GUITAR TIP: Buzz Begone PART I 

💥My new online guitar course is open! classicalguitar-pro.com Sign-up for lifetime access to this 6-hour course and start playing elegant classical music today!

Hi Brandon, I watched your recordings with Rob Scallon channel and had to check your channel out and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoy the way in which you present your knowledge and skills in a way that is easy to relate to so I shall set myself up for some bidge watching to catch up. Anywho, love the channel and happy to have subscribed and liked. Looking forward to the next installment in the meantime stay safe J.

Friends, if you're interested in Classical Guitar lessons with an expert weekly teacher, meeting me on Zoom for monthly live group events, and more, please visit my online music school's website at arpeggiato.com You can also meet me on Zoom for a guitar masterclass on Jan. 15 arpeggiato.com/events/

I've found I really buzz, to an extent. I like having my guitar set up where if I play softly it's nice and clear, but the harder I pay the more buzz there is. Helps to communicate intensity.

Great tips, I'm sure to watch the next one

Perfect timing! I was just wondering about the pieces of paper a couple days ago. Thank you for the excellent info.

This is really great information. Brandon, you’re the best.

You're the best! I love your energy man. You've really inspired me in my classical studies.

Brandon, thanks for this great two-part series on string buzzing. While none of the causes you mentioned were specific to my issue, sudden onset low E string buzz, I was able to isolate mine after viewing both of these videos. I was fearful that it might have been a loose brace but it turned to be something not mentioned and so I want to share it with you in case you might be able to pass it on. My Kremona Sofia has a built-in Fishman and that turned out to be the culprit. Merely opening the Fishman to remove and reseat the battery did the trick. No more buzz so if anyone has a built-in Fishman, check that it’s well seated. Keep the great videos coming. 😊😊

Your a legend brother, this is priceless info for a begginer like me, thanks a million, your a real rock star 🍻👑🙏🏽

Thank you for the tips about buzzing of the strings especially the tip about shining the saddle

Babe wake up, new Brandon Acker guitar tip

Love the intro of these videos.

Perfect timing. The moment i restring an old classical and it buzzed, this was uploaded.

5:01 This is incredible! Thank you! You made my day by showing me how to shim!

Fantastic! I inherited a guitar that my great grandfather built and before it came to me it was left outside in Las Vegas so it had some issues that was able to correct but the frets are no where near level. This isn’t something I’m comfortable fixing myself and don’t want to take it to a shop if I can help it so I was going to just play it as is but there’s a horrible buzz/twang on the 7th fret and shimming the bridge worked beautifully!

Thank you veryyy Much, I was for 3 hours trying to figurate out what was the problem. The piece of paper saved my guitar

This helped me a lot. I had a toothpick pushed up against the very-worn nut, but obviously that changed the scale length, so open strings would never play in tune and it was hard to tune in teh first place. The paper trick on one of the strings removed the need for that. Now I'm regaining my calluses 😄

Dear Sir, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation in relation to the tips, provided in the present video. I was experiencing an extremely annoying buzz, when playing E and F on second and third fret on D. The left over resonanse was driving me crazy. Shimming the nut resolved the issue. Thanks once again and keep on in a same way. :)

nice tutorial, thank you for sharing!

Thank you for this video. Even I myself was facing buzz on the first three strings when played open or any fret. I then realised humidity levels here in Indian summers reached quite high and the wet guitar was causing a buzz. I have mitigated it by wrapping the instrument in a cloth and drying it before packing. Now the problem's pretty much solved

awesome tips thanks for sharing

Hi Brandon, I was able to fix the rattling/buzzing by touch inspection and I was able to find out that the bridge screws were loose (maybe due to duration of percussion playing near the bridge). I just tightened it with a screw driver while holding the nut with my left hand and I was delighted that the buzzing is gone after tuning them back. 😀

Thank you Brandon. I have some buzzing coming from my guitar, so this was really useful.

Thanks for this! x

Thank you! The piece of paper on the nut trick worked!

Very useful info, thanks. :) I actually once had a problem with buzz on one of my guitars where one of the tuning pegs was a little loose. (you know, the little screw that tightens the cylinder) Took me ages to figure that one out and it still occasionally gets loose. Looking forward to more guitar tips!

