What should I do now? buzzing

[AlixD05]

Now most of my violins have buzzing problems due to the climate

change.  I've tried to change strings, change accessories,

move bridges....  Unfortunately more I do, more buzzing

sound comes out.

One of my lovely antique French violin keeps buzzing seriously

these few weeks.  Its not due to the climate change, its coz

of I moved the bridge a bit.  Now the sound is completely lose

the original beauty.  I've asked my local luthier to fix the

problem, but he said it maybe the fingerboard's problem, bass bar

problem, pegs problem, strings problem, etc.  But for me its

no point to do all those big "operation" coz the violin is good

until I move the bridge towards bassbar a bit.  

Its impossible for me to go to Paris and ask the luthier to re

setup everything for me (I'm sure he knows the secret of where to

put  the bridge on the best place of that violin, otherwise it

can't

be that big change after I just tiny move the bridge).

 What should I do now?

Sigh

Alix

[MANFIO]

There are too many possibilities... sometimes it drives us crazy to discover... Give a look if the chinrest is not touching the tailpiece, if the chinrest is not loose, if the fine tuner screws are not loose, if the E string tube is not loose, if the ends of the strings on the pegbox are not buzing, if there is no dirt in the end of wings of the f holes, if there are no loose ornaments in the pegs (colars or balls), if the fingerboard is not unglued near the neck root, etc.

Pluck the strings and start holding firmly different parts of the instrument to ty to discover the place that is buzzing.

If all that fails, go to Paris, we all will envy you for that!!!!

[C.B.Fiddler]

If you're using the same bow - don't forget to check the screw. I had this problem yrs ago and it drove me nuts for months until I finally realized it was the bow. (I even played my junior recital with a piece of tape wrapped around the screw due to finding the issue the day before the performance!)

[AlixD05]

Hi Manfio,

Thx for your advice. THe buzzing is mainly from G

string. I've tried to change the strings, remove

chinrest, remove finer tuner, change tailpiece, move bridge, remove

A and E strings, clean the dust on bass bar.  But the sound

still haven't improved.  But when I tiny move the bridge, the

buzzing is diminish a bit but still obvious.  I really dunno

what's going on.  And if initially I know moving the bridge

will destroy the sound greatly of that violin, I will never touch

the bridge.

crying now.....

[AlixD05]

Hi C.B.

I've tried different bows already, still haven't solve the problem.

 And its not only the buzzing, its also the original beauty of

A and E strings totally disappeared.

sobbing now

[GMM22]

Try putting a fragment of paper or thin cardboard under the string where it passes over the nut as a shim. If the problem disappears, the string slots may have worn too deep or the string is rattling in a slot that is too wide.

[henrypeacham]

Hi Alix,

IMHO you have a loose seam or two somewhere. Happens to fine violins, and also to those not-so-fine. If you know how to gently tap around the edges with your 1st finger knuckle, it will reveal the locations. If you are unfamiliar with the routine, take it to any competent luthier and they will locate them for you. Should be around $20 to glue it all up (takes a day to dry properly) and you're on your way.

The most obvious way is to play some strong double-stop thirds. You should really hear it then, as the sound becomes really ugly!

Happened with two of my regular violins this year, which seems to have had more extreme fluctuations in humidty than years gone by, hence the problem. The effect on tone is huge, but because I've been through it before, I knew what it was and took them in. Problem solved.

[Fellow]

Check the nut of your fine tuner on E string. I am talking about the nut that hold the tuner

down to the tailpiece,not the screw of the adjuster. Use a pryer (sp ?) to tighten it

very lightly, not by hand.

[C.B.Fiddler]

If your bridge has an ebony or ivory insert for the e-string, you may want to see if it is loose. That could address the loss of high end sound as well.

I hate to point out something painfully obvious - but that little plastic gizmo that many e-strings come with like to buzz too. I have been guilty of forgetting to remove it in preference to the ivory insert.

[MeyerFittings]

Tom Croen wrote an article a while back about how the lineup of the strings as they pass over the next peg in the pegbox can cause a plethora of buzzing problems. You might check to see if one string is buzzing as it passes over the next pegs winding. It would have to do with the orientation of the peg holes. Climate change would not seem to effect this but it's yet another varible. Have you checked the end button fit? I used to make a living looking for buzzes in guitars and they really could be anywhere. They often did originate at the ends of the strings however. Perhaps someone can reference Tom's article I think it was referred to in an old thread.

[GMM22]

It would be nice to hear a follow up, otherwise there's not much fun in conjecturing about a solution.

