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There is a very slight buzzing at the bridge on my guitar. I can't figure out what the problem is. It's about to drive me out of my mind because I just noticed it and I'm taking this guitar on a little trip to Nashville, TN this weekend for a bluegrass convention.
The saddle is tight. The bridge pins are slotted wood. The strings are new. The strings ball ends are pulled tight against the bridge pad. There is a pretty good angle behind the saddle.
Any ideas?? I'm stumped.

Colby is it just on one string ?

Sounds like a stupid question, I know, but how do you know it's at the
bridge? Does it buzz on all strings? When strings are fretted or only open
strings?
Craig

I don't know if it is only on one string or not. I can't tell.
I know it is around the bridge because this is where I hear it. The rattle is clearly coming from the bridge area.
It buzzes on open notes and fretted ones.

most friendly buzzes are string fret related or problems like you described that you have checked. Not so friendly buzzes can be lose braces . Hope notMichaelP38748.727974537

It sounds like you could have one of the pins not completely tight in the slot,
try pushing the pins in with your thumb (not too hard…). Does it buzz on
specific notes?

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Colby

What I meant was if you pluck a string indivdually does it just rattle on a certain string if its only one string, change the string I have had this where you simply get a bad string, the other area I find is they can bind on the string slots at the bridge if cut a bit tight.

I think what Craig was getting at is that although you hear the buzz at the bridge it may not be the source, as the rogue noise can travel down the string.

If the guitar has a pickup in it check the input jack and make sure the nut is tight. I can't tell you how often this happens. Also try changing the strings.
Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Loose end pin? Loose bridge pin

Do you have a pickup in it? Reason I ask is that I had a wire to an end jack that was just brushing the top. When an open A was played, it made a buzz.

I guess what we're all trying to say is that tracking down a buzz isn't
always easy because the cause can come from several sources. You have
to methodically isolate and note when it buzzes and when it doesn't --
certain strings or when strings are fretted at certain frets. Also consider
all the other things mentioned here -- loose wires, pins, tuners/knobs,
etc. It's one of the hardest things to isolate. Also try pressing down on
various places on the top to see if a brace might be loose. Keep us posted
on what you find. This kind of information is always valuable to all of us.
Craig

Yesterday as soon as I found the buzz I started messing with it. I did every thing I could think of to track it down. It was so frustrating. After messing with it for a few hours and having no luck I came to the forum, and frets.com. When I went back to the guitar a hour or two later the buzz was gone. I haven't heard it since. It must have been some minor string related problem that settled on it's own.
The buzz was not fret related. It didn't have to be fretted to buzz. I do have a pickup in the guitar but it seemed very unlikely. The pickup is a B-band. and the pickup is so feather light I don't see how it could make this buzz. Anyways, thanks for all the info.

I have never cut string slots in the saddle. What is the reason for this??

Strings will buzz at the saddle, due to string break angle. It probably settled in or got massaged into a favorable position. Slotting the pin holes to the correct angle has corrected it on my own guitars. It's gotta break right or it sits up there and buzzzzzzzzzzzzs.

Same thing can happen at the nut when it has excessive bearing surface, it needs to break off that nut, tight in the slot. But it's easy to isolate the nut buzzes, saddle buzzes are a bit more tricky, but pressure between the pins and the saddle will reveal which one is causing the problem.

Buzzes have haunted more than a few guitars.

This really shows the power of the OLF! Just posting here made the buzz go away. Awesome!

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=Colby Horton] I do have a pickup in the guitar but it seemed very unlikely. The pickup is a B-band. and the pickup is so feather light I don't see how it could make this buzz.[/QUOTE]

Could be an imperfect fit between the pickup (or any of its components--wires, jacks, bolts, etc.) and what it touches.

The best buzz advice I've seen (and it's been successful for me a couple of times) is to first check to see that your truss rod nut isn't loose. Sometimes it's the REALLY simple things!

I had the same problem on my old 70 yamaha and found that the saddle slot had a very minor low spot in it. The G and D strings were buzzing. I took a popsicle stick and a piece of sticky back sand paper and sanded it flat using the edge of the popsicle stick. I cut it flat on the ends and about half the length of the saddle slot. I first colored the bottom of the slot with a pencil and it was easy to see. It aggravated me for 2 weeks and took about 10 minutes to fix.