Changed the Strings, now they Buzz.

Jakeman,

First off WELCOME to the Musical Mad-House!

Change the other three strings and see if it is still a problem.

I've been told that you should change ALL the strings together. The only exception might be if your at a gig and you break one and you need to restring one quickly between songs or a set.

I think the why is due to the fact that new strings have the tension strength in them that older strings don't meaning the older strings may 'relax' a bit over time after being in a 'stretched' state for so long. Yes metal does stretch.

You didn't give much detail as to how old the other strings are so I'm asssuming they're old.

Also make sure that your restring with the same size of strings everytime. If you don't you'll need to set up your guitar again, especially if you go down a size as they don't require as much tension on them to get in tune, thereby lowering your action to the point of the dreaded Buzz.

If all else fails, take your guitar to your store. They can and will help.

Well I have the guitar 11 months and only replaced G twice thats all.I got my guitar in the begginer deals and used the stringes that came with it and they were the same make as the guitar.I f you say the strings need to strech, should I put them on high tension and leave them for a while?

Can anyone explain what the Buzz noise is?

The strings will be at different levels of stretch if they are not changed at the same time. The suggestion is to change ALL the strings at the same time whenever possible. Then they will be at equal or atleast consistent levels of stretch. Also make sure they are the same size as the ones that came on it. After 11 months you should more than likely be on atleast your 2nd or 3rd set of strings even if you don't play every day.

The buzz is probably because one or more strings are hitting a fret wire somewhere. You can isolate which string is buzzing at which fret by going up and down the neck one fret at a time and one string at a time and plucking it.

Nils ive done what youve said to go up and down the fret board.On E it starts on 4 and above.On A the same.On D mostly not there but if you keep your finger down then it buzzes.

Oh Good heavens.. 11 months?
Change All the strings... Today!! If you can.

I wouldn't suggest you put any of your strings on HIGH tension. EVER!! You could serisouly damage your guitar by way of a warped neck or your bridge may get damaged (if its an accoustic guitar) as it could tear away from the body.

The topic around changing strings and when has come up a lot in the past and there is excellent information to be had with a little bit of reading. If you don't know how... Some have links to other pages that show you how to change your strings.

If all else fails, take your guitar to your local shop and have them change the strings for you. They also should be able to tell what size strings you currently have. And ask the tech if you could watch them, I'm sure they'd be happy to show you how.

The Buzzing you hear could be a number of things so its not a simple question to answer.

Basically the Setup of your guitar determines the action of your strings in relation to how high they rest above your frets. If your action is too LOW your going to get the BUZZ with or without fretting them. If it is set too high, your guitar gets difficult to play.

So, What determines if you need to have a "setup" done on your guitar or not? I'm assuming you have an accoustic.

Changes in the weather can and will affect the properties of the wood as like metal it contracts and expands. As the tempurature and/or humidity changes so too does your guitar. Its not uncommon to have a setup done as the seasons change. Matter of fact I just had mine done two weeks ago on one of my accoustics.

As I said there's a lot of information around this subject out there and I am by no means an expert. It'd be best to take your guitar in have them Set it up and change the strings, which should be part of the setup.

As far as how often to change strings. I'll say this then go sit down so someone else can chime in. It depends on how often you play your guitar and whether or not you wipe your strings down after every use. It also depnds on your bodies chemistry. The oils in your hands may not corode the steel as much as say mine do.

I usually change my accoustic strings once a month at the least. Sometimes every two weeks, but I play a lot. There are some performers who change them every night they play. After a while it becomes a personal prefernce as to when. You'll know when its time. :)

Nils ive done what youve said to go up and down the fret board.On E it starts on 4 and above.On A the same.On D mostly not there but if you keep your finger down then it buzzes.
My suggestion is to change them ALL NOW (Like Dagwood said) and do the test over again. Make sure you use the same size that was originally on there.

From there we can determine if you need some adjustments or not.

Ive changed them all now and they are the right thickness.Its only EAD that make slight buzzez with E having the highest buzz.

Ive changed them all now and they are the right thickness.Its only EAD that make slight buzzez with E having the highest buzz.
Assuming it is and electric and has an adjustment on both ends of the bridge I would just bring the EAD (low side) up just a little. Turning counter clockwise maybe an 1/8 of a turn should do it.

If that is unclear let me know what kind of guitar it is so I can give you exact instructions.

I realize that this is an old topic BUT I just wanted to emphasize that knowing specifically what kind of guitar, make and model is often essential to knowing how to troubleshoot a problem, otherwise we can only imagine and guess what it might be. There are so many different things that it COULD be relative to the style of bridge for just one example.

I had an annoying string buzz on an older Epiphone Gibson G-400 (SG reissue) that turned out to be a wire screw retainer spring on the tunomatic bridge and the temporary remedy was to remove this cheap spring and bend it downward. The permanent remedy is to upgrade the bridge. This is one of my favorite guitars so I am going to upgrade everything on it. I had one of the original Gibson SGs, it was my first electric guitar, purchased brand new in 1966, so this Epi- G400, feels just the same, so it has nostalgic value, brings back memories and I LOVE IT. I am going to upgrade everything on it, best parts I can obtain.

If you have a fender style bridge then it could be a simple saddle adjustment on the bridge.

Without knowing what kind of guitar it is, this is all just speculation, guesses in other words. Always include what guitar you are dealing with when you have questions.

It doesn't matter at all if it is a guitar you found in a garbage dumpster, a cigar box guitar you made yourself, a $15.00 guitar you bought in a second hand thrift store, a Wallmart Special (First Act brand) or a rare $20,000 collector guitar.

Virtually any guitar problem can be remedied and any guitar can be improved. I think that most people who know about guitars are going to give good information no matter what you have got!!

Hey, a dumpster guitar or cigar box guitar is better than no guitar, by God! Hallelujia!!

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!"
(THAT is the title of a popular song during World War II that I put in this post for enternainment value)