Guitar Buzzes
Source: Finding Loose Guitar Braces
Loose Guitar Braces:
Loose braces on the guitar top or back plates can cause a variety of problems including, structural changes, buzzing, rattles, changes in tone and volume of the guitar and more.
Tools and Materials Required:
Brace Probe Tool
LED Work Light
Mechanics Inspection Mirror
The Cause of Loose Braces:
A brace that pops loose is usually caused by about 3 or 4 problems .
First: The most common cause is dried-out glue joints where the brace joints the plate. This can be because an instrument is old and the glue basically failed.
Second: Another cause can be a poor bond on the original brace/plate joint. This can be from an inadequate glue in the joint or a poor mixture of glue or glue that was inferior.
Third: Heavy Strings: Unfortunately I see this all too often. When you place heavy strings on a quality acoustic instrument, the braces can give away under pressure. You should never use anything heaver than medium gage strings unless the guitar is built to handle heavy gage strings.
Fourth: A sharp blow to the instrument. This is quite a common cause, but it is an indication of other problems with the brace or can be in combination with the other causes listed above.
Finding The Loose Braces:
To find the loose braces you will need to have a couple of tools at your disposal. You will need the Brace Probe Tool“>Brace Probe Tool, which is a specialty tool you can make and you can get a Free PDF Download plan of it. Also you will need a Mechanics Inspection Mirror and a LED Work Light to place inside the guitar.
Take the strings of the guitar and place the LED light into the sound hole. Next take the brace probe and run in along each side of each brace to search for gaps. If the probe can slip even partially beneath the brace you have a problem that has to be addressed.
Try to slip the probe as far as you can beneath a gap or a loose section. The goal here is to loosen the bad glue or loose brace as much as you can so the repair can be complete.
Carefully Mark Loose Brace Sections:
Complete this procedure for every brace inside the guitar. When you find a loose section, take a fine pencil and mark the beginning and ending points of the loose portion so you can easily find them back when you are ready for the repair process.
One final hint: Don’t forget about the braces on the guitar sides, if the guitar has them. Also, if the guitar has cloth reinforcement strips on the sides, be sure to check them as well.
Tags: finding loose guitar braces, free brace probe tool, how to fix guitar buzzes, how to fix loose braces
