My new $300 ukulele has a "buzz".

Sorry about your difficulties. I've purchased a lot of stuff (A LOT!) from Elderly over the telephone. They have always been very helpful and generous, playing instruments over the phone, describing appearance and condition, and so on. The owner's name is Stan Werbin. I have corresponded with him. He's nice. I have never been in the store, but they have a "hands-off," or "no-pressure" policy about sales.

It will take a while to humidify your instrument. You don't want to do it too quickly anyway. Earlier posters gave you good advice. If you keep it in a case, use your humidifier and get an in-case hygrometer to monitor the humidity. It is easier to humidify in a smaller, or enclosed area, i.e., the case. You can also find information on the net about how to check the accuracy of the hygrometer. Don't hang it on the wall, particularly in the winter, especially if it is an outside wall.

Did you notice any sharp fret ends? In my experience, that's the first indication that the instrument is dry.
 
I've got it in a plastic bag with a couple of damp sponges and the oasis humidifier. Is that too much? Also, if humidity is such a giant deal, shouldn't I worry about playing it? I mean, what if I take it out for an hour and play it in a dry room after it's been humidifying in the case, isn't that the kind of humidity change I should avoid? Maybe I should just move to Hawaii! (wink!). I haven't noticed any sharp frets. I will definitely see if Stan is around when I get up there. Thanks hmberg!
 
I don't know if it is too much; how long has it been in the bag? Humidity is a giant deal, but your uke most likely will not dry out in an hour. You may consider a room humidifier; they aren't very expensive, and if you use one, you will be more comfortable, and get fewer colds, anyway. I am assuming you have a forced hot air heating system ... dry heat. If so, as I believe was mentioned before, the humidifier installed with the system will not get your RH level up high enough for musical instruments. Make sure that you are not storing the ukulele near a heating vent. Probably not a good idea to play near one either. Definitely not a good idea to hang the instrument on the wall above one!

Dryness may not be the cause of the buzz, but I would humidify anyway. I know you wrote that the buzz seems to be coming from the bridge. Are you sure it isn't a fret issue?
 
pepamahina said:
I've got it in a plastic bag with a couple of damp sponges and the oasis humidifier. Is that too much? Also, if humidity is such a giant deal, shouldn't I worry about playing it? I mean, what if I take it out for an hour and play it in a dry room after it's been humidifying in the case, isn't that the kind of humidity change I should avoid? Maybe I should just move to Hawaii! (wink!). I haven't noticed any sharp frets. I will definitely see if Stan is around when I get up there. Thanks hmberg!
Click to expand...

It takes many, many hours for humidity to transfer from air to deep into wood or vice versa. If humidity is the problem with your uke it took weeks, maybe months, to lose enough moisture to have a problem. You can expect it to take close to that long for the wood to recover once placed back in a humid environment.

While a room humidifier is great you don't really have to worry about your uke drying out while you're playing it unless maybe if you play 18 hours a day. :)

John
 
It's only been in there a day. Yes, it could just be a fret issue. The humidity thing is just a theory. No chance of my hanging it on the wall again..........except maybe to answer the phone!
 
I've only had the Uke a couple of weeks. There is a humidifier on my furnace (yes, forced heat). I'm not even sure it's a humidity problem and not just bad set up. Not quite up to 18 hours a day yet, so I guess I'm safe! Thanks John!
 
Room humidifiers are great (I have one 'instrument' room set up like this, as I mentioned before). But there are some "buts": Is it cold where you live? If so, is the wall insulation good? The more you humidify the room the more you need good insulation. Otherwise the humid air will condensate inside the walls on any cold surface and you can get a mould problem.
 
Just curious if you ever go rid of the buzz. Was it the lack of humidity? Nut too low? or need a fret dressing?
 
Hi cb56. I drove it up to Elderly and they put shim under the saddle to raise the action (no charge). That did improve it quite a bit, but it still buzzes occasionally, particularly if I play it loudly. He said the neck might be "too straight" (whatever that means). It is definitely an improvement though. I have two humidifiers in my case now, although they didn't say anything about humidity while I was there. Thank you so much for following up, you guys really watch out for beginners!
 
Aloha Paper Moon,
I'd take it back if I was you and say I'm not satisfied with this one, can I exchange it for another one...No Matter you paid $25.00 0r $300.00 that is not satisfactory...return it..
and tell them it still buzzes before they can give you an excuse it's too late.....I had a feeling it was a bad setup from the start....It's a defective uke...don't let them pull that over you girl!! Good Luck!! MM Stan
 
OK, you're giving me the courage. I'll send them an email today and say that I want to exchange it. I'll let you know what they say. Thanks MM Stan!
 
pepamahina said:
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!
Click to expand...

If you live an hour and half from Elderly, you must be in Michigan or northern Ohio. I live in Michigan so I am familiar with the winter weather you are facing. The humidifier on your furnace will not come remotely close to maintaining proper humidity for solid wood, acoustic string instruments (40% - 50% range). That is because the forced air furnace removes the moisture from the air. The humidity has been in the 20% - 25% range in my house since early December. That is with my furnace humidifier set on high. My solution is to keep my guitars in a room with a cool mist humidifier. That keeps my humidity in the 40% range. I believe your problem is 100% due to low humidity exposure - especially considering that the fret buzz was not present when you bought it.

Low humidity will cause the solid wood sound board to sink, thus resulting in fret buzz. Ultimately, extended exposure to low humidity can create cracks in your ukulele. My advice? Buy a cool mist humidifier for the room where you store your ukulele. You can pick one up in the $40-$60 range. I have a Holmes large room cool mist humidifier. It holds 2.4 gallons and can run on low for 48 hours. It's a cheap investment to protect your ukulele.

Get your ukulele in a properly maintained humidity controlled environment for a couple of days and your fret buzz will clear up.
 
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What they may have meant by saying the neck is too straight is that it was set improperly. There should be a slight slope downward from where the neck meets the body toward the nut. If it isn't angled, your strings may be too close to the frets higher up on the neck and they would buzz against them, particularly if you were to strum hard. Raising the saddle lifted the strings away from the frets but probably affected the action in a less desirable way lower on the neck. I think you should exchange the ukulele. Get one with the proper neck set.

In any event, you should keep any solid wood instrument humidified.
 
I have the same Uke. I don't remember experiencing the same.
Action just means the height of the strings above the frets produced by the nut and saddle. Check if you're vibrating the string side to side or up and down.
If you want me to measure my action or anything let me know. You can leave me a comment on my web page here:
http://claudio-uke.blogspot.com/
 
Back up everyone...It is a $300 Kala uke...It is not solid wood...Humidity is not causing the buzz, no way, no how. Can you tell the general location of where the buzz is coming from? Does it buzz only when the strings are open? Only when they are fretted? These are the things you need to be looking at. I'm 1000% sure it is not humidity related. My Kala has gone from 10% to 75% humidity without even going out of tune, but my solid uke buzzes as soon as it hits 40%... so, I understand why people are thinking humidity, with it being winter and all..but not in this case. Really, look and see what additional info you can provide about the buzz and hopefully you'll find an answer here...
 
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Update with buzzing uke, Elderly is letting me exchange it.

Thanks everyone. Actually this particular model is solid acacia, not laminate. It is presently humidified with an oasis in the soundhole and an extra little guy that I keep near the headstock, although I have never been convinced that humidity has anything to do with it. Elderly seems to agree, because I heard from them today, and they have agreed to exchange it as long as I haven't permanently modified it in any way beyond what they already did in their shop. The catch is that they are out of that particular model, so I will have to wait for a back order. But anyway, that is good news, and many thanks to everyone for your help; I've learned a lot on this thread!
 
Oops...LOL! :eek: Carry on...


donkey.jpg

Me^
 
Back in 2010, there were a few posts by folks with Kala concert sized ukes that had some buzzing issues near the bridge.
 
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