Anyone know why my guitar is buzzing?

[Mark Vasquez]

I recently bought an old gibson hummingbird acoustic and i just changed the strings, i dont know what size was on it before but i bought lite strings size 10. and then when it was all tuned up the b string sounded "buzzy" like it was hitting a frett and when i play around the 9th fret it is very buzzy and the high e string buzzes around the 12th fret area as well but otherwise sounds great on any other string anywhere on the fret board. It wasnt buzzing like this before I changed the strings.

 

what should i do?

[therichardsgang]

I'm by no means an expert on these things, but lighter strings being thinner need less tension on them to bring them to pitch (doubling a string's diameter quadruples the tension required for a particluar pitch - but increases it's stiffness by a factor of 16!), so even with a relatively small change in gauge can result in quite a significant change in the tension in the neck. Even changing changing from 012" to 011" causes buzzing in my Tanglewood

 

We have an outstanding mag aimed at acoustic guitar players in the UK - check out www.acousticmagazine.com it ran (issues 10 and 11) an extremely good article on strings. It has also run series on guitar construction, done reviews (Taylor GS for example) of identical guitars in different tonewoods. Has the usual reviews of Guitars and kit, and excellent columns for classical, beginners, duet playing etc etc etc.

 

You can buy either single issues or you can subscribe (bi-monthly issues) - They do post the the U.S. and no I don't work for them!

[Queequeg]

While there are lots of different causes of buzzing (low nut, uneven frets, technique, low frets, string balls & body cracks to name just a few) placing "lite" strings on your guitar has relieved many pounds of tension on the neck of your guitar, no doubt changing the relief. (but most folks would define a set beginning with .010 as decidedly "extra light").

As a rule (well, a rule that I follow, anyway) I think of Lights as .012-.053 and Mediums as .013-.056. A first string of .010 almost sounds like an electric string to me.

The lighter the string, the lower the tension, and the more likely it is to buzz if hit hard.

And I had to look this up to confirm my suspicions, but the Gibson Hummingbird is a short-scale guitar anyway, at 24 3/4" [think: lowered tension].

Pay a visit to Freeman's sticky thread on the top of the HCAF called "Is My Guitar Sick?"

You can run a couple of quick visual tests on your guitar's neck and take corrective "action" (if you'll excuse the expression).

You state in your post that you are getting buzzing on the high frets; but I'm *guessing* that the likely solution is to add some relief and loosen the truss rod just a skosh (1/4 turn perhaps).

Here's another great resource: Chasing the Mystery Buzz

Its really not all that tough, but you could also try restringing with .012-.053 "Lights" and see if the problem goes away.

[Cripes]

With no other changes to the guitar than string gauge, the buzz is probably just that. I had my guitar set up very low and it frets out with light gauge (.012's) but plays perfectly with .013's. It's either that or one of your string ball ends is not seated against the bridge plate inside the guitar. I would reckon it to be string gauge related first.

[Michael Martin]

 

I recently bought an old gibson hummingbird

 

And now you are in heaven. (Mine's a '73)

[KATMAN]

Most likely the Gibson was strung up with .12-.54 gauge strings,or light gauge.Extra lights,.10-.46 are really,really light.If your guitar is set up for light or medium gauge,the strings will buzz like crazy.

[Freeman Keller]

All of this makes perfect sense, except, lighter strings (really light in this case) should reduce the relief. That should make it buzz when fretted at the lower frets. When a guitar buzzes around 10 or 12 (when fretted at the next lower fret, which is what I gleened from the original post) that usually means if has too much relief. I would repost that little diagram of neck relief and the 14th fret hump, but my IT guy as added a virus filter that blocks my picture site (you can see the picture on the Sick Guitar sticky).

 

The other common causes of buzzing after a string change is, of course, the balls loose at the bridgeplate - but the report is that it comes from the upper frets when fretted. It is also possible that it has some high frets - buzzing at the hump area is frequently driven by humidity.

 

I'd like to hear some measurements.

[Mark Vasquez]

thanks for the advice I fixed it by putting medium sized strings and now it doesnt buzz anymore!! mine is a 74' by the way

 

muchos gracias