That’s very informative,thank you.

Humidity, both too dry and too wet, can cause action issues. Too dry causes the top to collapse towards the body cavity effectively lowering the bridge and action. The opposite "belly" may occur in over humid conditions, raising the action. Keep your instruments at the proper humidity and temperature!

Thank you Brandon for this video, fixed the buzzing on my guitar with the second trick!

Helpful, thanks!

Great stuff

😁My sleeves are almost ALWAYS the culprit.❤️✌️

Hey Brandon I love your content a lot! Could you please do some tips on how to make a guitar have a better tone, or make it sound beautiful

My beautiful Ramirez started making a rasping sort of noise, but only some of the time (clue). Long story short: The only time this occurred was when I played in a room (you're not gonna belive this) with a ceiling fan running. The sound was bouncing off the blades and interferring with the direct sound from the guitar, creating a beat buzz.

Great, man! Thank you!

I love you maan .. you saved me haha ♡♡♡♡ a new deserved subscribe

Brilliant. Worked for me. The saddle was way too low. That rattle has been driving me crazy. Thanks for the helpful video

Hello dear Brandon. The trick with the paper really worked, used a thick parchment style A4, folded once (so double the width). It’s still not perfect but it did make the buzz disappear by about 75%! I guess I need a better nut. (-; Thank you very much for your advice, mate!

I just recently changed my strings and had some crazy buzzing on the D string. I went to the store and bought a brand new string and I changed just that string, and it helped a decent bit but not completely. The new string was a ball end string because that store had no tie-ons, so I think maybe part of the problem was my tie-on string was touching the soundboard, it was tucked though. It was really annoying because I was trying to record something the next day, and I had one discolored string.

Thanks bro. Great tips. Also sometimes buzz comes from worn out and old and used strings. Changing them will help

i had this problem once on a cheap Yamaha classical that loved dearly. i gave up on trying to fix it, and duct taped the bridge. i have no idea why it worked....some jackass cracked the neck from the body when he threw his luggage on top of it in the overhead compartment. I didn't realize it until I opened the case. my initial intention was to keep it between my legs on the flight, but there wasn't enough room. i had it fixed, which cost me as much as i purchased it for. the intonation was never the same again. I loved it for it's intonation, action, and feel. sometimes cheap or expensive has nothing to do with craftsmanship.

thank you very much

Thanks again 🤘🤓

Excellent

Instructions unclear, I fell in love with the guy in the video.

Thanks Brandon. A great video. I have had all the rattles you describe, but there are a multitude of others. I have recently discovered a sort of solution to what one YT hero has diagnosed as 'string back buzz'. I am currently suffering a bizarre vibration effect emanating from the sound hole region on a new and otherwise excellent Córdoba fusion guitar. I can't see any solution to this one. It seems that guitars and classical ones in particular, are prone to the strangest maladies and frustrating features imaginable. It's a wonder we go on playing them.

There’s one other type of buzz that is generally a technique issue. In lieu of addressing your technique, which would be best, you can address it at the saddle. When fretting too far back from the fret that is the cutoff point so to speak the buzz actually is happening at that cut off. For instance, if you fret the D string on the 3rd fret for an F yet you’re finger is closest to the 2nd fret it may buzz. This buzz is likely happening at the third fret, the cutoff point. You can prove this out by either pressing harder or moving your finger closer to the cutoff fret. Another way to test this is with the third finger, just barely touch the plucked string at the third fret while still fretting too far back with the second finger. I’ve even used a small piece of blue tape at the third fret to forcibly change the sound of the buzz. If it goes away as a result of any of those actions you have three choices. First is address your technique, use high/mixed tension strings and/or lower the saddle. I know it sounds counterintuitive at first but give it some thought. It makes sense. Sometimes it may require both a lower saddle and higher tension strings. I’ve solved this scenario multiple times for musicians not willing to address their technique. Of course all this yakking was under the condition that the neck, fretboard and body are in harmony. Mr. Acker, I enjoy your content, your musicianship and especially your interactions with the Brune’s. I am fortunate to own an early 90’s Brune’ Fleta copy when you only had to wait a few months to get one. Your willingness to share is appreciated.

