Hi, i have a bouzouki and a string rattles whenever i play a note on it, it works fine when left open (A string) but when i play any of the first 5 frets it rattles, at first i thought it was a worn fret but could that be possible for those 5 frets in a row? I was wondering if makig the groove in the bridge where the string sits a bit lower but dunno if that would do more harm than good. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Ah, this requires delicate adjustment, and I've been tinkering just recently with a guitar to try to cure this. If you look down the neck from the end where the tuners are (I wear glasses - I always think that might be the moment when a string breaks and takes an eye out, but I'm a pessimist) - anyway, look along the neck and ideally there should be a very slight bow (concave) to the fingerboard called the relief, which gives the strings the space to vibrate.This can be adjusted carefully by means of the trussrod. If it is convex then the strings will buzz. The other things are dressing the frets, and possibly raising the bridge. The frets might not be of even height, but dressing the frets (levelling them) might be needed. It's all a bit complicated and I'd be reluctant to do all this to a valuable instrument .
I completely agree with the above. I had a similar problem some months ago with my guitar and took the ole thing along to my local music store as I didn't feel overly confident. Ten minutes later and a promise of a pint the next time I saw the technician in my local and I was away with my baby sounding sweet.
My Romanian zouk came with a trussrod that was way too tight, making the neck flat or even slightly backwards bent. The symptoms were the same as you describe, and loosening the truss rod cured it.
That was the first step in setting up my zouk, then came making a new bridge and lowering the zero fret, (and of course, getting decent strings). Now I have a playable instrument.
String Rattle - Help?
String Rattle - Help?
Hi, i have a bouzouki and a string rattles whenever i play a note on it, it works fine when left open (A string) but when i play any of the first 5 frets it rattles, at first i thought it was a worn fret but could that be possible for those 5 frets in a row? I was wondering if makig the groove in the bridge where the string sits a bit lower but dunno if that would do more harm than good. Any advice would be much appreciated.
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by Joneser
Re: String Rattle - Help?
Ah, this requires delicate adjustment, and I've been tinkering just recently with a guitar to try to cure this. If you look down the neck from the end where the tuners are (I wear glasses - I always think that might be the moment when a string breaks and takes an eye out, but I'm a pessimist) - anyway, look along the neck and ideally there should be a very slight bow (concave) to the fingerboard called the relief, which gives the strings the space to vibrate.This can be adjusted carefully by means of the trussrod. If it is convex then the strings will buzz. The other things are dressing the frets, and possibly raising the bridge. The frets might not be of even height, but dressing the frets (levelling them) might be needed. It's all a bit complicated and I'd be reluctant to do all this to a valuable instrument .
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by RichardB
Re: String Rattle - Help?
I completely agree with the above. I had a similar problem some months ago with my guitar and took the ole thing along to my local music store as I didn't feel overly confident. Ten minutes later and a promise of a pint the next time I saw the technician in my local and I was away with my baby sounding sweet.
Pop to your local store and try it.
D
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by Welshman
Re: String Rattle - Help?
My Romanian zouk came with a trussrod that was way too tight, making the neck flat or even slightly backwards bent. The symptoms were the same as you describe, and loosening the truss rod cured it.
That was the first step in setting up my zouk, then came making a new bridge and lowering the zero fret, (and of course, getting decent strings). Now I have a playable instrument.
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by Ramiro
Re: String Rattle - Help?
Thanks for the quick replies guys, ill get it to my local and see if they can fix it, any ideas how much it would cost?
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by Joneser
Re: String Rattle - Help?
€7.30
http://www.motorway.ie/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=12&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=7441&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26&vmcchk=1&Itemid=26
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by Ramiro