[Craig Tucker]

My last impossible to find G string (& D string, but less so) buzz wound up being a loose label.

It looked fine, but when I put the tweezrers on it, a corner was loose and buzzing on the low frequencies. I reglued it and everything now works fine.

It's worth looking at.

[Allan Speers]

Buzzing can also,sometimes, simply be a bad string.  From your

description, that is not the case here, but it should be included

in this thread since folks will likely copy all this info for

future reference.

I've had two bad G-strings in the last six months alone.

CT, I don't think I would ever have suspected a label (!)

 That's a good one to have in the database.

[MANFIO]

Loose purfling can cause buzzing too, as well as a loose soundpost. If I were you I would travel to Paris... "April in Paris... Chesnuts in blossom..."

[Jack Rushing]

The buzz on one of my G Strings was caused by a crack on the underside of the tailpiece.

[AlixD05]

Thx for all your advice.  I have checked and removed and

changed everything, still have no improvement.  My local

luthier already told me the violin is fine so its impossible to

have cracks on the violin.  The label is also fine.  As I

said, the change due to the bridge has been tiny moved.  I

still think its the problem of the bridge position.  But guess

what, I will meet the luthier soon so hopefully he can explain

what's going on with that buzzing G strings.

[Wolfjk]

Hi Alix,

quote:

---

Now most of my violins have buzzing problems due to the climate change. I've tried to change strings, change accessories, move bridges.... Unfortunately more I do, more buzzing sound comes out.

quote:

---

I experimented with moving the bridge about, and moving the strings on top of the bridge to different positions. The relationship of the bass bar and the foot of the bridge is very important for the balance of the strings. When you move the bridge left or right the downward pressure changes and the balance of the strings change. Also when you move the bridge, the strings might pull towards one side or the other, depending which way you moved the bridge.

[Omobono]

As Allan has suggested,

"folks will likely copy all this info for future reference"

So here's the summary:

chinrest touching the tailpiece

fine tuner screws loose

E string tube loose

ends of the strings on the pegbox are not buzing

dirt in the end of wings of the f holes

loose ornaments in the pegs (colars or balls)

fingerboard is not unglued near the neck root

loose bow screw

string slots worn too deep or too wide

loose seam somewhere

loose fine tuner screw on E string

loose ebony or ivory insert for the e-string

string winding in peg box

end button fit

loose label

bad string

Loose purfling

loose soundpost

cracked tailpiece

position of bridge in relation to bassbar

that's 20!

He's mine:

Maybe the bassbar itself or one of the linings inside come unstuck?

loose screw on the shoulder rest?

some foreign object trapped inside the cavity (a pin, a grain of rice from your last wedding gig?)

Wow, more moving parts than a wrist watch! Which begs the question....

Something in your own apparrel - jewelry, watch?

a loose tooth? (whoops! sorry.... )

[C.B.Fiddler]

To suggest a possibility from a recent thread I never thought about:

What about excess glue bits rattling in a hollowed fingerboard cavity?

[Brad Dorsey]

Or a loose tailpiece cross fret.

The list goes on and on.

[AlixD05]

quote:

---

Originally posted by:

Wolfjk

Hi Alix,

quote:

---

Now most

of my violins have buzzing problems due to the climate change. I've

tried to change strings, change accessories, move bridges....

Unfortunately more I do, more buzzing sound comes out.

quote:

---

I

experimented with moving the bridge about, and moving the strings

on top of the bridge to different positions. The relationship of

the bass bar and the foot of the bridge is very important for the

balance of the strings. When you move the bridge left or right the

downward pressure changes and the balance of the strings change.

Also when you move the bridge, the strings might pull towards one

side or the other, depending which way you moved the

bridge.

---

yes, that's what I'm thinking.  My luthier did told me the

bass bar is not in a correct position.  But I've tried to move

the bridge many times, I still can't get the original sound.

 The only thing I can do is diminish the buzzing but can't

eliminate it.  But I will keep testing.  

[Wolfjk]

Hi Alex,

quote:

---

yes, that's what I'm thinking. My luthier did told me the bass bar is not in a correct position. But I've tried to move the bridge many times, I still can't get the original sound. The only thing I can do is diminish the buzzing but can't eliminate it. But I will keep testing.

quote:

---

I found that moving the bridge or the strings on top of the bridge is more a question of balance between strings.

Another problem could be that in a drier and warmer climate the bridge contracts and the grooves get larger and looser.

[Dan Keller]

Have you checked the string height of the G string at the end of the finger board. Should be 5 1/2 mm.

- Dan