J45 Standard buzz/rattle

[Justbluefish]

I want to upgrade to a “rest of my life” guitar. Until now I’ve had relatively inexpensive acoustic guitars. The Gibson J45 Standard was at the top of my list.

 

But... I’ve now tried 2 and both of them exhibited a strange buzz. I guess I’d call it fret buzz but I’m honestly not even sure that’s what it is. I know what fret buzz is and this doesn’t sound exactly like that. Let me try to explain.

 

On the J45 guitars I’ve tried if I play them fairly lightly and listen closely I can hear a buzz or rattle. It projects primarily from the sound hole, and it happens regardless of where I fret the guitar.

 

However if I murder the strings and push down really hard, the buzz/rattle goes away.

 

The thing is I don’t feel like I have a technique problem, I am using adequate pressure when I hear the buzz, and I don’t experience this kind of noise from my cheap $200-300 guitars.

 

Anyone else experience anything like what I am describing with their J45 Standards?

 

I love the look, feel and the sound of the guitar - except for this buzz/rattle. I can’t un-hear it or ignore it, and my hearing is very sensitive.

 

But am I getting unlucky with the 2 I’ve tried or is this a problem that I’ll end up having with any/all of them.

[jedzep]

Since you feel it is very subtle, I'd go back to the offending guitars and try tuning it a half step up, F-F, and see if it goes away. The setup might be so close to, but not perfect, so potential buyers have a very easy play. If it's a slight fret buzz, by applying more tension to the neck you might end up creating just that extra margin of relief to align the string height into an acceptable position. Remember, those guitars that sit idly on the rack need to be played more to settle in to place, and then probably should have a break-in adjustment a little later. Of course, there's a handful of possible reasons for this issue, but a decent shop employee should be able to hear what you do and track down the source.

 

I would try out a few slightly used if you can find them. Broken in slightly used is often better.

[Dave F]

I sort of remember this issue coming up a year or two ago. You may want to do a search. I thought it wound up being the jack input.

[jedzep]

Good shot, Dave.

[Dave F]

The nut slot was another thread

[Boyd]

Might be interesting to have somebody else listen while you play, and ask if they hear it. You could also listen while somone else plays. Not saying that the sound doesn't exist, but I know that sometimes I tend to fixate on little things that aren't really a big deal. And when I record my practice sessions, I'm often surprised that it sounds very different from what I expected.

[62burst]

Jedep’s idea was something I’ve seen with the big box stores having display guitars down at least a half step or more - trying a Craigslist used J-45 is a good idea.

 

And as DaveF had noted, there have been a few threads about mystery noises, and the OP‘s question was possibly about one of those curious frequency things not easily heard- not a wolf tone, but something just as elusive.

[Boyd]

Jedep’s idea was something I’ve seen with the big box stores having display guitars down at least a half step or more

 

I'd never go guitar shopping without bringing along a little electronic tuner. But it's also hard to imagine someone not noticing that a guitar was tuned down a half-step, unless they were really inexperienced.

[zombywoof]

Assuming you are looking at buying from a store, never be shy to ask them about anything that bothers you. All the guitar might require is a tweak of the neck relief. If they take anything other than a "what will it take to put you in this guitar today" attitude then I would walk away. Last year my wife bought a brand spanking new Martin D12-28 at one of our larger independent stores. She told them while she loved the feel and the sound of the guitar she as not entirely happy with the way it played. Rather than take a chance on losing a sale, they told us to go around the corner and grab a cup of coffee and some baklava. When we returned they had done a tune up on the guitar and my wife was a happy camper.

[j45nick]

Assuming you are looking at buying from a store, never be shy to ask them about anything that bothers you. All the guitar might require is a tweak of the neck relief. If they take anything other than a "what will it take to put you in this guitar today" attitude then I would walk away. Last year my wife bought a brand spanking new Martin D12-28 at one of our larger independent stores. She told them while she loved the feel and the sound of the guitar she as not entirely happy with the way it played. Rather than take a chance on losing a sale, they told us to go around the corner and grab a cup of coffee and some baklava. When we returned they had done a tune up on the guitar and my wife was a happy camper.

 

 

ZW, you and your wife seem to have slightly different tastes and approaches to guitar buying. She has a vintage J-200 and a brand new D12-28, and you seem at home rummaging in dumpsters for abandoned Stellas. There seems to be an imbalance there that needs to be addressed by you treating yourself to something very special.

 

You can't take it with you...

[QuestionMark]

I want to upgrade to a “rest of my life” guitar. Until now I’ve had relatively inexpensive acoustic guitars. The Gibson J45 Standard was at the top of my list.

 

But... I’ve now tried 2 and both of them exhibited a strange buzz. I guess I’d call it fret buzz but I’m honestly not even sure that’s what it is. I know what fret buzz is and this doesn’t sound exactly like that. Let me try to explain.

 

On the J45 guitars I’ve tried if I play them fairly lightly and listen closely I can hear a buzz or rattle. It projects primarily from the sound hole, and it happens regardless of where I fret the guitar.

 

However if I murder the strings and push down really hard, the buzz/rattle goes away.

 

The thing is I don’t feel like I have a technique problem, I am using adequate pressure when I hear the buzz, and I don’t experience this kind of noise from my cheap $200-300 guitars.

 

Anyone else experience anything like what I am describing with their J45 Standards?

 

I love the look, feel and the sound of the guitar - except for this buzz/rattle. I can’t un-hear it or ignore it, and my hearing is very sensitive.

 

But am I getting unlucky with the 2 I’ve tried or is this a problem that I’ll end up having with any/all of them.

 

I had an unidentifiable slight rattle or very very slight echo coming out of the first string of my 1955 Epiphone Texan last fall and during the winter. It started when I put a new saddle in it. I finally identified it was only occurring WGN I presses down on the 7th through 15th fret on the first string during my playing. Other wise in first and second position fretting on the strong it rang clean. With the fretting positions with the identified sound, I was able to see that the saddle was ever too slightly low under the first string, and when fretted from the 7th fret on the first string onward, it was causing the string on th saddle to press not only on the saddle, but also up on the wood behind the saddle, too close up to the saddle, a split second later. Thus the slight rattle or slight echo. To resolve the saddle’s ever so slight mis-measured break angle I cut a very thin sliver of wood the exact length of the bottom of the saddle and crazy glued it to the bottom of the saddle, and reinserted the saddle as a permanent saddle repair (as opposed to a temporary test repair with a piece of credit card.). Voila. The guitar’s action was only minuscule raised with the thin wood shim added to the saddle, slightly the break action on the strings, but enough to stop the annoying described slight rattle/echo. The thin wood shim material glued to the saddle’s bottom had no negative effect on the sound. I watched how to do a permanent wooden adjustment to the bottom of a saddle on YouTube. Sure beat recarving a whole new saddle. Recognizing of course that not everyone cuts their own saddles or does their own sets ups.

 

Amazing sometimes how precision-like these instruments can be, where a saddle being slightly too low on one string can cause a mysterious sound by being only a slight fraction off on one string from the seventh fret on.

 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff