buzz buzz buzz

mr moto

ok, just fitted a set of argentine ten,s to my new gitane dg-255 ,and the low e-string is buzzing almost everywhere , the bridge height is only 12mm , is this the problem ? also as a newcomer to this style of guitar playing , i am a little shocked to see that my rock solid 3mm thick pick is almost worn away to the point of being useless after just one week,s playing :shock: any fellow gitane player,s got any advice on setting up the gitane ? thank,s

musicofanatic

Check your action height first. You need approximately 3-4mm between the 12th fret and the low E string. If you've got something close to that check your neck relief. With the low E depressed at the 1st and 14th frets (a capo is handy at the 1st) you should have at least 0.10" clearance in the 7th fret region. Any less than that indicates your truss rod nedds loosening. If any of this sounds like I'm speaking Sanskrit, see your local luthier.

MontereyJacques

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mr moto

thank,s guy,s i fitted a set of 11,s and the buzz is gone i would still like to try a different bridge , the string height at the twelth fret low e string is just 5mm , what sort of bridge should i go for then ? the standard gitane is 12mm lower? higher? thank,s

drolling

Higher! All the Gitanes come with the low action typical of modern acoustic guitars. Jacking the action really opens up the guitar's tone, allows you to whack the strings harder without buzzing AND ultimately makes the guitar easier to play (once you're used to it). High action and those slinky manouche strings create a 'bouncy' feel - somehow I can play faster since I did this mod. There's been a lot of good info on replacement bridges posted right here if you look around a bit. For starters, you could shim the existing bridge with little wedges of wood. Once you're comfortable with that, you can move on to a taller replacement bridge from Dupont or Stew-Mac. Some players have had bridges custom made for their Gitanes. I used the lowest of the 3 available from Stew-Mac, which had to be filed to fit between the moustache ends, and slotted, of course. Outside of a fret dressing, this is the only mod I've done and it has made a huge difference. One nice thing is that if you don't like it, you can always put the old one back in there. Try it!
dr

djangology

Check your action height first. You need approximately 3-4mm between the 12th fret and the low E string.

you should be able to fit a US Quarter and a US dime under the Low E string at the 12th fret... (which is 3mm exactly i think)

Bob Holo

Now that is a neat way to look at it. OK, so this only works for the Yanks on the board, but in modern US Currency... (opening the caliper case....)

A US Nickel is about 2mm
A US Quarter is about 1.7m
A US Penny is about 1.5mm.
A US Dime is about 1.3mm.

So:

Penny + Dime = 2.8mm
Quarter + Dime = 3mm
Quarter + Penny = 3.1mm
Nickel + Dime = 3.3mm
Nickel + Penny = 3.5mm
Quarter + Nickel = 3.7mm

41cents buys you a setup caliper for the full range of Gypsy guitar setups in 0.02mm increments. I don't think I'll remember all of these combinations , but I can surely remember that if I have 4 coins, the two expensive ones are my High-E clearance and the two inexpensive ones are my Low-E clearance.

Thanks John!

musicofanatic

I neglected to address your question about pick wear. I recommend you observe the attitude (angle) of the pick to the strings. Video taping is a good means of doing this. See how close to parallel the pick is compared to the strings. Too much angle can cause excessive pick wear.