Grooves in fingers making strings buzz.

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jaywilliams1345

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When playing the ukulele for a while, I get grooves in my fingers which make it hard to play chords without them buzzing. Am I pressing to down to hard without realizing? It is really frustrating.
 
Welcome to UU jaywilliams1345
I get grooves too, especially after playing for awhile. This is normal, even after you have built up callouses. If the buzzing is happening all the time, it might be that you are strumming too hard, and the action is set too low for it. If the string vibrates so that it touches the frets, then you will hear a buzz. Buzz can also be from the end of a string, if it is too long and has a loose end that is touching some part of the uke. I had that happen on the inside of one of my ukes, with a pin bridge and an over long string end. Other causes of buzz or dead sounding strings are from finger position. Make sure you are fretting the strings so that your fingers don't touch any other string. Try and use as little pressure as possible, to prevent fatigue. Hope something here helps!

–Lori
 
There are lots of very good threads here about buzzing. Make sure it isn't coming from inside the uke (loose wire on pre-amp, etc.)
 
The buzzing is because of the grooves in my fingers. The grooves were making it hard to play a chord without a string buzzing. How do I stop getting these deep grooves?
 
jaywilliams1345 said:
When playing the ukulele for a while, I get grooves in my fingers which make it hard to play chords without them buzzing. Am I pressing to down to hard without realizing? It is really frustrating.
Click to expand...

This is because the end of your fingers have not hardened up yet, we all have to go through this phase, but you will get better, likewise with playing chords, with practice they become easier. :)
 
It was happening when I had calluses. Maybe I am pressing down too hard it must be. I have been playing for months and it only started earlier last week, maybe I wasn't realizing how much pressure I was using because of the numbness of my calluses and I have gotten in the habit of it.
 
Look at the top of your nails. If there is plenty of white when you play a chord, you're probably pressing down too hard, like you suspect. May take deliberate soft-pressing for a while (just enough for a clear tone) to get in the habit.
 
Grooves do interfere with my fretting. When this occurs I file down the grooves and calluses with a nail file. That works for me. Good Luck.
 
It's still happening when I play an E minor. My index finger is at the bottom string on the 2nd fret and it just buzzes and it's not the ukulele it must be the groove in my finger I'm so annoyed help.:mad:
 
Sounds like an opportunity here, fretting gloves. I'll bet is someone started marketing special fretting gloves, they would sell a lot of them. Special ukulele fretting gloves, as apposed to guitar fretting gloves and mandolin fretting gloves. There is a market there. I would do it, but I'm kind of lazy and don't feel like putting out the effort. But still, think about it. People will buy anything. Maybe one of the people out there making special straps could make a new line of special fretting gloves? It wouldn't take a lot to market them along with their straps and stuff.
 
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jaywilliams1345 said:
It's still happening when I play an E minor. My index finger is at the bottom string on the 2nd fret and it just buzzes and it's not the ukulele it must be the groove in my finger I'm so annoyed help.:mad:
Click to expand...

I can play for hours on end, ukulele, banjo, mandolin or guitar and simply don't get "grooves" in my admittedly work-hardened fingers ... I'd guess you've got a combination of excessively high action and overly active grip.

It's also just possible your fingering action is not good. Your fingertips should be coming down relatively vertically on the fretboard, that is to say your fingernails should be approximately vertical to the finger board, not at any much of an angle. This may involve getting your thumb behind the neck rather than up alongside it.

as always ... YMMV ;)
 
Rllink said:
Sounds like an opportunity here, fretting gloves. I'll bet is someone started marketing special fretting gloves, they would sell a lot of them. Special ukulele fretting gloves, as apposed to guitar fretting gloves and mandolin fretting gloves. There is a market there. I would do it, but I'm kind of lazy and don't feel like putting out the effort. But still, think about it. People will buy anything. Maybe one of the people out there making special straps could make a new line of special fretting gloves? It wouldn't take a lot to market them along with their straps and stuff.
Click to expand...

. . . and I thought Rollie Fingers had retired! :eek:
 
kypfer said:
I can play for hours on end, ukulele, banjo, mandolin or guitar and simply don't get "grooves" in my admittedly work-hardened fingers ... I'd guess you've got a combination of excessively high action and overly active grip.

