I bought a new D1A last December. My instructor is having me a play a little more solidly, noticing I barely pluck the strings somethings and he can't hear. With all this he's noticed on a couple of strings on my guitar makes a buzzing sound when picked. We checked my Elliot capo. Its fine. Makes the same buzzing sound when a capo is not used. He checked my strings. Fine.

So what could it be? Whatever is wrong with it - is this normal? What might expect my local luther to do? Any thoughts? Thanks, Paul.

Did you check the relief of the truss rod? Since it also buzz with a capo, the problem might not be with the nut.

It buzz when you play open strings? how about when you fret up the neck? Whats the action of the guitar like now? Is the saddle too low?

I would suggest you correct the relief of the truss rod first.. And than, adjust the action by sanding raising the height of the saddle.

BTW, I am moving this thread to the technical forum.. you will probably get more response there.

quote:

Originally posted by Gazelle:
... My instructor is having me a play a little more solidly, noticing I barely pluck the strings somethings and he can't hear...

While the above remarks are valid ... many places get more humid in summertime and the rod needs tweaking ... it sounds to me like your setup was okay played lightly but not now.

And frankly if your teacher had trouble hearing you, you probably should play harder. If you want to get the best tone from your instrument you want to get it vibrating. Don't be afraid of it.

I'd go to a good shop and have them look at it. Truss rod adjustments will correct buzzing in the lower frets but if you're going to play harder you're probably going to need the higher saddle. Get a new bone one made, and make sure it's a good shop.

Personally I've seen a lot of good guitars that shipped with action that was really too low for dynamic playing. I understand this from a marketing perspective but almost all the really good plyers I know play with at least medium action and sometimes really high. You just get better tone and more dynamic range.

I took it Pioneer Music in Portland, OR. Dropped it off at lunch and Jim had it done by the time I left my office. What service. And he fixed the buzz - just a minor truss rod adjustment. Thanks for the replies.