Hi all,

Today, my viola suddenly suffers from a new and very annoying problem: Whenever I play a B in the first position on the A string, there is a loud buzzing noise. For all other notes on all strings, the noise disappears. It sounds like the noise may come from the adjuster, but I am not sure.

What could the problem be? Is there any chance that I could fix it myself, or should I bring my viola to a luthier?

Does your adjuster have a little metal ring that sits on top of the tailpiece, holding the adjuster in postion? These do work loose sometimes and can make horrible buzzes. It should be possible to tighten it gently and stop the buzzing. If that's not it, sometimes the bracket that holds the chinrest can come loose with the same result. These can also be tightened up but be really careful not to overtighten as you could damage the viola. These are the easy ones to look for - hopefully it's one of these, not a seam opening or anything, which is definitely a professional job!

Rachel,

Thanks for your reply!



The adjuster does have a little metal ring on top of the tailpiece, but neither this ring nor the bracket holding the chinrest are loose. Besides, if either of these were the problem, shouldn't the buzz be there for all notes played on the A-string? Everything sounds fine except the B one note above the open string.

Not necessarily - it's the frequency of the vibration that causes these things, so it may buzz on only certain notes. That said, it could be a set up issue if it's not coming from the fine tuner or the chin rest - (to eliminate for sure, try applying pressure to the fine tuner whilst playing the note in question - or ask someone to do it for you if you don't have enough hands - if, whilst compressing each fine tuner one after the other, the buzz is still there, you know it isn't due to the fine tuners etc.) - if it doesn't go away, it's a trip to the luthier I'm afraid.

Allan

Strangely enough, a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't play A on the G string without my A string resonating in response! It only happened when the played A was perfectly in tune and only that one day! Have no idea what caused it, but it's gone away just as suddenly as it started.

This is quite a common phenomenon - it's called sympathetic vibration and it should happen on all the strings when similar notes are played elsewhere (for example, the c on the g string should cause the c string to ring out too) - although it does depend largely on the quality of the instrument - how in tune the instrument is and how in tune the note being played is.

I'd look on it as a good thing, Elisabeth! It means you were bang on intonation wise.

Are you sure the buzz is coming from the viola itself? I'm asking as it could be an object nearby resonating on that particular note. I had the same problem with my piano when i got it, it was an ornament on a shelf nearby not the piano!

could it also be a wolf tone?
i have one on my cello... ###### thing drove me up the wall.

Thanks for all replies!

I have no idea why, but for some reason, it seems that the problem has disappeared after loosening the string a tiny bit at the peg, and tuning it back to the correct pitch with the adjuster. Everything is fine now, my viola sounds as good as ever.

Funny... I had the EXACT same problem 2 years back with my violin, and apparently it was because I used a steel A string. The rest of my strings were perfectly all right...

Or perhaps it was because my fingerboard had shifted a bit, and it might have exacerbated the situation.

When I was plagued by a buzzing noise I eventually determined that it was one of my chinrest's barrels that had come loose. Make sure they are both tightly screwed up.

Also, check there isn't anything loose on the shoulder rest, and check that the ends of the strings in the peg box are tidy, and not placed such they might vibrate against something.

I hope that helps.

Andrew