Strange Buzzing

[Guitarzan]

Two of the strings on my new RG550RFR are buzzing in a very puculiar way. When I strum the Open B and G strings (while not fretting them), there is this weird buzzing sound generated. It is even audible through my pickups. Any Idea what is going on? I have never had this problem before.

[noodleplugerine]

Even though it's open it could be fret buzzing over the neck - Is the truss set right? Is your action right?

[Twinfan]

Vibrating bridge saddle?  Dirt/grime underneath the string at the nut/bridge?

[Guitarzan]

Vibrating bridge saddle? Dirt/grime underneath the string at the nut/bridge?

I hope not, the guitar is only a week old!

The buzzing goes away when I fret the strings and is only there when I stum them open. Plus all the other strings (E,A,D,E) sound fine open. At first I thought it was the nut because I don't have the strings locked, but even with the nut tight it still does it.

Maybe it's hitting a fret that I don't see or something. That would be weird though because the action is actually pretty high.....:( I'll check when I get home from school.

[Mavet]

most of the big guitar manufacturers release their guitars with poor setups.
add to that all that happens to them on their jurney across half the world (climate changes, bumpy rides).
then consider the fact that Guitar shops usualy don't do setups on their guitars, and even if they do it's usualy shite.  

after buying a guitar take it to your tech if you don't know how to do a proper guitar setup. It's playability will be twice as good then before.

[Guitarzan]

I ordered it from musicians friend, so the original set up from the factory is what it still has. Also there are no good guitar techs near where I live. All the shops around here are full of idiots as well. I really have no idea what is wrong because I have checked all the parts in contact with the strings and every thing seems right.

[Mavet]

if it happens only with open strings then its probably the nut.
if its a locking nut try to fasten the allen bolts that clamp the strings.
if not than do as folloes:
while pressing the string between the third and second fret, see if the string clears the first fret. it can be difficut to see so try to spot  movement when pressing the string near the first fren.
if it clears than its not the nut.
if it does not - take it to a tech, its a small job.
meanwhile you can insert thin paper stripes in the nut slots as an emergency treatment.

[WezV]

meanwhile you can insert thin paper stripes in the nut slots as an emergency treatment.

You wouldn't believe how many guitars i get from proffessional musicians that have this done. . .  i am not saying its not OK as an emergency treatment, whatever gets you through a gig.  If its on there for more than a week you are being lazy.  People spend so much money chasing perfect tone i cant believe they think a piece of paper in the nut is ok  .

rant over. . .

mavet's advice is good, fret at the third fret and see how much it clears the first fret by.  

You should be able to get a peice of paper between the fret and the string.  If the string is pressing on the fret then the nut is too low.  the proper fix for a floyd rose  nut would be to remove the locking nut and put a thin shim underneath, a small rectangle cut from a drinks can works quite well - dont use paper!!!

If the shim you use is too thick you will obviously need to lower the strings in the nut again to compensate - this is where nut work gets tricky because its very easy to cut them too low and have the problem you started with.

Its also worth checking various parts on the guitar for sympatehrtic vibration that can cause rattling.  maybe the string clamps or tuners or buzzing in the open positions.  I use a small amount of blue tack attached to parts to see if it stops buzzing.  When i find the source i sort out a longer term solution

[Guitarzan]

Well it clears all the frets easily, and when I fret the 3rd it looks to have a few thousandths of and inch clearance (I don't have my feeler gadge on me). The Tuners are tight and its not the springs from the trem vibrating. It almost sounds like something in the neck, or at least something in the body of the guitar is resonating.

[WezV]

OK.  thats a big clue.  probably not the nut then, but thats always the first thing to check with the symptoms you mentioned

I would get the blue tack out  (or anything that can stop vibration)  and start attaching it to different bits on the body, neck - anthing with , moving parts.

I find that a lot of cheap bridges have many parts that vibrate with certain notes.  I have also had things like pickup covers suffering from serious sympathetic vibration.  If its something being picked up by the pickups then it must be relatively close and made of metal.  Might be worth taking a look inside to check for anything lese that could be vibrating.

Worst case scenarios is that its the truss-rod vibrating- that can be a PITA to cure but isnt normally picked up by the pickups.


Just remember that one poorly fitted component or slightly loose screw can vibrate like mad at the right frequency - its just a matter of finding the bloody things!!

[Mavet]

could it be truss rod rattle???

[Guitarzan]

I certainly hope that it is not the truss rod. I stuffed rubber tubing in the springs to deaden them so that they didn't vibrate. and the sound was still very much apparent and as loud as before. it almost sounds like something is hitting the string, but I can't see what it could be as I've checked along the strings. This is getting a bit tiresome.

[WezV]

cant really say much more without looking at the guitar - possibly time to take it to a pro!

Finding pesky buzzes is never a fun job

[Oli]

To see if it's a fret issue, grab a battery, an LED and some wire... connect the LED to the battery on one terminal, and then join a wire to the string in question (behind the nut) and to the battery. Then pluck the string, and touch the LED to each fret... when the LED lights, you have a string that is touching that fret :)

[CJ]

could it be a loose fret?