Convince me not to sell my Collings OM...

[Brucebubs]

[Bear Davis]

That issue is absolutely fixable.... If you were local I would send you to my guy and it would be fixed today. Combination of nut slots, fret leveling, and truss rod most likely. Could be a technique thing as well, but a tech who is also a professional level player like my friend will be able to spot that as well

Selling a guitar for something easily fixed would be silly.

[_zedagive]

Maybe having it plexed would solve the problem. You could at least have it analyzed in the machine to see if it's a problem with the frets.

[RalphH]

Im exactly like you. Once I hear something I can't unhear it and I waste time making it happen and then being upset its still there. BUT! It is always fixable.

I had a weird rattle on my hummingbird yesterday on the open g string. Turned out to be the plastic tuner button on the D string was loose. Bloody gotoh got carried away with the relic on the tuners and even simulated a plastic tulip button coming loose. Dab of CA into it and no more buzz.

I had a funny ring on my Taylor that only affected one open string at a certain down tuning. Turned out to be the shape of the saddle behind the break edge was causing the sting to have two contact points. My point is that it could be something really odd and might take a while to find if it's not in the standard list of things that make buzzes, but it can be found and fixed.

If you want to have a go at finding it, first go through all the standard things laid out on P1, then of it's not one of those, capo the feet fret and see if you can make it happen. Once you've got a hand free use it to touch every part of the guitar one but at a time till it stops.

Take it to someone good. Demonstrate the rattle. Make sure they agree they can hear it, then replicate it. If they can't then take it to someone better.

I will just add this. Sometimes rattles are caused by technique. Sometimes I think I've found a new rattle then realise I can make it go away by moving my finger nearer the fret or adjusting my grip. The fact that it only happens on one guitar does not rule out technique. The fact it only happens sometimes it kinda points to that. Things that rattle on a guitar tend to always rattle at a given fret or note.

[Dwight]

could it be a ball end on the string? A tuner?

[zmf]

Originally Posted by jgottsman11

I did mention the problem, but no one else who has picked up the guitar can replicate the buzz.

Long shot, but when I've had similar, intermittent buzz, I've paid attention to exactly how the string was plucked.

If plucked so that the string oscillations were mainly parallel to the frets, the problem was reduced. If plucked so that the planes of oscillation had a more up/down component, the problem was more prominent. To me this indicated that, for whatever reason, the string was too close to a fret.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by jgottsman11

I'm writing this moreso just to get it off my chest and get some feedback from people with a level head because I sure don't have one right now.

I'm VERY picky about everything, including guitars and I'm having an issue with my Collings OM I can't solve. On the third fret, high E string ONLY, I get a quite profound buzzing sound here and there when playing an open G chord. It's difficult to recreate and only happens here and there, and it wasn't fixed after I had the guitar set up to my liking, even though it plays like butter.

This has made me stress to the point where I can't even pick up a guitar right now because all I want to do is pick up the Collings OM and play a G chord until it buzzes so I know it's still happening. It truly is my best sounding guitar, but the stress of this buzz is killing me.

I just need your opinion on if I've got too far with the idea of selling it or if I should hold out a little longer and see if someone can find the source? What is your point of no return for guitar issues?

Hi, I love my Collings guitars, and I think I have experienced something very similar.

It is my humble opinion that these finely built guitars are remarkably sensitive to humidity AND temperature changes.

In 2017, I was ill and my guitars mostly stayed in cases but got colder for longer than usual, and my two oldest (Ds2h, and 0002h developed some strange issues similar to what yu describe, only a bit further up the neck (5th to 7th frets). Newer guitars sometimes, showed a similar issue.

I kept an eye on RH with the little inkbird type hygrometers, which showed no dramaic changes but the gutars got colder than usual - say, 60f.

My tech, and even the only authorised Collings repairer couldn't resolve it to the point where I put the dread up for sale .... sold in a week, and I now regret it.
The 000 has been a delight all summer!

So get that OM warm and maybe humidified up to 50% and let it settle. No guarantees, but don't sell a wonderful instrument like I did.

[BrunoBlack]

The fact that you are the only person who can make it happen might be a clue

[rpguitar]

It could be a back buzz:

When you play this G chord, it could be one of the fretted bass strings (low E or A) buzzing against one of the frets *behind* your fingers - towards the nut. This usually happens higher on the neck, 7th fret and up, but it could happen anywhere.

The offending string rings in sympathy with another plucked string. Meaning, you are playing the high E string, and when it vibrates, it causes a sympathetic vibration on another string between the nut and where your fingers are placed.

If this happens, reach over with your other hand and touch the bass strings behind your fretting fingers. If it's a back buzz, you'll stop the sound immediately. You fix this with a tiny tweak of the truss rod (usually).

[tj_mangum]

You shouldn't have to live with a problem like that. Let me know where to send my $1000 plus shipping and I'll solve this for you. I'm old and my hearing sucks, so I'll never notice.
Seriously, this should be fixable, if not by a local luthier, by Collings service.
Good luck!

[kiva238]

Originally Posted by Haasome

The fact that you are the only person who can make it happen might be a clue

Life's too short to play guitars that don't agree with you.

[aw meyer]

I bought a used Collings OM 1 on line a couple of years ago and I noticed a slight buzz on the high E string. I thought the problem might be at the nut, so I sanded the nut slot a bit. That did not work. The only thing that seemed to work was putting a small paper shim in the slot. I later made a discovery during a string change. I removed all the strings and noticed that the nut was not glued to the neck. A simple dab of Krazy Glue solved the buzz problem.

[Goodallboy]

If it was the only guitar I owned that buzzed, I’d move it along to someone who didn’t make it buzz.

[wooglins]

Keep it. Are you able to demonstrate the buzz for your setup person? A good tech or luthier will be able to observe your playing and make recommendations. Could be setup, strings, style, or many other things. When I do a setup my person always has me play for 10 minutes or so.

[aknow]

If it's intermittent, are you sure it's not your finger positioning?