Never ending buzz on DG-250

vince

Hey All,

So the DG-250 that I got as a combined x-mas birthday gift still has this weird buzz. I can't figure it out for the life of me. First, I thought it was the tuner heads, and sure enough the D turner head was very loose, so I tightened that up a bit. But I still get it when I hit the low E open. I also get some fret buzz on the low E when playing around frets 7-12, but I think that can be taken care of with slightly higher action.

When I hit the low E open its a weird sort of buzz that sounds like its starting from the tailpiece and working its way in the body. I tried holding the tailpiece to see if that stopped it and it didn't. I tried gently rapping the back of the neck to check for a loose truss rod and that's not it. I tried rapping around the body and I still don't hear anything (but perhaps my ears are untrained). It is going to be at least a week until I can take it into a shop, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas... It's really depressing to have my new guitar acting up! I want to worry about my playing, not my guitar!

cheers,
Vince

djadam

You might try a temporary shim under the bridge to see if that helps. When I first needed to shim my 250, I cut up a credit card, used a couple of layers, and it made a nice shim.

I know some people have said their Gitane tailpieces rattled until they inserted a small piece of leather under it. For me, the buzz was simply having the action too low.

Best of luck!

vince

wow that helped a ton with some fret buzz around the 7-12 frets on EAD!!!! that sublte buzz on the open low E is still there but I think it may be the bridge. When I first got the guitar and was tuning it, that string jumped out of its string slot on the bridge and made a tiny impression. when I push the open E into its slot, and pluck the string, the buzz is gone. I guess I'll be ordering a new bridge soon, but that may be for the best.

Further question though...

does changing the bridge height with shims put bad stress or strain on the soundboard? it seems from the small amount of physics that I've taken that it would. Is this bad? I guess after I finally got a GJ style guitar, I'm having nightmares about something happening to it - broken neck, cracked soundboard etc.

Thanks for your help,
V

djadam

Hi Vince,

I highly doubt there's any danger in shimming the bridge or putting in a slightly higher bridge. There are plenty of folks on this forum who've done either without issue.

In my case, my 250 was buzzing and I hated the action. I ended up increasing the neck tension significantly to make the neck more flat and I shimmed the bridge a bit, first with credit card material, then with hardwood shims. Now it feels infinitely more playable and just buzzes a tad when I hit the E string hard. I've been gigging like this twice per week for 4 months and my guitar hasn't had a problem.

To be frank, I was deeply disappointed with my 250 when I first got it, but since making those adjustments, I absolutely love the thing.

asd123321

Yes, increasing bridge hight creates significant increase in pressure on the soundboard according to a book I read, but I doubt it would matter with light gauge strings or if done without to much increase.

vince

I made some shims out of an old library card and today I noticed some tiny dimples... I noticed the light reflected every so slightly in a less smooth manner. I took out the shims and have the guitar detuned until I get some better shims made. I contacted the only guitar store in town (a really awful place actually) and asked about raising the action. The repair guy (I can't even really force myself to call him a luthier) said he could make cork shims! This didn't seem right to me... so I guess either I can make wood shims myself with the sanding technique or order a Collin's bridge if it comes prefit.

ahh sigh, the pains of being a poor student without a good guitar shop in a small college town...

cheers,
V

Bob Holo

Just say no to dimples... bad mojo...

Collins' guitars have a different top profile from the Gitanes so unless he's fitting them for a Gitane... they won't come "pre-fit"

Find the section on Frank Ford's Frets.com where he shows how to fit archtop bridges... same process as on Selmacs... it is doable... you will not get it right the first time unless you really pay attention and get lucky, but you will learn what you did wrong (usually rocking and getting a rounded foot) and then flatten the bottom of hte bridge, shim the bottom of the bridge using similar wood (rosewood or ebony)... superglue the shims to the flattened bottom of the bridge and trim them on the sides - should be near invisible if you do it right and acoustics are not affected. Then re-fit the bridge. If you want to keep from scratching the finish of the guitar, go to an art store and get white low-tack art tape ... about 2" wide and used to temporarily mount paper to drawing boards... and put it directly on the guitar top where you'll be sanding so that it is between the guitar's finish and the backside of the sandpaper... then when you're done fitting the bridge - gently take off the sandpaper and peel up the tape.

Actually - you're in San Fran - go out to Gryphon Strings and ask Frank to do it (ask Him to do it - or an apprentice may wind up doing the job - if it costs extra - pay it)

Alan High

Hi,

I've just bought a 255 Gitane which is a 14 fret model. Like yours there is also a buzz at the 10th fret on the base e string. My brother who is becoming a virtuoso in gypsy jazz loves the sound. Don't worry too much
because a guitar is always a compromise between cost, sound, style and many other factors. Sagas are all round great value for money.

Did you know that Django put a match box in to raise his bridge !
That's absolutely true.
Check out my brothers sight at : ventdest.co.uk
His compositions are inspiring !
Just three years he's been at it ! Good luck, :Alan.

nwilkins

for temporary shims try popsicle sticks - they work really well. Also, make sure you are using gypsy jazz strings on your guitar, not the bronze strings that Gitanes are sometimes shipped with. Gypsy strings will make a big difference tonally and also won't put as much stress on the guitar's neck and soundboard.

vince

I have a set of light Argentines on my guitar, and I recently shimmed it with some hard maple my dad cut for me (he's a woodworker...). It is working great, but I have noticed some dimples on the soundboard. How bad is this for the guitar? Is this just sort of something that happens as a guitar adjusts? Very curious about this...


EDIT: Note that the dimples are only visible in light, and not visible by simply looking at the soundboard.

Vince