Open string palm muting buzz- saddles or nut?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kapo_Polenton
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Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

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Provided that my frets are in good shape and the action is high enough, if I am getting some high end buzz/rattling dead sounding notes when i lightly palm mute open strings, is the bridge and the saddles the factor? I seem to end up with a lot of poorly setup axes from factories. This one is a Michael Kelly. Feels great to play but has this little buzz going on which kills sustain and induces some extra high end plink here or there across the fretboard. Is this a case of the strings rubbing or not set well in the saddles?
 
i'm no expert in these things but a similar thing occured with one of my guitars a couple of years ago. it was the nut in my case, one or two of the string shafts or routes whatever we call it was cut too deepely causing the string to lightly vibrate around the first 3 frets.we removed the nut and inserted a very tiny slim piece of wooden veneer just to lift it up slightly and it was gone.
 
is the buzz/rattle somewhere between the nut and saddle?
If so, try to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.
Check if the fret(s) right ahead of it are high/loose (visually and with a fret-rocker).

Sight down the neck, is your neck convex or concave? You should have a barely noticeable concave curve to the fretboard.

If behind the nut/saddle, get some foam and stick it behind the nut (and the bdirdge if a string-sthrough w/ a tune-o-matic)

Also, make sure the noise isn't coming from the tuners!

Last but not least, make sure your nut action is high enough for the gauge of strings you use!
You will get rattle no matter what if that is the case.
 
xzyryabx":1f3wvy80 said:
is the buzz/rattle somewhere between the nut and saddle?
If so, try to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.
Check if the fret(s) right ahead of it are high/loose (visually and with a fret-rocker).

Sight down the neck, is your neck convex or concave? You should have a barely noticeable concave curve to the fretboard.

If behind the nut/saddle, get some foam and stick it behind the nut (and the bdirdge if a string-sthrough w/ a tune-o-matic)

Also, make sure the noise isn't coming from the tuners!

Last but not least, make sure your nut action is high enough for the gauge of strings you use!
You will get rattle no matter what if that is the case.
Click to expand...

I'll report back later tonight when i can look closer at the guitar and check out some of these things. Where nut action/height is concerned, if I play mainly 9 and 10's, what would make the nut the offender? Would that be that it is too low or too high? I'm assuming too low?
 
My pickups were picking up plinks, tinks and buzzes. I put a dampener around the strings immediately after the nut and that eliminated the problem.
 
What did you use to dampen? Do they actually sell dampeners for this purpose?
 
Thing is, all those do is mute your string.. doesn't really take away from the plinkiness or buzz really. I would see it more as a studio tool for leads and such.
 
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