Buzzy Strings

Hi,

I'm pretty new to the guitar. Bought a cheap (~ $200) Sunlite 6 string acoustic about two months ago. Inexpensive, but it was just fine.

The guitar was not in a stand - leaning against the wall, and it fell over. Broke a tuning machine. I replaced all the machines, and restrung with some light strings, I think the original strings were medium.

Tuned it up, and now the E, A, D and G strings are real buzzy, especially when I fret them.

I realize it's probably hard to diagnose without checking out the guitar, but any ideas on what I did wrong?

After the guitar fell and before I replaced anything, the strings were not buzzy, so I don't think the guitar is damaged. One thing I just noticed is that the pegs (?) that hold the strings in the face of the guitar aren't all the way seated - I'm going to try to seat them better and see if that helps.

Any ideas are appreciated,

Buoy

Since you changed to a lighter string guage, the strings aren't pulling on the neck enough (relief) to counter fret buzz. You can either put the same guage strins on there as your old ones, or take the guitar to tech and have the truss rod adjusted.

Cool, thanks for the reply. Makes sense.

Closest tech is about an hour and a half away, but I've got a friend who makes bass guitars. I just gave him a call and he told me how he adjusts. I'm going to give it a try. Hopefully I won't screw up too bad.

Thanks,

Buoy

I would recommend having your friend do it since he sounds like he's quite familiar with it. Just remind him that this isn't a bass. :rolleyes:

Yeah, that probably would have been a good idea, but the guy is vacationing in Hawaii for 3 weeks. Apparently guitar making is pretty lucrative.

I tried to call him again, but didn't get through. I loosened up the truss rod probably about one full turn. The E and A strings seem ok, but the D and G are still buzzy, especially the G.

I'm wondering if I should loosen some more, or if I should let the wood settle/adjust for a while. Guess I'm not sure if the effect should be immediate or if it takes a while.

Any thoughts on that?

I'm not too worried about screwing up my guitar. It was pretty cheap, and now that's I've been playing for a little bit and really like it, I'm going to buy a nicer one soon. Plus, it's probably a good thing to learn.

Thanks,

Buoy

Heh. Upon closer inspection by a friend that doesn't even play guitar, turns out my bridge nut fell out somewhere along the way. He's a woodworker kinda guy, and right now he's fashioning a replacement. Cool.

I've been looking at the guitar all day long and never even noticed. Not feeling very smart right now :)