question for a string guru

bellgamin

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I have the teeniest buzz on the 4th string of my breedlove stage concert. otherwise the action of all 6 is just right for me. my guitar-fixer guy is off-island for Christmas so i am on my own for a while. until he gets back, i thought i might restring the 4th from its present low tension string to a higher tension string.

since the buzz is so minor, is it at all possible that a switch to higher tension might help? or should i just wait until my tech guy returns o/a 1/3/18?
 
I'd try that. Or you could also humidify the uke well, which may help. Sometimes I put a small piece of paper under the string in a buzzy string's nut slot. It seems to raise the action just a tad, and the buzz often goes away, as a temporary solution. In my experience, humidfying well can cure many ills.
 
If you hold the butt/bridge end of the instrument against your cheek and look down the length of the string, with one eye closed like you are sighting a rifle, you can follow the straight line of the strings, and see if there are any raised frets, or if the neck has gotten a twist or warp.

This is very easy to see because the string itself will always be perfectly straight at tension, and the raised fret edges will be very apparent.

Having said that, a string with MORE tension, usually has a smaller radius of the arc in which it vibrates, so yes, maybe using either a heavier (thicker ) string, can resolve the issue.

Otherwise if the isntrument has been in an arid setting for a while, the frets can raise up from the fretboard due to lack of moisture, and this can cause the buzz. Humifiying the instrument, while completely SLACKING the strings, so as to release tension on the neck, and this the frets can re-seat themselves down into the slots, 'might' fix this issue.

Worst-case scenario, you might need to have a full fret-redressing/leveling done if you have raised frets that are not resolve via re-humidification.
 
I looked down the length of strings as Booli suggested. To my untrained eye the neck & frets looked okay. So I moved to Plan B, Booli's other suggestion, and slacked all strings. I then hung the guitar by its head on a wall hanger. I left it that way for 3 days. Then I re-tuned it and---SHAZAM --- no more buzz! I wonder why that worked but I am very happy that it did.

Many thanks to all, & especially to Booli-sensei.
 
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