String buzz..

Del Ogren · From: Illinois, USA

Friends,

I'm a newbee at working on/with/playing the pedal steel. When I bought the used/abused Little Buddy, I had no clue what I was getting into...

Now, folks, I can field-strip a banjo in the dark and come out playing. But this thing is a beast.

This week I replaced the original pickup with a George L. Hoping that I would get rid of the 60 Hz hum. It made things a bunch better. But when I put on a new set of strings, I found one of them was buzzing the roller on the nut.

OK, I could have ignored it. Pedal steel folks seldom play open strings. But it bugged me...

So, I stuck in a thick paper shim next to the roller. It fixed the buzz. But then I thought that I should have cut a shim out of teflon sheet stock instead..? Less string damping and slicker action..?

But, before I proceed, I need to ask the great minds here assembled here; what is the best way to get rid of string buzz?

--del

Mike Wheeler · From: Delaware, Ohio, USA

Two things come to mind. One is that the angle of the string, as it goes across the roller to the tuning machine, may be too straight. A slight angle helps prevent roller rattle, or buzz. When you install strings, allow enough wraps on the tuner shaft so that a slight angle is produced. Too much angle will stress the string, and can cause inaccurate pitch return.

The second, likely cause is that it might just need a little drop of oil.
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Best regards,
Mike

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Welcome to the Forum!

Quite often, a drop of oil on each side of the offending roller will take care of that buzz.

I read your profile. Isn't it great to have acquired yet one more avocation?
_________________
Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.

Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat

Del Ogren · From: Illinois, USA

Thanks, Mike and Lee,

Yes, Multiple Avocation Disorder is an affliction. But the good news is that there's no cure...<grin>

Anyhoo, this evening I went after that buzzing string again. I pulled out the paper shim amd, yep, she still buzzed.

I looked at the string angle and that didn't seem to be the problem. It had at least as much side load on the roller as the other strings; and a lot less than some others. So I put on a drop of oil. Nothing. It still buzzed.

So, I went back to my original notion. I made a disc from some Teflon sheet, cut a notch in it, and used that as a shim. It seems to work just fine. It seems to dampen the tone less than the paper shim. And it comes back into tune better when I release the knee lever.

The experience dang near makes me want to machine up a new nut/roller setup using teflon... But that's a project for somewhere down the road.

For now I gotta to learn to play at least something on this beast...

--del

Jacek Jakubek · From: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

I had string buzz on the 6th string of my Carter SD-12U.

The buzz stopped when I wound the string in the opposite direction on the tuning peg. This made the string come out from the bottom of the tuning peg instead of from the top towards the neck. This little bit of height made enough difference to stop the buzzing.

Johnny Thomasson · From: Texas, USA

Try loosening the string enough to be able to pull it up off the roller. Rotate the roller 1/4 to 1/3 of a complete turn, reseat the string and retune.

This happens on my Pro-II occasionally when I replace a string. This has always resolved the problem. If it doesn't work, repeat the procedure. If it still doesn't work, have a good stiff drink and see if it still bothers you. Laughing

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Johnny Thomasson

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

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