Thomastik Spirocore user with buzzes...

[stormwriter]

I've been using Spirocore's my entire life. I have a modern sound, with the strings not too high, but not too low either. Anything higher than what i currently have, it becomes less easy to pull off faster/more complex solo phrases.

However, all my life i've been battling buzzes on the fingerboard. I had a new fingerboard put on, and the guy did a good job, but two buzzes mysteriously appear. (on the g-string) I had the board refinished, and yet the buzzing persists. I'm about to have the neck resurfaced by a different guy, in hopes they can fix the buzzes.

I'm wondering, is there any way this could be related to my strings? i have no idea, just wondering...

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by WRITERSONTHESTORM

...all my life i've been battling buzzes on the fingerboard...

I'm wondering, is there any way this could be related to my strings?

It kind of depends on what you call "buzzes". Spirocores, because of their solid core and long sustain, can make a kind of nasal "whining" sound, especially up around the octave. I've been told by several good luthiers that this is just "a Spirocore thing", and that you just have to live with it once your board is dressed properly.

That said, I wouldn't exactly describe that sound as a "buzz". Can you give more information about your setup and your problem? What is your string height for the G and the E at the end of the fingerboard? Where are the buzzes on your G string? What gauge of spiros are you using? This information should help the other spiro players here to help you out.

[anonymous0726]

Also -- what are you doing when it buzzes? During the note, when you lift your fingers, etc.

[Francois Blais]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

Spirocores, because of their solid core and long sustain, can make a kind of nasal "whining" sound, especially up around the octave.

I'm not sure what you mean by solid core, but the Spirocore's core is made of very thin wires threaded in a special pattern.
That's different from steel rope core, and of course from the true solid steel core, like Red Labels, Chromcors, etc.

[anonymous0726]

'Spiro' comes from the 'Spiral' wrap of the core, as far as I understand it.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by francois

I'm not sure what you mean by solid core, but the Spirocore's core is made of very thin wires threaded in a special pattern.
That's different from steel rope core, and of course from the true solid steel core, like Red Labels, Chromcors, etc.

My fault. I should have simply said, "because of the way the core is designed for sustain"...Never mess with Francois when it comes to string terminology.

[stormwriter]

The buzzes used to come from imperfections in the wood. You could see the small cracks in the wood where it buzzed. So, that cheap fingerboard is gone, and replaced with one that looks, upon fairly close inspection, faultless where the buzzes are.
On the g-string, it's right at the F before thumb position, and the higher C in thumb position. And by buzz, it's obvious. I'm not playing those notes any different than any other note. Rotate your finger a tiny bit sharp or flat, and the buzz is gone. Over time, the F buzz moved between an F and F#, so luckily i don't hear it as much, but the C one makes it IMPOSSIBLE to play that note without a very audible buzz.

Oh, and sorry, i don't know the gauge or the string height. I guess i could go measure it. I don't worry about the tech stuff; i just play it...

[anonymous0726]

It sounds like your string height might be pretty low. I'm also guessing that some, if not most, of your noise is coming from the other side of the string (between the stopped note and the nut) vibrating empathetically.