My new $300 ukulele has a "buzz".

pepamahina

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Hi guys,
I just bought a Kala acacia concert that I've been playing with for a couple of weeks. It seems to have developed a "buzz" when I strum either the C or E strings loudly. I bought it from Elderly which is about a 1 1/2 hour drive away. When I called them they seemed pretty uninterested and said I could bring it in if I wanted to. They seemed to want me to think that I had let the instrument get too dry. So can anyone weigh in on this one? It has been hanging on the wall in my house because I play it a lot and the case that I ordered for it hasn't come yet. I do have a humidifier on my furnace at least. So what do you think this buzz is likely to be? Is this a sign that I have a poorly constructed instrument or can it be that it is an OK uke that just needs some adjustment? When I take it in to Elderly, should I be looking for adjustment, or should I be complaining that I need a different uke? Oh, and by the way, what exactly does "action" mean. I've tried to figure it out by just listening to everyone talk about it, but I don't quite understand what it is or how it is adjusted.
Thanks for your help!
 
I don't think Elderly "sets up" their ukes like MGM does. So likely it just needs some tweeking like most all other off the shelf uke. Point being, I don't think it's a defective uke.

I'll let the far more knowledgeable members chime in but I would guess if it's that bad of a buzz, the saddle or nut is too low. There's a lot of discussion in these forums (and internet in general) on fret buzz, how to tell what's causing it, and how to fix it.
 
Hi the.ronin,
When I bought the uke, they took it into the back for a while first, supposedly for "set up", but I'm not sure what they did. I'm relieved that you think it is something that can be fixed. The sound seems to actually be coming from somewhere near the bridge, rather than near the frets, but maybe that's just because the bridge is near the sound hole where the sound is amplified? Thanks for your help!
 
First of all, If you're in Michigan you're heating your house this time of year so you need to humidify your instrument. Get that case asap and an in case humidifier and hygrometer to measure the in case humidity. Should be between 45% and 55%. Buzzing can be anything from loose hardware to a loose brace (I hope not) Does your instrument have a pickup? I noticed some buzzing coming from the electronics area on my Kala tenor and when I removed the battery holder and put it back in it went away. Hope you can get it taken care of soon but really leaving your uke out in a heated room in the winter is not a good thing to do.
 
Agreed with cb56, hanging your uke from the wall in those conditions can only be bad for it. The "buzz" is probably no big deal, and Elderly should take care of adjusting or fixing it, assuming their good reputation is deserved.
Good luck and I hope it all is resolved to your satisfaction.
 
OK, I hear you with the humidity. I'll keep it in a box with a humidifier until the case gets here. Should be literally any day. No pick up, on this uke. Hopefully you're right, and it's something elderly can fix. Thanks so much everyone!
 
Generally, a top will sink slightly when an instrument is dry, lowering the action. When the instrument is "wet" just the opposite happens. If the instrument was set up "perfectly" during humid or just normal conditions and then you hang it on the wall in a heated room for a couple of months, yeah, I'm not surprised it's buzzing.

I had a classical guitar (cheapy but forty years old and well made in great shape) that I bought on eBay from a guy in Florida. When it came in it was obvious it had been somebody's "beach guitar" - there was sand in the case, etc. It was a great player until our more normal humidity dried it out and lowered the action to the point that the strings were almost resting on the frets.

John
 
Aloha PaperMoon,
My suggestion is to take it back to Elderly Insttruments as any messing that you do may void the warranty.. heed this advice...Let them deal with the problem.. Having not
seen your uke or you cannot explain in detail what is the problem, I am not able to help you....Sorry!! Good Luck! Happy Holidays...MM Stan
 
I hang all mine on the wall except the Martin, and I have no idea what it's humidity is in the case. Don't heat too heavily (no central heat or ac in my 1951 California house) but they are all fine, including a solid. I would say that the rule seems to be if you are comfortable, your uke is, and drastic changes out of comfortable are bad. My wifes Kala Lacewood is on the wall, is solid wood, and from summer to now has dropped from an average of 80' in the house to an average of 60 (50's at night) without even going out of tune.
That said- it sounds to me more like a set up issue than a negligence issue- talk to Elderly again...and mention to Stan (I think that is the owners name) that his employees seemed uninterested in your problem- ought to get results quickly.
 
Hi guys,
Oh, and by the way, what exactly does "action" mean. I've tried to figure it out by just listening to everyone talk about it, but I don't quite understand what it is or how it is adjusted.
Thanks for your help!
'Action' is basically the string height relative to the fretboard. Press down a string at the first fret, to take out the impact of the nut height/nut groove depth. Now look at how much distance you have between the strings and the fretboard somewhere around where the body starts. If it's too high it'll be harder to play, and may give intonation problems as well (as pressing the strings will stretch them, and more the higher the action is). If it's too low you can easily get string buzzing.

