Slight string buzzing on Eastman Archtop

[dbwbass]

Hi
Im new here. And, I have a brand new Ar480 Eastman archtop. Its my first archtop and I love it!

However there is an occasional buzz that comes and goes on A G D strings, mostly. Usually not at the same time.
i noticed if i loosen the buzzing string then retighten it seems to solve the problem for a bit. Also if i push down on tailpiece slightly increasing string tension it goes away. I tried raising the bridge too ( may have helped). The buzzing is very slight, but annoying! I probably need to take it to the shop but that will mean no archtop for a week or two. ?
any ideas on how to fix? Thx! Dave

[KirkP]

It’s probably fret buzz, so here’s a good tutorial:
What causes Fret Buzz? ... and How to Fix it!

Sometimes other components can buzz, such as tailpieces, pickguards and pickups. You can often identify those by lightly pushing the component while playing (though that might require a third hand). If the buzz goes away when a component it touched, it’s likely that’s the source.

[jazzshrink]

Hi
Im new here...

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

It’s probably fret buzz, so here’s a good tutorial: What causes Fret Buzz? ... and How to Fix it!

It could be fret buzz. If it is, that's a nice simple approach to dealing with it. But you need a diagnosis before you can treat a problem effectively, and we don't have enough info to nail that down yet. Start with whether the guitar was acquired new or used, how long ago, and if it was set up for dbwbass by a tech or luthier. If it's a fresh acquisition and was bought from a dealer, take it back and let the seller sort it out. If you're on your own here, dbwbass, the following questions will help identify the source.

All we know so far is that it comes and goes on A, G, and D, is temporarily stopped by loosening and retensioning the offending string(s), and is temporarily stopped by pressing down on the tailpiece. There's a lot more to know.

• Is the buzz present only acoustically or is it audible through your amp too?
• Does the buzz occur on open strings, fretted strings, or both? If fretted only, is it on specific frets or all of them?
• Does it go away only when there's downward pressure on the tailpiece, or does it go away after pressing and releasing the tailpiece?
• Did the buzz develop after a period of normalcy or has it been there since you got it?
• Did it develop suddenly or gradually?
• If it was fine when you got it and suddenly began to buzz, did you do anything to the guitar soon before it started - like adjusting anything, changing strings (especially to to a lighter gauge), seasonal temperature & humidity change (forced air heat, dryness)?
• Look carefuly at each fret to see if any seem(s) to be bowed upward. Frets should all be tight to the board all the way across. You might notice that there's a very thin space between the fret under the offending strings and the fingerboard below it. You shouldn't be able to insert a piece of paper between any fret and the board.
• If the buzz wasn't always there, does the guitar play any differently since the buzzing started? Action? Intonation? Tuning stability? etc

Inspect it carefully for things like a cracked or broken nut, slot(s) in nut or bridge that are visibly wider than the string in it, loose tuner or tuner parts (shaft, knob, securing nut, screw etc). I'm sasusming this guitar is fairly new and hasn't been played hard, but it can't hurt to ask - are the frets all full height, smooth, and free of any grooves / divots / depressions uinder the strings? The answers to these questions can help pinpoint a diagnosis.

[RyanM]

Check the pickup rings and screws. I had to put cotton pads in mine.

[sgosnell]

That sounds like the bridge saddle might be too flat, resulting in the center strings being too low when the outer strings are at an acceptable height above the frets. The proper fix for that is to adjust the radius of the saddle, either by increasing the curve or by just deepening the string slots of the outer strings. It depends on how perfect you want things. My method is usually to address the slots first, to get all the strings to the same action height, then deal with the entire saddle as needed.

It's also possible that there is too much relief in the neck, and that is addressed by tightening the truss rod. The nut slots also should be adjusted as necessary. In short, a complete setup. But it's impossible to make specific recommendations without actually checking the guitar and seeing exactly how it's set up now. There are many possibilities, and I really can't say where the starting place should be, I'm just making stabs in the dark.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

That sounds like the bridge saddle might be too flat, resulting in the center strings being too low when the outer strings are at an acceptable height above the frets.

That’s certainly possible, but it’s pretty low on the likelihood list unless the buzz has been there since the guitar was acquired, if it still has the original bridge and nothing else was changed. If the saddle radius is slightly too flat, fret buzz on center strings will start if you lower the action to an extreme. But if the bridge on the guitar under discussion is the original and is physically undamaged, the frets are original and unworn, and the action is in the normal range, this is most probably not the problem.

I’ve had my ESP since the early’90s and never had a problem. About 6 months ago after a fret level / crown / polish, I decided to see how low I could set the action, dialed out all but 2 to 3 thou of relief, and dropped the bridge (a TOM clone). The bridge turns out to be a bit flat for that, so I shimmed the offending strings until I decide whether to slightly re-radius the upper frets or deepen the saddles on the outer strings a hair to re-radius the bridge. Unless I overdid the fret leveling on the outer thirds, the guitar was most likely made this way and I just never took the action low enough to reveal it because I leave enough relief on guitars I’ll use for blues to let me play slide.



Too much relief isn’t likely to cause buzzing - action would be higher than normal.

[sgosnell]

Too much relief, and low action, can result in strings buzzing on higher frets. Not the most likely cause, but I've seen it happen. But really, there isn't nearly enough information available to make anything remotely resembling an informed recommendation. All I can do is throw out possibilities to be checked.