Impressive! Very nice. Let's see Paul Allen's shim.

I'll try all of these out for sure. I have a wonderful guitar that started buzzing like a low crumhorn, and after all kinds of increasingly desperate solutions and , I figured out that it stopped buzzing if I pushed my finger against the back of the guitar. I ended up attaching a lump of moldable artist's rubber to the inside of the back, but it deadens the natural sound quite a lot, which I recently realised has made me play less acoustic and more electric (Dowland sounds pretty killer on a Tele neck pickup with some long reverb, btw). I hope I can find a better solution through your suggestions. The nearest repair shop is some 80km away

It could also be a bad string (Some strings are lemons, I don't know why), popped fret, twisted neck, neck with not enough relief, bad fretting technique (that’s a fun one to tell customers…). Also, new strings with a lower tension then usually used (on the same guitar) can also cause buzzes.

Thank you so much! I left a string too long and it was touching below the bridge, I was worried that I bought a dud!

Fixing the buzzing can also be easily fixed at times by adding an incase humidifier. This tends to happen a lot in the winter. I always keep a digital temp and humidity gauge in my guitar room and use a humidifier to keep the room at 45% humidity.

Yeah yea🎉

I thought this was going to be about the buzzing when playing a string that's only slightly touched by a finger that's fretting the string above/below. This happens to me frequently when playing chords that require all of my left hand fingers, and I feel that they are just too fat... Does anyone have a fix for that? Great video btw, I dig the multiple camera angles

In my steel strings, the buzz is always caused by a loose screw. Usually a running peg

Hello, great video. I learnt a lot. I bought a used Dean EAB Natural Acoustic Bass. This instrument is ENORMOUS! It currently has rusted strings on it. I have also purchased a set of Fender Acoustic Bass Guitar 45 which I intend to put on this Dean Acoustic Bass. If you read the reviews, this guitar has fret buzz. When I changed the string, do you think the new strings will help the buzzing??? I have read that new strings will not affect the buzz.

I've recently restrung my kinda rubbish acoustic guitar and a I was doing it.. the saddle and nut fell out.. I thought I'd broken it, and was looking for glue but couldn't find any, and then instinctively thought it doesn't really matter as the string tension will suffice. I'm glad that they're sorta meant to be loose. I've heard of ppl shaving the saddle down though, do you recommend this and why? The guitar itself sounds so much better with new D'addagio on them though! I can now continue to learn Nocturne No.9 👌

Thanks for the tips. I get a fretbuzz when i play a 2nd string c and a 5th string g# simultaneously on my guitar. It's some kind of high pitched noise like the e string is touching the frets behind the pink. It only happened after i replaced the strings. It's pretty frustrating. I'll try out your suggestions.

Sometimes, parts of the guitar are loose and rattle with certain notes. On my guitar, the little 'bolt' that attaches one of the tuner's peg gets loose from time to time. I know it is loose when I start to listen to a buzzing sound when I play a G note (for some reason, it resonates with G). I just have to tighten it up, and the buzz goes away,

musik yang indah kawan

ive searched a video like this like a year ago but there were not even a single video had good informations.i had to learn em by reaching almost to the deepweb xd

Bro, my G string buzzes as well on my classical guitar, But where tf are you and why are you not making viral videos? PS Please upload video of you playing Blackbird, I saw it in your diary

I don’t have the best guitar but how long will the strings take to stretch enough for me to keep it in tune? Or just get a better guitar? Don’t have much but hope this is good enough

I get a buzz on the low E playing the A note. That is it, the E is fine at all other frets and all other strings are fine. String height is fine and actually a little higher than I prefer. Any thoughts?

I’ve got a bit of buzz on one of my ukelele strings hoping this will help and be close enough

Hi, could you help me please? The D string on my classical guitar kind of starts to tear on the 5th, 4th and 3rd fret a few weeks after replacement. Any idea or comment will be appreciated

thank you dad

You might be able to reaise the nut by filling in the slots with baking soda and superglue and the re file them. StewMac has a vide on how to do it I think.

