soundboard. Those areas deserve a closer look where the soundboard grain intersects with the braces. That's some rough brace work! Even if relief is good it's worth tightening the truss rod a bit as a form of troubleshooting. Does the "nature" of the buzz change after tightening the rod? Last edited by Rudy4; 03-21-2024 at 12:29 PM.
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#4
03-21-2024, 02:08 PM
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If you can find what frequency causes the buzz to activate, repeatedly activate that frequency (pluck the string) and use your other hand to go around and dampen various portions of the guitar. For example, if you have your hand pressing on the right lower bout and the buzz starts to mute, that is likely where your loose brace is. This will often work if tapping doesn't reveal the problem.
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#5
03-21-2024, 04:46 PM
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Lots of great advice here. Thank you! I'll go back and run through your lists.
Testing thus far shows the buzz (it's like a delayed noise that some people might never detect) only happens when fretting the three wound strings. The other three are nylon. And only when fretting on 2 through 5 or 6. There was some open string buzzing but after I cleaned up the pits, that was gone. Anyway, thanks for your help. Back to the lab...
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#7
03-21-2024, 05:57 PM
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Quote:
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#9
03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
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So far, you are describing a guitar with either too little relief, or the action set too low on the bass side of the saddle, or both. And the words "too little" or "too low" are relative to your friend's playing style. Is he classically trained?
Is this a classical, or is your friend putting nylon on a guitar meant for steel strings? And what does this mean: "I set the relief for a Martin 000"? I never saw relief measured in guitar make and model before.
__________________
"Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest." --Paul Simon
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#10
03-22-2024, 03:40 PM
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Quote:
The guitar was made for steel on EAD and nylon on GBE. The relief was from a guy who has a 000. He used the numbers from here: https://www.martinguitar.com/on/dema...adjustment.pdf
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#11
03-22-2024, 03:54 PM
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Quote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fruFJxmWe5I I also increased the relief. I can't get it to buzz. Fingers crossed.
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#12
03-22-2024, 06:27 PM
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Quote:
2) !! I'm surprised. Is this like a silk and steel set, only the opposite? Nylon and steel call for different setups. 3) .003-.005 is good for a lot of steel string guitars. But if it kills the buzz, you can go a few thou higher.
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"Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest." --Paul Simon Last edited by Howard Klepper; 03-22-2024 at 06:36 PM.
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#13
03-22-2024, 08:26 PM
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Quote:
Bruce Petros called it a "Nylon crossover". The owner said it was made for steel and nylon.
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#14
03-31-2024, 08:16 AM
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For anyone interested...
The strings I thought were steel are steel wound nylon. I ended up doing a complete fret job. I also worked on the backside of the nut to slope the strings down and toward their respective tuners. And I found all of the tuner buttons were loose, so those were tightened. I couldn't find anything else that might be the culprit and couldn't make it buzz. He picked up his guitar yesterday and found it didn't buzz for him anymore either. 
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