It's also just possible your fingering action is not good. Your fingertips should be coming down relatively vertically on the fretboard, that is to say your fingernails should be approximately vertical to the finger board, not at any much of an angle. This may involve getting your thumb behind the neck rather than up alongside it.

as always ... YMMV ;)
Click to expand...
I thought that excessively low actions were the cause of buzzing.
 
Rllink said:
Sounds like an opportunity here, fretting gloves. I'll bet is someone started marketing special fretting gloves, they would sell a lot of them. Special ukulele fretting gloves, as apposed to guitar fretting gloves and mandolin fretting gloves. There is a market there. I would do it, but I'm kind of lazy and don't feel like putting out the effort. But still, think about it. People will buy anything. Maybe one of the people out there making special straps could make a new line of special fretting gloves? It wouldn't take a lot to market them along with their straps and stuff.
Click to expand...
There are fretting fingertips that are available. My husband uses them on the guitar. One brand is "Gorilla Tips". You could check that out. I found that there is a trade off when you put something on the end of your finger. The feel of your finger on the string changes a lot. The fingers don't slide very well, so there is a lot of adjusting you have to do. It also takes a bit of time to put them on, and you need a good system to keep track of the different sizes needed for each finger.
I haven't seen any fretting gloves, but that is because I think that even a lightweight glove interferes with the way the fingers work. I do a lot of gardening, and also wear gloves occasionally when doing more precise tasks, and the addition of even a thin latex disposable glove interferes with delicate finger movement.
For those who need more callouses, there are "Rock Tips", a temporary paint on clear liquid bandage.
–Lori
 
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have you tried changing the position of the finger when you fret?
Like.. try it in the middle between the fret wires, and then try closer to the lower fret.
I'm not entirely sure why this is different, but I have seen it buzz not buzz depending on where I put my finger between the fret wires.
 
It really sounds like you're fretting too hard. I find many people push way too hard which can not only hurt the fingers but push the note sharp. Remember you don't even need to press the string to the wood of the fretboard - only enough that the string presses against the metal fret ahead.
I find a good test is to try putting your fingers on the strings like you're playing a chord, but don't press. Now start very very gradually pressing down whilst strumming gently at the same time. As soon as the chord rings clean that's as hard as you ever need to press. I find most people are surprised when they try this just how light you need to press.
Just an idea - give it a try?
Cheers,
Matt
 
jaywilliams1345 said:
I'm going to not play the ukulele for a few days and see if that helps.
Click to expand...

No buzz that way! A bit of an extreme way to lose the buzz but hey.

I now have priests hands = no calluses at all. If I play a couple hours a day on my sopranos I still have no calluses at all on my fingertips. Now were I to start playing my 80's Warlock or my steel stringed bass or KonaBlaster I'm certain I would develop calluses again.

I'm in the you are pressing to hard camp myself. I was told much the same about my guitar technique many years ago by a guitar god.

~peace~
 
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jaywilliams1345 said:
When playing the ukulele for a while, I get grooves in my fingers which make it hard to play chords without them buzzing. Am I pressing to down to hard without realizing? It is really frustrating.
Click to expand...

For grooves in your fingers to allow a buzz the grooves would have to be deeper than the strings are thick. That isn't possible. Use a capo or different fingers to locate the buzz source. If you have a pickup then suspect wires, battery mounts, contacts in the end pin jack. A capo will reveal a problem with your action. You may also have a curved neck. I have a guitar that has a rather well developed serpentine shape of just a few thousandths of an inch - just enough to buzz at specific frets.

If you suspect something inside the body (wiring, pickup lead, or battery) stuff a towel in there and see if the buzzing goes away. Obviously you wouldn't play with a towel in there - it is a diagnostic tool, not a fix. The fix is to isolate wiring or loose electronics from the natural vibrations inside the uke.

It isn't necessary to put a strangle hold on the neck to fret the strings. The practice is to fret a string and slowly ease off the pressure to see what clamping force is necessary to prevent a buzz. It does not take much. Barred chords are another issue - the finger is an irregular shape and you may need to explore the best angle of rotation to use to eliminate buzzing due to bone joints producing irregular pressure.

All my opinions are worth exactly what they cost.
 
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