Hey, i have recently had my classical guitar restrung at a music store, and there is this rattling sound that comes out whenever i strum close to the sound hole. This problem doesn t occur when i strum further away from the sound hole, nor does it happen when picking individual strings. I also noticed that this happens with the capo on too. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Eliminate string buzzing and too much or too little string tension by loosing all strings and slide the bridge bone 3 mm. incrementally. Sliding bone down makes strings higher increases height and tension reducing buzzing, possibly increase volume and difficulty playing. Sliding bone up direction reduces string height and tension making guitar easier to play by lowering string tension, possibly reducing sound volume and increasing possibility of buzzing. This is an easily reversed experiment. When desired bone height found then shim or file. Leaving bone unchanged allows for future adjustment required because of humidity changes and string experimentation tension/manufacturer.

Hello friend ...please I need you help in my nylon string clasical spanish guitar ...I have a presys AF03 imitation new .....the problem I have with the AF03 is the hum noise ...I understand is a ground problem ...when touch the jack 1/4 connector the annoying sound goes away...my guitar is spanish clasical Nylon string ....you can say me how repair my problem please ?

Hey Brandon thanks a lot for making this video! I have a question about my guitar, some strings buzz when played "strongly" after 9th-10th fret, mostly the low E, A and D, despite having even too much action (5mm, i know it. shouldn't be like this but i can't do much since it probably is a neck angle issue). What would you suggest me to do? I'll buy a better guitar from a luthier eventually in the future, but i'd like this one i have to still sound decently since i got it from my great uncle when i was a little kid and i don't feel like throwing it away or else.

I noticed my battery holder wasn’t in my quitar. Once I put it back in the buzzing stopped.

Oh that's why there's always business cards at the shop ok I got it.

i found the buzz was emanating from the bridge of my nylon guitar where they are normally tied

hi pls by any chance does anybody have an idea what could be wrong with my guitar? Open G is buzzing but only if I fret low E and D on 12th fret xD

I find that every time l play on a lower registry it buzzes from the D string down to the E

After finally buying a decent guitar to practice on I changed the strings and now my open g buzzes like crazy. Its so frustrating and makes me want to throw it in the garbage. I'm going to try that paper trick later hopefully it works

Piece in the intro?

Well you can shim the saddle too if it's too low.

FYI: A lot of less expencive guitars glue the nut down

PLZ HELP.....I bought a new guitar yamaha c40 and there is a buzz on base strings if i put pressure on half fret.. like playing Em or Emajor... It's normal or not..i reversed those strings becuz i m lefty.. i reversed bridge white line too.. i really dont know how to solve this issue.. pls help

Thanks ,my brothers kids , notorious for breaking things seem to have done something to my guitar.

My guitar was buzzing even when on the stand and not being played. In my case, there was a hornet inside of the guitar and I had to spray insect killer into the sound hole to eradicate the culprit. The guitar smells terrible now but the buzzing is gone.

Can I please know the name of the guitar piece in the introduction

For accoustic steel some folk like it

Something weird happens to mine. When I press the 3rd fret on my low e string, the g string buzzes horribly. It doesnt happen on any other fret or string, only when I press the 3rd fret on my low e string. Any tips?

personally, i change the strings one by one. that way the tension remains the same, and weird wonky things don't happen as much.

5:17 "Nut slot" that's a pretty lewd nickname for it if I must say so myself

heya brandon, i'm a fan of your channel and i'd like to share my opinion on the buzzing, i actually like the buzzing, i'd have one instrument with a distinct buz and the other without...the buzz ads this very unique sound that is often times seen in stuff like medieval music. hell, medieval harps had a distinct buzz because it fit their music at the time. great video, brandon.

cute'n'clever.

Thx I though I ll go mad

Have you gone back to playing with nails, Brandon? I think they look longer on the right hand... When you're plucking, it definitely sounds like there's nail again.

For a permanent nut solution, do the superglue trick, then chase it was a slotting file.

you like 12 strings acoustic guitar?

No, never had such noises come off of my guitar? Not in 18 years of playing this instrument.

after that im sure my babe must go shop

My guitar has buzz sometimes because i am not good enough

My 1976 Ramirez 1a is getting buzz at the 5th fret on the high E string . Now what? I paid top dollar for this guitar. Not going to cradle my string with paper.