Mike's Oud Forums

String buzz at the bridge

Shadi - 12-16-2008 at 12:28 AM

Hello all. I just changed the strings for the first time on my beautiful new floating bridge Fadi Matta Oud. The original strings used were very light danielle Mari strings I think. I ordered a set of Aquila light tension strings. They are not very light at all. anyway, its been a week now and my oud has had this unstoppable buzz on the high g, c and f strings at the bridge. the tension of these strings is 3.7 kg. should I switch to something more light tension or is there some way to fix the problem with these strings?

hama - 12-16-2008 at 02:19 AM

Hi Shadi
I had similar problem when I changed the strings to D'Addario
(high tension), it took 2-3 weeks for the Buzz to disappear ,may be 1 week is not enough .
BR
Hama

Dr. Oud - 12-16-2008 at 08:44 AM

The floating bridge may be pressed into the face by the higher string tnsion. Measure the string height at the neck joint - it should be 2-4mm. If there's enough clearance, the neck may be warping just from string tension over time. You can check this by holding a string down near the top nut and at the neck joint, then look at the side of the neck, toward a window or light. If you see any gap at the midpoint of the string, the neck is cupped. It can be sanded flat if there's enough fingerboard thickness.

Shadi - 12-16-2008 at 09:01 AM

That sounds pretty Drastic Doc. I've only had this oud since the end of October!

Dr. Oud - 12-16-2008 at 09:43 PM

Some tail-piece/floating bridge ouds are made with the same structure as conventional glued on faces, and are not strong enough for the higher tension and different stresses of the floating bridge. Check out the string height, and if it's too low, tune it down a bit and see if it corrects. Even a new oud could have a warped neck if the wood was unseasoned or the grain the wrong way. Don't panic yet, it might be correctable.

hama - 12-17-2008 at 04:23 AM

Shadi, I have a floating bridge oud as well and the Buzz disappeared after 2-3 weeks , so be patient and don't get your sand paper out as yet , wait a bit longer, you have a brand new oud there and don't take any drastic action as yet,
Dr oud's knowledge and experience is immense , let us hope that your problem is much simpler and wont come to that .

Luttgutt - 1-20-2009 at 03:16 AM

Hi Shadi!
I am new here, and just read this.
Do you still have buzzing sound?

dubai244 - 1-20-2009 at 06:12 AM

Hi Dr.Oud,

How do you sanding the fingerboard, which kind of tools do you use to sand the neck?. Do you have use sanding tool to do that or you use the classic way of sand which use block of wood and attached sanding paper to it?

Pramids strings very good system where you can choose the strings tension and diameter which suits your instrument. I dont have the right numbers yet but you can find it in Pramids web site and order it. But it is very expensive strings. That might help. Of course, the neck and strings height must be corrected to achive the optimum and minimum buzzing.

Thanks

Christian1095 - 1-21-2009 at 10:16 AM

Another option is the use turkish strings and tune them down to Arabic Tuning.... I find them to be too loose on my fixed bridge.... But I think CharlieOud is using them on his floating electric

Dr. Oud - 1-21-2009 at 02:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dubai244
Hi Dr.Oud,

How do you sanding the fingerboard, which kind of tools do you use to sand the neck?. Do you have use sanding tool to do that or you use the classic way of sand which use block of wood and attached sanding paper to it?

Thanks

I have a flat board as long and wide as the neck, and sand using a series of grits, starting with 80-100 to flatten and ending with 180-220 to suface the fingeboard. I then polish the surface with 0000 steel wool, then seal it with a few drops of oil, then buff it out with a soft cloth.

Reda Aouad - 1-22-2009 at 11:58 PM

Hi Shadi.

Did you manage to solve the problem?
Why should you sand anything if the Oud is new? And why should the neck be bent or disformed if it's new?

Dr. Oud, it's always a big THANK YOU for your precious adivces :) but do you have any explanation why a new Oud would suffer such a problem?

Thanks :)

Dr. Oud - 1-25-2009 at 11:07 PM

If the neck is bending it could have been made with the grain in the wrong orientation, a weak piece or of unseasoned wood.