There are several factors with impact on the action, including the neck angle (which you can't easily do anything about), but it's mostly about saddle height and the soundboard. A dry soundboard will sink "down" a bit, lowering the action. Soundboard sinking is supposed to happen only to solid wood, but I have a nylon string guitar with a laminated top right here in my office and during the winter the action would get so low that it started buzzing. So I replaced the saddle with a taller one, resulting in a bit higher action in the summer but no buzzing in the winter.

At home I keep my instruments in a separate room which is fully humidity controlled (I use a room humidifier with a sensor) and temperature controlled. In-case humidifiers and soundhole humidifiers are only emergency solutions in my opinion, they work better than nothing if you have to ship or transport your instrument but if you try to measure the effect it'll be wildly uncontrollable and usually not getting the humidity level to where you want it.
 
Elderly may be correct about the uke drying out. How long do you have to return/exchange it?

A quick way to test if the uke is dry (thus lowing the action) is to is to seal the uke in a plastic bag with a couple damp sponges (put them on plastic containers so the uke doesn't get wet). Leave it all sealed up for a couple days, but check the sponges periodically to make sure they stay moist.

The uke should absorb the moisture. If it was dry the buzz should go away.

Even though you have a humidifier built into your whole house furnace, it may not be pumping out enough water to keep the uke at the proper humidity. Some whole house humidifiers only get the house to 30% humidity (that moisture has a lot of duct work to travel through along with that warm air, and on top of it, some duct work absorbs moisture).

Consider getting two digital hygrometers (these measure humidity). Put one in the room where the uke is, and one in the case when you get it. If the room is below 45%, then you should consider adding a room humidifier where the uke is kept. Or keep the uke in the case (when you get it) and add case humidifiers - they do work.

I have several case humidifiers: one at the headstock, one at the neck, and a small one hanging from the uke's strings into the sound hole. The humidity in the case is 58%. The rest of the house is struggling to keep 40-45%.

We go through 8 gallons or more of water of each day with all the room humidifiers we have going. It is amazing how dry a heated house gets in the winter.
 
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Yes, definitely get at good hygrometer or two (NB: There's some cheap rubbish out there on the market which aren't even close to accurate). I have one in the room where I keep my instruments and it's the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing in the evening, during the winter period.
 
Got a humidifier, and thank you so much everyone!

Thank you so much everyone for your help. The case has finally arrived and rushed out and got a Oasis ukulele humidifier from my local guitar store. (They actually had one...just one!) I left it in the case for a few days with the humidifier while the relatives were here over Christmas. The humidifier didn't cure the buzz but at least I can avoid any future damage. I will take it up to Elderly and see if they can adjust it in early January when I can make the trip. Thanks for the tips about who to ask for, and I will definitely look into getting a digital humidifier. I'll let you know what Elderly says. You guys are great!
 
Oh, and "spots", I'll try the plastic bag trick and see if that has any effect. Thanks for the tip!
 
While you are waiting to go to Elderly, you can try an old guitar players trick. Its early and I cant remember it has already been mentioned in this thread. Loosen the offending strings and put a small sliver of paper in the nut slots of those strings. Re-tune and remove any paper that is showing too much and making things ugly. This is often all that is needed to take the buzz away until you get a more permanent fix, such as building up the nut slot with baking soda and superglue.
 
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Underwhelmed by Elderly

Thanks TCK, I'll try mentioning Stan. Buying this uke was my first time at Elderly and I have to say, I was very underwhelmed. The guys on the floor mostly ignored me, although I was there messing with ukes for an hour and a half. Guys in guitar stores sometimes tend to ignore the ladies I think, which may explain why their only companions seem to be their guitars! ;) When I asked to see the Kala Acacia the guy didn't even know such a uke existed, much less that they had one in stock. They sold me a tuner that was defective (although to be fair, they sent me a new one when I complained), and never even suggested to me that I should humidify the instrument. And like I said, their email guys are pretty uninterested in my buzzing problem. It's a long drive from my place, so I sure hope I have a better experience this time. Thanks again!
 
Wow! If those humidity videos can't convince you of the importance of moisture, nothing will! Thanks!
 
Thanks TCK, I'll try mentioning Stan. Buying this uke was my first time at Elderly and I have to say, I was very underwhelmed. The guys on the floor mostly ignored me, although I was there messing with ukes for an hour and a half. Guys in guitar stores sometimes tend to ignore the ladies I think, which may explain why their only companions seem to be their guitars! ;) When I asked to see the Kala Acacia the guy didn't even know such a uke existed, much less that they had one in stock. They sold me a tuner that was defective (although to be fair, they sent me a new one when I complained), and never even suggested to me that I should humidify the instrument. And like I said, their email guys are pretty uninterested in my buzzing problem. It's a long drive from my place, so I sure hope I have a better experience this time. Thanks again!

I really hope you speak to a manager there, or the shop owner and tell them your experience and how it did not live up to the expectation you had of their reputation for quality service.

It might also help to casually mention how surprised your friends were on UkuleleUnderground to hear of your bad experience. ;) I'm sure the owner(s) of Elderly do not want ukulele fans to begin to doubt the service they can expect from their company.

Good luck--let us know the resolution.
 
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