Buzzing when holding the uke away from the body, not when against

I've got a Uke where the lowest wound string buzzes occasionally, if I hit it hard enough. But that's not a big deal, usually. I'm happy with the action, so it's a question of balance (we all like a low action...).

However, I noticed that when I hold the uke away from my body (not resting against my chest in the normal manner) the buzzing is much more regular. Nearly every third time I pluck the string, even when more softly than usual.

It's been checked by a good tech and they've found nothing loose.

Is there anything to worry about, or is there a logical reason for this?

Thanks.

It could be a loose back brace.

Is it possible that you are lifting the string more when you pluck? Does it happen on a strum in either direction?

My advise is that you get the bridge action higher. If it buzzes now it will buzz even more in winter time ... that is if you have a central heating.

I have my Kala ka-cem with quite a low action. It is now fine, but I plan to put a gift card "shim" under the bridge on winter. That or make a totally new bridge, which will be a bother as it is nice on warmer times. Low action can be too low sometimes. Just the way it is. Could be also some frets not even in your case.

A room humidifier can help a much, but the electric bill can be more costly than the above. Of course you need that for a solid top instrument.

You said a good tech looked at it. Did you play it for this person and demonstrate what you're hearing? That would be the ideal thing, as we can only guess here. Nothing beats a hands-on evaluation.

Thanks for the replies.

I played it for the tech, but have since changed the strings and buzz is more prominent (but, as I say, only when held away from the body). It was hard to notice with the loose strings I used to have on it.

Yes, I'll probably take it back to him when I have the time. It's odd, because it sounds like fret-buzz, but even when I pound the string when the uke rests against my body, it rarely buzzes. Whereas even a light pluck when held away, produces a buzz.

He checked all the braces and said they looked fine.

Odd.

If nothing is loose and the tech can't isolate a mechanical problem, then the playing style may be the issue.

When strings are strummed/picked, they vibrate in the direction of the strum/pick. Since the strumming/picking is done parallel to the fretboard, the strings vibrate parallel to the frets. When held away from the body the angle the string is strummed/picked may no longer be parallel to the fretboard because the player has not fully adjusted arm-and-wrist angle to compensate for the changed instrument position. If the strum/pick angle is now different, than so is the string vibration angle. If the action is too low or a fret just slightly high, the no-longer-parallel strum/pick vibration could cause the off-angled vibrated string to hit a fret, causing a buzz.

That could explain why a buzz only happens when the instrument's position to the player is different and the buzz only occurs with a particular player. Also, the 4th string (the G in GCEA tuning) tends to absorb the most strumming/picking force, so it has the greatest potential for being affected.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/waves/gsl.cfm

I would investigate the braces further before raising the action. Probably one or the other. Bare in mind, when the instrument is not held against your body, it will be louder. Consequently, everything about the sound will seem amplified. A shame when there's something wrong. I recommend holding it close for now.

I think both Steves made good points.

You did say you changed strings, so that explains a lot. What is an ideal setup for one set of strings is not for another. The tech would need it with the strings you intend to keep on using....ideally in new or at least excellent condition without a ton of playing time on them.

You can try to temporally raise the action by inserting a piece of paper under the string at the nut.

I am going to agree with SteveZ, that holding it out away from your body is changing the strumming angle and that is what is causing it. Is there a reason that you hold it out away from your body? I just wonder if you are working at creating a problem.

It could be also as others have already chimed that something is loose. Keeping the uke against your body or not might attract/shift some natural frequency to cause that low G string buzz.

In general forcefully picking strings generate more buzz than strumming. Some plucking direction dependency can of course be happening, but I doubt it is that, anyways easy to check.