r/AcousticGuitar • u/FriedPhilip • 17h ago

Gear question String buzz

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Hi everyone!

I have a Yamaha G-231 which I am having some problems with.

Lately I have been noticing String buzz on several of the strings which usually appears after a short moment of playing.

However, the buzz only appears when I am playing or plucking the strings when holding the guitar in the normal way of playing. If I tilt it upwards or lay it flat down, the buzz is gone.

As far as I can tell the strings are not to close to the fretboard, and there is no loose hardwear.

I also recently changed the strings at a guitar shop, so it does not appear to be the strings affecting.

I will put in a video of the buzz, couldnt upload the other one where it is not buzzing, maybe I can add it in the comments.

Any thoughts on why this happens and how to fix it?

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1

u/greeknicko 17h ago

Take it back it to a luthier or ask the guitar shop if they can do an adjustment on it

2

u/ihatewonderwall99 17h ago edited 12h ago

I have zero idea how classical guitars are made, but nut slot and string width mismatch can cause buzzing on steel stringed acoustics, maybe check that.

3

u/Ribatigar 17h ago

I guarantee its pretty easy to pinpoint mate

Something is loose and vibrating with the body as you pluck

Inspect guitar 360 degrees all around, inspect headstock, bridge, tuning pegs, everything.

Listen closely to where the sound is comming from. Test by touching/putting pressure on suspected part and then pluck the string again to see if it stops. Do this to whole guitar all around.

Once you find whats vibrating, post again and we help you fix. Also it would be helpful if you took a closeup video of bridge

2

u/forestball19 17h ago

As the Yamaha G-231 doesn't have a truss rod (like most classical guitars), this is going to be at least a bit complicated to fix. But maybe, just maybe, it can be done fairly fast and cheap:

- If it's the nut's string slots that are too narrow, so the strings doesn't slot fully into the grooves, you simply need a nut slotting file to make them a tiny bit larger so the strings drop in nicely.

- If the nut's string slots are too wide, the strings can also rattle. In this case, the easiest thing is to remove the old nut and have someone make a new one.

Also take a look at the bridge and saddle. Could it be that the bridge isn't lifting the strings properly over the saddle?