Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?

Subject: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: GUEST,pluck & bow
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 01:18 AM

Changed my strings just in case that had something to do with it, but no change. It almost sounds like I have something inside the fiddle, but I don't. It's when Im bowing,any ideas or suggestions on what could be causing it, and how to fix it?
Thanks

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: fiercefiddler
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 01:56 AM

Check and see if anything is rubbing against the wood. A part might be loose (sometimes the fine tuners are loose, etc.etc), or a piece of clothing might be irritating it...Good luck!

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: Cluin
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 02:43 AM

Is your post in there good and firm?

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: GUEST,Sttaw Legend
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 03:46 AM

Loose chin rest or poor fitting shoulder rest, friction rubber missing from the shoulder rest. Good luck !

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:08 AM

Have you been playing the Flight of the Bumble Bee recently??

Giok

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: s&r
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:10 AM

Loose glued joint; crack in top; loose clamp nut on fine tuner (common); partly separated bass bar; plus as mentioned above. Try to isolate where the buzz iz if you can by tapping, listening through a rolle up paper tube or piece of rubber gas pipe.

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:23 AM

Hmmm, beating a buzzing fiddle with a lump of rubber gas pipe - a sound truly worthy of Spike Jones....

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:49 AM

In the deep recesses of County Clare in Ireland, there's a ghost fiddler who turns up at sessions, sits down among the musicians and appears to tune up his fiddle. He then proceeds to saw away in time to the music - but never touches the strings! His presence is tolerated and accepted - I've never heard anyone complain or try to edge him out.

Anyway: one night I was watching him in operation and lo and behold - there was a sound coming from his fiddle. It finally dawned on me that when the fiddler next to him hit certain notes hard, the ghost fiddle resonated! The (real) fiddler said to me afterwards that it did finally nearly drive him to murder - but he refrained.

Regards

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:52 AM

I can imagine the newspaper report...
"Folkie found dead - apparently suicide - he put his heads in the fiddle and turned on the gas..."
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: s&r
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:55 AM

sorry - stick one end of the gas pipe in your ear and lite to the sound as you move the other end around the fiddle - it often helps to locate these buzzes and rattles - a bit like a stethoscope. Or use a stethoscope.

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: s&r
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:56 AM

listen to the othe - lite the other sounds dangerous...

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: Bassic
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:56 AM

Just found these entries on this site
good luck with finding the cause.

Q. My violin has a dead note. Can this be sorted?

A. A 'wolf' note is what you are getting. It cannot always be totally eradicated and all instruments have a wolf note to some degree. They occur more commonly at B to B-flat on the Violin and B-flat to C on the Viola also on the Cello at E to F-sharp. They are caused by excessive tension or by a breakdown in acceptable pattern of vibration. Specialized adjustment of your instrument is my recommendation.

Q. My A string buzzes. What causes this?

A. There are many reasons why this could happen, here are just a few to look for. String wear from the string core – replace string. Top nut groove wear – replace with new nut. Fingerboard ruts and string wearing grooves, uneven surface – Re-hone fingerboard. Rattling points on the instrument body including: Tailpiece, tuning adjusters, loose ribs, ill fitting bridge foot or fingerboard becoming undone. This is a short list of possibilities and there are more. It's a system of elimination that is required and a lot of patience sometimes.

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: Willie-O
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 07:22 AM

The easiest one to find though is if you've cranked a fine tuner down so that the little metal bar under the screw is actually touching the fiddle top--that's why you should back off all your fine tuners now and then because if you have a slipping peg or string, you will eventually get there trying to compensate with the fine tuner.

Have you tried the little rubber donut thingies where the E string touches the bridge? Reduces harshness.

Finally, how are your strings wrapped in the peghead--are there loose ends rattling around there?

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: Jeri
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 08:56 AM

Considering Pluck & Bow said it sounded like it was coming from inside the fiddle, I'd say it's likely something's come unglued. I played someone's fiddle last week, and got a buzz. The top was separated from the sides along about an inch-long stretch. It DID sound like it was coming from the inside, but was quite visible. I'd think if a sound post was loose enough to buzz, it would simply fall out. Maybe not, though, and they can dry and shrink or wander to a less-than-optimal location. Buzzy strings/bridge/tuners sound (to me anyway) like they're coming from the strings/bridge/tuners and not inside.

Sometimes, if there's a loose brace inside, you can tap the top at the edge and hear/feel whatever it is inside tapping back.

Oh - one other mysterious but easily remedied cause of buzzes: hard bits of stuff on YOU that vibrate on the fiddle. Necklaces, earrings, buttons on clothing. These things vibrate on the back of the fiddle, so they travel through it and can sound like they're coming from inside.

Subject: RE: Fiddle 'buzzes' what causes that?
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Dec 03 - 05:53 PM

Just refreshing this so that we don't get all the same suggestions repeated in the new thread on the same subject. Just to bring you up-to-date, the questioner has narrowed the problem down to his or her tailpiece.