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I have bought a new YAMAHA F310 Guitar Yesterday, today when i played it i found that it is producing some buzzing noise around the Bridge but only when i play some chords(Open Strings are doing Fine).

So, Is my Guitar Faulty? or i am playing poorly?

3 Answers 3

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It could be either - or a combination of both faulty guitar set up and playing technique that needs refinement.

Wheat's answer is spot on. I would like to point out that it is normal and very common (pretty much the rule) that beginning guitar players experience buzzing or muting (or both) on many chords. It takes repetitive practice to master the proper technique and to build the necessary finger strength to cleanly fret all strings in various chord shapes.

Be sure you position your hand to form the chord so that you can apply sufficient pressure to each fretted string in the chord. You should strive for a finger tip that is perpendicular to the fretboard to be sure your fretting finger does not unintentionally contact an adjacent string and mute it (unless the chord shape calls for an adjacent string to be muted intentionally). It may take quite a bit of time and practice before you will be able to play all chords cleanly without buzzing.

Here is a simple test to determine if it's your evolving technique causing the buzz or the guitar. First, determine which string fret combinations are buzzing when you play a chord and try isolating that string/fret note by playing only that string on that fret with one finger. If it only buzzes at that fret on that string when you play a chord that includes that note, it is more likely to be in your technique. If it buzzes even if you play a single note there - your guitar probably needs a set up.

Either way, a proper set as Wheat suggested, up will help make your guitar easier to play without technique induced buzzing.

One thing I will add regarding set ups. Your string gauge will affect your guitar's playability (how comfortable it is to play) - and a set up will need to be done specific to the string gauge used on your guitar. Most acoustic guitars like your Yamaha, come with what I call heavy light gauge strings (the heavier end of what is still considered light). The gauge of strings is often defined by the gauge of the high e-string. Thus .013 inch high e - would indicated a medium gauge set, .012 a heavier light gauge (common on many new guitars) - .011 a custom light or medium light and .010 an extra light gauge.

Most new guitar's (if any set up occurs in the factory or at the dealer) will be set up for whatever gauge string the guitar ships with. If you do decide to have your guitar set up by a professional, you might consider switching to a lighter gauge string - until you build your finger strength and perfect your fretting technique. Lighter strings on a guitar properly set up for them, will make your guitar easier to play without buzzing. Buzzing (in contrast to muting) that is the result of un-perfected technique, occurs when you are not able to apply enough force to the string to make it play cleanly. Lighter strings tune to pitch with less tension and therefore less pressure will be required to cleanly fret a note. Learning to play has plenty of frustration inherent in the process - so anything you can do to remove some of that inevitable frustration will increase the likelihood that you will experience the joy of making progress and continue the journey.

Your guitar technician will be able to determine the lightest strings the guitar can handle without changing the nut or other components. You will lose some volume with custom light or extra light strings, but I would prefer a little less volume with no buzzing than loud - but buzzing. At least until my playing skills improved enough to switch to a heavier gauge and still play without fret buzz.

If you simply switch to lighter strings without a set up, the lighter strings may contribute to guitar induced buzzing. That's because the lower tension on the lighter strings means the oscillation envelope will be wider and your guitar may not have sufficient relief to provide clearance between string and fret. If you did the test I suggested above and determined that you only get buzzing on certain chords and not isolated notes, you could try to switch to lighter gauge strings without a set up if there is enough relief already between frets and strings. The string most likely to buzz - when switching to a lighter gauge - is the low E string which has the widest oscillation envelope. If you buy a set of extra light strings, and change the low E string first, then tune to pitch and fret each note one at a time all the way up the fret board and get no fret buzz, you should be fine to install the balance of the set without fear of guitar induced fret buzz.

But one last time, a good set up by a qualified professional will ensure that your guitar is playing optimally and with minimal stress on your finger muscles, regardless of what gauge strings you choose to use! Get one done if you can.

Good luck and enjoy your journey!

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If you are new to playing guitar, then it may be that you are not fretting the notes firmly enough with your left hand, and this is causing the buzzing. However, it is also likely that your guitar is out of calibration.

You should take the guitar to a qualified musical instrument repair person and ask them to examine the guitar and see if the problem is with the guitar or if it is with your technique. If it is a problem with the guitar, then read on:

This is a common problem with a new guitar. Guitars require calibration in several different parts to play properly. Performing these calibrations is called a setup (as in "I'm going to set up this guitar"). If you bought the guitar from a music store, they should be responsible for doing an initial "setup" to calibrate it correctly, at no charge to you. In that case, take it back to the store and ask them nicely to adjust it for you to remove the buzzing.

If this is not possible, you should take the guitar to a qualified guitar repair person and ask them to have a quick look at the guitar. If they say it needs a setup, you should pyay them for one. Here in the USA this costs about US $60 plus the cost of a new set of strings, and the cost should be the same whether it is an expensive guitar or a cheap one.

If the guitar repair person tells you that the guitar is so far out of specification that the buzzing cannot be removed by a routine setup, and the cost of repair will be very high, then you may wish to see if you can return the guitar for a full refund, and then select a properly-functioning guitar to replace it.

A "setup" involves making adjustments to the nut, the truss rod, the bridge saddle, and in some cases shaping and filing the frets themselves. All this has to be done interactively by someone who has experience in it; it can be quite tricky. A setup is something that you may need to have done periodically (perhaps annually) because guitars are made of wood under high tension from the strings, and the wood will shift and warp very slightly and various parts will go out of alignment according to seasonal changes in humidity and temperature.

So in summary, if this can be solved by a small amount of routine maintenance, you should get that done. Hopefully for free by the company that sold you the guitar; if not, you'll have to pay extra. At any rate I hope that the company or person that sold you the new guitar will do the right thing and stand behind the product they sold you.

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I have the same guitar!(YAMAHA f310) and i had the same problem ! .. The original strings are meduim .. They are really hard to play as a beginner and may hurt your fingers . As i told you i had the same problem but i got rid of buzzing sound by changing strings to Extra Light and re settingup my guitar :) Good Luck .

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