The Steel Guitar Forum

Do your strings buzz?

No.

after two weeks of owning my Ultra D-10 the 6th string on E9th began buzzing very bad. I change that string. No more buzz since then.

Thomas

NO

No buzz on my Ultra.

Only what my lousy technique creates. The guitar is clean.

2 Ultras & an Expo, no buzzing. BTW the Expo is every bit as nice playing and sounding as the Ultra. The stainless steel fingers sound awesome.

John -

We won't have to worry about polishing out those damnable grooves in the fingers, will we?

Thanks for the feedback.One string was buzzing and GFI told me to sand the finger which I did. Now, several strings are buzzing,so I have to send the guitar back to GFI.

What string? what guage? and GFI will make it write, there customer service is awsome.

Hi Mike,

Nice to hear from you. You are the guy who sold me on GFI about four years ago. At the CT steel show,you played a white GFI. At the time,I was playing an MSA D-10,9/7. You made a point of telling me that your GFI did not have a special copedent. You said it was a regular Nashville set up 8/5. I admired you for that. Shortly thereafter,I bought a new GFI D-10 8/5.

I play my GFI for hours every day,practically every day. The fifth string started buzzing about a year ago. I use strings recommended by GFI,the Buddy Emmons SIT strings. Now,it sounds like all the plain strings buzz ever so slightly. The problem is I cannot get a second opinion,so I have to send the guitar back to GFI, which is going to be expensive. Thanks again, Mike.

Mine is in a twisted version of Sneaky Pete's B6 adapted to a 3+4 setup. I play it quite a bit and there are zero buzz issues - I use "normal" pure nickel guitar strings (to me a far richer and warmer sound than stainless, which I only use in flatwound configuration on my jazzbox and '63 Jaguar) - I have noticed (in my part-time tech shop) over the years that players who use stainless strings seem to have more saddle issues than nickel string users. Same thing with fretwear, so I'd assume on steel that stainless would have the same abrasive quality.

But shipping a guitar back to a manufacturer for a string buzz fix seems extremely expensive for a "fix" that would probably take 10 minutes with simple guitar maintenance and polishing tools.

Thanks Jim. I'm using strings recommended by GFI which are nickel.Hand sanding by me may create a flat spot which would be a disaster. Earlier today, I plugged in the big amp to make sure strings are buzzing before I ship the guitar to GFI. They are buzzing! The problem is,it's the only guitar I have,so I will not be able to practice while my guitar's away. That makes me very sad.

Richard,
From my experience you are correct, the stainless steel has much less wear, in addition to the sound benefits.

Michael,
Really sorry to hear of your issue with buzzing.
Please keep us posted as to how it gets resolved.

Not buzzing here.

Michael, I switched away from the SIT's to Jagwire. I occasionally had a buzz in one of the plain strings and found it was usually in the nut end. I had to locate the source by putting my ear very close to the strings while I picked the culprit string to figure out which end was causing it (I turned the amp off for this). In my case when it occurred (which was infrequently) I solved it by loosening the string, rolling the roller nut and lubricating it. Also, keeping the strings in a straight line from changer finger to nut to tuning key has eliminated any buzzing at the roller nuts.

I take it that yours is on the changer finger. I've found that a drop of light oil on the string where it contacts the finger can eliminate buzz there.

You're obviously a very experienced player and know all these things, but please let us know how this turns out. I haven't been having buzz problems with mine anymore and I'd like to hear what the GFI folks end up doing.

Thanks for the useful tips Fellas.

GFI doesn't have roller nuts as many steels do. I know Jagwire is a great string. GFI recommends Buddy Emmons SIT strings, so I use them. I've been playing this GFI for hours practically every day for the last three and a half years. I think that maybe too much for aluminum fingers. I'll see what GFI says when I ship it the the factory.

Michael,
If I'm not mistaken all Ultras have SS fingers, its an option on the Expos. My Expo has the SS.

Yeah John I agree - mine has stainless steel fingers and roller nuts. Maybe Michael's is an earlier model?

When I bought my Ultra in July of '07, stainless steel fingers were an option. I didn't hesitate in ordering them. The GFI site is not really clear as to whether stainless fingers are standard on new Ultras.

Michael -

If you feel that it's necessary to send the instrument back to the factory, then - assuming you have aluminum fingers - it might be worth investigating the cost of the stainless fingers.

Richard

That's good advice Richard. I used to have a Pro II Sho-Bud, and as good as it sounded, the aluminum changer fingers were a constant area of care - burrs, grooves, etc. that needed very careful attention in the form of wet sanding and polishing every time strings were changed.

Same situation with a Carter both in the good sound and changer finger care.

Hi John,

My GFI has aluminum fingers. I'm sending the guitar back to the factory. Could anyone lend or rent me a steel while mine is gone? I live in Jersey City, NJ

Hi Richard,

I didn't order my GFI. I bought it new from a store. It seems aluminum fingers do not hold up to constant playing year after year.

Michael -

That seems to be the general consensus among forum members. You'll no doubt recall the many threads concerning buzzing and dead strings where the members suggested sanding out the grooves in the fingers and then polishing them. After three years, there is absolutely no discernable wear on the fingers due to the string rubbing the contact area.

Once again, if you think that you can spring for the stainless fingers then I view that as a wise investment.

Richard

Wow - I would not have thought any of them would have aluminum fingers. I'd change those out in a heartbeat.

Also - regarding

Hand sanding

- I would never SAND the finger. The most abrasive thing I'd use would be rubbing compound, and only if polishing compound didn't work. But I also have all kinds of radiused tools for working on 6-strings so "flat spotting" wouldn't be an issue for me - I have sanded or filed down curved pieces, but would not try it with a flat tool.