my strings rattles on the fretts

[john south5yahhogr]

first of all thanks robn n luisianagrey for replying.i looked on the dobro set up but the languege does not always help .so i still have a question -my goldtone dobro rattles the strings hits on the fretts, while playing.shall i put a higher saddle on the bridge, or turn this "screw" on the headstroke, for the neck angle(is it dangerous to cause adamage on the neck?) .and this screw on the saddle of the bridge, what is it for?

[Deleted]

Hold on...don't do anything until you figure out WHY and WHERE the strings are causing the buzz or rattle. Have you tried mimf.com (Musical Instrument Makers Forum)? they are a great source of help for diagnosing and curing this sort of thing

Do you know if it is the strings actually hitting the frets, and not a buzz coming from the nut, saddle or other part of the guitar?

Don't mess with the truss rod unless you know what it does - it doesn't alter the neck angle, it alters the relief (the bow or bend) in the neck. Altering it can help get rid of buzzes, but it won't really help if the action of the guitar is too low at either nut or saddle, or if there is fault with the fretwork (a high or low fret). You can damage a guitar by messing with the trussrod (at worst you can round off the adjuster or snap the rod if you are brutal), but more than likely you'll just confuse things by adjusting it unless you first check whether the trussrod needs adjusting.

The screw in the centre of the saddle fixes the cone to the spider - it won't alter the action. It can be the cause of rattles if it is too loose, but if it's too tight it can affect the tone.

Was the guitar like this when you got it, have you changed the strings, or when did it start doing this? Does it happen all the time...with open strings, fretted strings, slide playing? What style are you playing..standard, bottleneck, lapstyle? We need some more information to help diagnose the problem.

[Michael Messer]

Hi John,

Chickenbone is right - do what he says and you will get rid of your buzzes.

Shine On,
Michael

[john south5yahhogr]

well gyes,i think its easy. i play slide and when i put a little preasure the strings(which are close to the frettboard as a regular guitar) they hit the fretts,up and down the neck.i wear 0,13-0,56.i raised them temporary with a capo at 2nd frett and a thin stick over the frett and its much better but still buzzes on the lower fretts.the frettboard looks quit straight. wishes to all

[Deleted]

Sounds like the action is set a little low. Those 13s are pretty skinny for dropped tunings such as D or G. Putting some 15s or 16s on it may improve things, as there will be more tension, promoting less "string excursion" and also possibly pulling a little more relief into the neck as well.

Without seeing it it's difficult to tell whether you also need to raise the action at nut, saddle or both. Just looking down the fretboard won't accurately tell you if it really is OK or if there are any 'rogue' frets -you really need to use a steel straightedge to check it. Do you get fret rattles when you play regularly (ie fretted, not with a slide)? One simple way to see if things are improved is to shim the nut: take it off and slip a thin packer underneath - an offcut from an old credit card will do nicely. This is a quick and dirty fix and easily reversible. If it improves things, you could do a more permanent fix and get a new taller nut. If it's still buzzing with the trick you've done with the capo, the action may need taking up at the saddle as well (again, this assumes that the frets are all OK). What is the action under the top and bottom strings at the 12th fret?

By the way, just change one thing at a time, it makes things much more difficult to figure out if you alter two things at once and still don't get a cure. - I'd put heavier strings on to start - cheap and easy, and I'd check for high or low frets before altering the nut or saddle. Using a long steel straightedge will show the overall relief, and a short straightedge over three frets will show up any high or low frets.

[LouisianaGrey]

The way to check nut height is to hold the string down at the third fret position. There should be a small gap between the string and the metal of the first fret. If you press it at the first position (with the third still held down) it may make it easier to see the gap, and you may be able to hear a slight "ping" as the string touches the fret. If there's no gap it's definitely too low.

On the other hand, if you mean that the slide itself rattles on the frets then it's not necessarily a bad thing. I've just watched the Beeb's Whistle Test reruns - did anyone else notice how much fret rattle Ry Cooder was getting when he did "Vigilante Man"?

[john south5yahhogr]

thanks to all! i'll start to check all these stuff ,and it looks it will take some time