[Maelle]

Hello,

OK I've been practising my strumming for the last few days... I've been muting the strings with my hand in order to get a good rhythm without having to worry about how it sounds.
However when I un-mute the strings, I notice it doesn't sound so great... at least one of the strings vibrates when I strike it too hard and makes an unpleasant sound. It does this even on open strings so it's not my chord technique.

Does it make this sound because:
1- I am strumming wrong: wrong angle, too hard?
2- I need to change my strings
3- Other

I'd really like someone to shed some light on this for me and sorry if this is a silly question. It's just a bit disheartening to be practising so hard and hearing the wonky sound spoil everything.

Thanks

Maelle

[mattz196]

Could be that action on your guitar is set quite low and when you strum hard you are getting the open strings hitting the fret or you could be inadvertanly just touching the string adjacent to the one you are fretting and getting a dud sound .

[Maelle]

Thanks for the reply. I think that action thing is what the problem is. I googled it to see what it meant hoping that I could just adjust it but it looks like it's a bit more complicated than that.
Looks like I might have to visit the repair shop and see if they can do something.

[johnnydoxx]

You might take a look at the thread called 'pick attack' a bit further down on this forum, maybe that's part of it as well.

[johnnydoxx]

Another possibility - say when playing an A minor chord. It's possible for the open A string to buzz (I presume that's what you mean by 'vibrate') by hitting against the fingernail of the finger that's on the D string.

[Maelle]

The sound is a "rattling" sound if that makes sense.

It happens even if I don't play any chords at all, just strum on all the open strings. But I do have to strum hard in order to hear it.

[Kirk Lorange]

If you need to strum hard to hear it I wouldn't worry too much. That's pretty normal. It takes a while to get a nice consistent strum so just keep doing it, experiment and keep mental notes.

[s1120]

You brought up maybe the strings. How old it the guitar?? Strings ever been changed?? My feeling is if you think you may need now strings, you probably do.

You might also have some buzz from a bad setup. Has the guitar ever been checked out?

Is it just the open strings that make the noise, or the fretted ones? It the fretted ones, try moving your finger to a diferent place in the fret. Your maybe not getting a clean fret.


Hope some of this helps.

[Maelle]

Thanks Kirk, I guess I'll keep practising and see how I go.

s1120, thanks, my guitar was originally a good guitar as my guitar teacher bought it for me. However it is ten years old, had a plane trip, was damaged and repaired, has sat through the hot and humid Brisbane summers... who knows how well it plays now, I am certainly not good enough to tell.

As to the strings, they haven't been changed since I've been practising it again but they are not the originals. I say they may need changing because they look a bit worn in some places.
The rattling sound comes from both open strings and fretted strings. I think it comes from one of the top strings: maybe the E or the A, I can't quite isolate it. I noticed the rattling sound when I was strumming chords hard. I thought maybe I didn't have my fingers on the chords right so tried strumming without chords just to see if it still made the sound and it does, so i'd say that it's not the way I place my fingers. Could still be the way I strum though. Doesn't sound like pick noise though, it's really more of a rattle coming from the string.

[WernHalen]

Maelle,

Your noise probably comes from the strings vibrating against the metal frets. This can be one of two problems...

1. your guitar is not setup properly and your action is too low. there is a couple of posts on the forum that tells you how to fix this and how to check it... Search for it.

2. You might be strumming too hard at times. As you say, it only happens when you strumm hard, this lets me believe the guitar is setup right, and that you might just have a heavy hand on the strings. As kirk said keep on going and it will get better with time. you really do tend to play softer and with more definition as the time goes by...

WernHalen

[garth653]

I know exactly what you're going through. I had the same problem when I first started, (about a year ago) and never knew if it was something I was doing, or the setup, or the action, or what. I'd say that you probably need to do what I did to find out for sure. Find someone who has been playing for a while, and let them give her a spin. I would try to find someone you know before I took it in to the shop. A guitar salesman is likely to sell you a setup even if you don't need one.

[Maelle]

Thanks WernHalen and Garth. Sounds like in all probability my skill is in cause rather than the guitar (which is a relief!). I do know a couple of people who play so when I next see them I'll get them to check it for me.
Thanks heaps, you've all been very helpful.

Maelle

[travsy]

I think your problem might be the same as mine. I narrowed it down to 2 worn tuners rattling about. Try cupping the tuners lightly as you strum the open chords and see if the rattle goes. Good luck

[Noodler]

Originally Posted by garth653

Find someone who has been playing for a while, and let them give her a spin. I would try to find someone you know before I took it in to the shop. A guitar salesman is likely to sell you a setup even if you don't need one.

Good advice. Other things that spring to mind that I've had have been loose saddles, strings not sitting properly in the saddles, unwinding strings. In the words of the Dixie Chicks, someone who's been playing a while will probably go, "There's Your Trouble!" There are too many variables to even try and guess at without seeing it, including all of the above. Let us know out of interest.

I'm a Bris-Vegan. If you need to know a good place for repairs (I know two, one southside, one city) give me a holler.

[BluezOldy]

Originally Posted by garth653

I know exactly what you're going through. I had the same problem when I first started ... Find someone who has been playing for a while, and let them give her a spin.

When my guitar teacher plays my guitar, it sings like an angel.

I tracked my strumming problem down to my lack of experience and technique (still working on it ).

Interestingly when I record myself, or even just play in close facing into the corner of a room so the sound bounces back to me, my 'noise' is actually better than my mind critic thinks it is.