Ukulele Rattles or Buzzes on the first 4 frets

When I press my strings to form chords in the top 4 or 5 frets, those strings make a buzzing sound. So if I play a C 7th with my finger pressing down the 1st fret of the A string, that string buzzes. If I play an A minor with my finger on the G string second fret, the G string buzzes. Played open A m7 none of the strings buzz.

If I play a C, that string does not buzz at the 3rd fret. The others stop buzzing after I press the 5th fret.

If this doesn't make sense, I can add more details. I have a cheap $35 Hola. It sounds pretty good, but the buzzing is annoying to me. I've played it for others, and nobody notices the buzzing, but I do.

Do you have any ideas on how I can fix this?

Brian...

Without seeing or hearing it, would guess that the frets on the soundboard are uneven. The price of the uke makes having the frets dressed probably not cost-efficient.

The problem may be resolved by raising the action at the bridge. That would increase the string angle over the frets. If the bridge sits within the saddle, the bridge may be removed and then filler (paper would do) placed evenly in the channel where the bridge sits would raise the bridge somewhat once the bridge is put back into the saddle slot. Tha's the best I can guess based on the first post.

You will likely need to check your uke for setup issues. Here's a good article. If you have some basic craft or woodworking skills, including building models, etc., you may be able to correct some of the issues yourself with a few basicl tools such as a straightedge, small files, sandpaper, etc.. There are many videos on YouTube demonstrating how to do this.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/ukulele-setup.html

Hi Brian, you could try using some packing under the strings at the nut. Use narrow strips of paper under the string so it sits in the groove to raise the string slightly, if this works you may be able to fill the slots with a suitable glue and refile for a semi-permanent fix.

Ordinarily I would suggest working through these steps in order (as usually such things can be solved with the simple things first), but this does sound to me more like a build problem with the frets.

http://www.gotaukulele.com/2010/09/buzzes-and-rattles-on-ukulele.html

Yes, you could raise the nut and saddle, but you are losing playability depending how high you need to go to get rid of the buzz.

Dare I say it, the curse of some cheap end ukes like that. It really gets me down that they even reach players like that...

Try raising the saddle, that's the fastest, easiest thing to try first.

BTW, the "bridge" is the wooden plate that is glued to the top below the soundhole. The "saddle" is the small plastic piece that sits in the bridge slot on which the strings rest. If your strings are very low and close to the frets near the headstock then you have an issue with the nut. Making the saddle taller will make it harder to push the strings down as you fret up the neck, and also sharp the notes.

Since cheap ukes usually come with the action set very high, put a straight edge on the neck first to see if there is a back bow, which will definitely cause buzzing at the first five frets.

Just set a metal or plastic ruler in between the strings going down the neck. Look at it from the side, does it touch evenly all the way down all 12 frets or do you see gaps? If it is not touching at the first and last fret wires, and you can rock it, either the neck is bent backwards or the middle fret wires are set in too high and are not level with the rest. This will also show you where you may have high frets, just put the edge lengthwise between all strings. You can loosen off the first and fourth strings and drop them out of the nut slots to check the very edge of the frets. then you can figure out which end to adjust. Or you can go get a nice little Kala and start fresh.

Teek said:

BTW, the "bridge" is the wooden plate that is glued to the top below the soundhole. The "saddle" is the small plastic piece that sits in the bridge slot on which the strings rest. If your strings are very low and close to the frets near the headstock then you have an issue with the nut. Making the saddle taller will make it harder to push the strings down as you fret up the neck, and also sharp the notes.

Since cheap ukes usually come with the action set very high, put a straight edge on the neck first to see if there is a back bow, which will definitely cause buzzing at the first five frets.

Just set a metal or plastic ruler in between the strings going down the neck. Look at it from the side, does it touch evenly all the way down all 12 frets or do you see gaps? If it is not touching at the first and last fret wires, and you can rock it, either the neck is bent backwards or the middle fret wires are set in too high and are not level with the rest. This will also show you where you may have high frets, just put the edge lengthwise between all strings. You can loosen off the first and fourth strings and drop them out of the nut slots to check the very edge of the frets. then you can figure out which end to adjust. Or you can go get a nice little Kala and start fresh.

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For some strange reason, I keep reversing "bridge" and "saddle" as terms when describing things. Must be too much time dealing with floating bridges on banjos and mandolins.

Realistically, a $35 instrument in the land of $100-$1,500 instruments needs to be considered as probably wanting in materials and quality control. Every "bargain" instrument I ever acquired took a fair amount of sweat equity and additional material (usually strings and such) to be made playable.

It would be handy for the OP to find a local mentor who can help guide through the ukulele world and provide advice, especially on instrument care, maintenance and choice. Suggest the OP check for local ukulele clubs, as there's always friendly folk there willing to share.

Teek said:

BTW, the "bridge" is the wooden plate that is glued to the top below the soundhole. The "saddle" is the small plastic piece that sits in the bridge slot on which the strings rest. If your strings are very low and close to the frets near the headstock then you have an issue with the nut. Making the saddle taller will make it harder to push the strings down as you fret up the neck, and also sharp the notes.

Click to expand...

My MB had a bit of a buzz when playing the first three frets, Elderly raised the Saddle just a bit. Fixed the buzz perfectly and it plays perfectly too.

A MB with a buzz? I can't believe it!

Camsuke said:

A MB with a buzz? I can't believe it!

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Yep, due to it coming from humid Hawaii to dry Michigan in winter.

Is the hola! brand generally any good? Cause I was thinking that the problem might be that the uke is of poor quality. If buying a uke at that price I'd hope it'd be OK for beginners and not require extensive setup. My $30 guitar center kohala didn't need any setup nor did my $100 kala KA-C. Anyone know if the Hola! brand is any good sound wise too?

Also did you check to see if the neck is bent and if so is it?

One last thing I should point out is if you bought it at target/walmart it probably does need alot of setup. Very few $30-50 ukes are worth the laminate they're made with so to speak. Believe me I lucked out that my Kohala didn't need anything done to it. Really the best entry level ukes are those $100 mahogany laminate ones. But remember almost any uke can be made playable (but some cheap ones aren't worth the hassle).

This is just my opinion though. Always get a second one no matter what.