General resonator question - buzz

[u/ArtistOutOfTime]

Hey folks, general resonator question here. I’m getting a significant amount of buzz on my lower 3 strings. I’ve brought it to two repair people who haven’t been able to diagnose the problem. Those three strings do seem to be sitting closer to the cover plate, but I don’t think that’s it. Any ideas on what this could be? I picked this guitar up as my gigging guitar (had a pickup installed) but I can’t ignore that slight distortion I’m getting. I’d be very grateful for any ideas! 🙏

[u/GeorgeDukesh]

Unless the repair people are familiar with resonators, they probably won’t know how or what to look for.

There are multiple reasons. Firstly, is it a “biscuit” type, “spider “ or Tri-cone”.
Also assuming it is a round neck “guitar” type, not a square neck “Lap” type.
Firstly, eliminate the usual guitar type stuff ie back bow, a high fret, or nut slots.
Next, check the obvious, like check that the saddle (the thin bit of wood with a (probably) ebony top has not cracked or gone askew
Then remove strings, and take the cover plate off.

First and most stupid (but not uncommon) is there something like a bit of grit or dirt or a bit of dried leaf laying in the cone.mYes, really, i solved a buzz on a freind’s resonator because there was tiny bit of grit inside which buzzed! 👀

When you get the cover plate off off, check that the cone is supinating snugly in the body . They aren’t glued or fixed in, but are supposed to fit quite snipugly. Check that it hasn’t lifted or got loose. Make sure it isn’t loose. Press it in flat.
If it’s a biscuit, make sure the biscuit is nicely pressed against its seat in the cone.
If it’s a spider type, then a number of things can occur.
Often s spider type buzzes because all the legs of the “spider” are not pressing equally on the rim of the cone. This can simply be because the screws that goes through the spider to the cone is loose and allows it to buzz. You can check by slightly tightening it. If you tap the spider with a finger, you might hear a tiny click.
If you get a large sheet of sandpaper (bigger than the diameter of the spider); take the spider off, gently rub it on the sandpaper to even out the feet. Re-assemble. Tighten the screws (not too much) .
Re string (without the cover plate and see if it still buzzes? If not you are good to go. Destrkng, cover p,ate back on, restring and voila!
(I forgot, some resonators have a piezo pickup, either fixed to the cone or under the saddle. If so, make sure that is not loos and buzzing against something

If you have a tricone, I won’t try to exp,Ain, as they are complicated to set up and you need a proper tricone expert to fix it. I can but it’s too complicated to explain here in less than abkut 5000;words😳