Edward, et al. The reason that the pegbox of the lute is bent back is pure physics. Having the strings wrapped 70 to 90 degrees around the nut provides a significant "downward" force of the string against the nut, allowing for its location to be maintained by use of only a very shallow groove. With this design, normally if you fret a "b" or a "c" vigorously or with vibrato, you are not risking shoving the string sideways, out of its correct spacing.
Now if you have a vihuela or Renaissance or Baroque guitar with a flat pegbox, look at the nut. The grooves there will be much deeper than on the lute, often more than 1X the string diameter. This is necessary because with only a 5 or 10 degree wrap of the string against the nut, the "downward" force is relatively much less. If you do not confine the strings more tightly, they will get shoved around out of position all the time. Why is this important in the present context? Cutting the grooves in the nut by hand is quite exacting work for the builder. The sides of the groove must be pretty much exactly parallel to each other in the direction the string moves when tuning. If the groove grips the string tightly at one end, but has even a microscopic amount of play at the other end, the string can slap against the sides of the groove there when a note is played on the instrument, and voila, buzz. So Edward, take a magnifying glass and look at the nut of your instrument. Push sideways on the portion of the strings between the nut and the pegs and see whether there is any evidence of motion of the strings within the nut. It might work to wrap a shoelace or ribbon in amongst the strings in the pegbox and see whether that alters the symptoms in some way -- I have not tried this, so I do not guarantee it. If this is the problem, I suggest taking the instrument to an experienced guitar repair person rather than trying to adjust it yourself. Regards, Daniel Heiman -----Original Message----- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Edward C. Yong Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2019 9:06 PM To: Daniel Heiman <heiman.dan...@juno.com> Cc: Matthew Daillie <dail...@club-internet.fr>; Lute List <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Instrument Buzz Hi Daniel, The buzz has always been there as long as I’ve had the instrument. I’ve noticed the maker didn’t remove the paper stencil(?) after carving out the rosette and closing the instrument, so the paper is still glued to the underside of the rosette. I’m wondering if that might be contributing to the buzz. Is it common for makers to keep that paper stencil/pattern on the instrument? Best, Edward > On 21 May 2019, at 7:52 AM, Daniel Heiman <heiman.dan...@juno.com> wrote: > > Edward: > > When did you start to notice the buzz? > Was it always present as long as you have owned the instrument? > Did it appear suddenly out of nowhere? > Have you changed a string lately, and that is when the buzz started? > > Daniel > > -----Original Message----- > From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On > Behalf Of Matthew Daillie > Sent: Monday, May 20, 2019 12:22 PM > To: Edward C. Yong <edward.y...@gmail.com> > Cc: Lute List <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Instrument Buzz > > Sounds like it could be a loose bar or maybe an issue with the rose. Try > holding the instrument with your fingers on the underside and with your thumb > go round the edge of the soundboard applying a LITTLE pressure to see whether > there are any noises of the soundboard moving against a bar (like a little > click probably). You can also tap lightly on different areas of the top with > the tip of your middle finger to see if there are any unwelcome noises. > Obviously do this as gently as possible. > Have you checked on the relative humidity? If you have a concert coming up > and you think there is a loose bar, make sure the relative humidity is at > least 50% (but no more than 65%) and this might resolve the issue temporarily. > Best, > Matthew > > > >> On May 20, 2019, at 18:01, "Edward C. Yong" <edward.y...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> A bit of buzz is driving me crazy. I have a renaissance guitar and there’s a >> buzz that starts with the plucked note and dies down quite quickly. >> >> I’ve checked the bridge for any loose bits of string - nothing. >> >> I’ve checked the pegbox/peghead for loose buzzy strings - nothing. >> >> No possibility of frets being too high and buzzing, as the buzzing happens >> at all notes at all positions. >> >> I’m hoping it’s not something beneath the soundboard that’s loose and >> causing the buzz. >> >> It doesn’t buzz when the instrument is flat, with the rose facing up. It >> buzzes when the instrument is in a playing position - with the rose facing >> sideways. It buzzes with the rose facing down. >> >> I’m on the verge of having this sent to the nearest luthier, but have >> a performance coming up. I just hope the audience won’t be able to >> hear the subtle buzz, as we’re not being amplified… >> >> Best, >> >> Edward >> >> >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > >
