is there a quick fix for a rattle at the nut

[mark sinkoff]

my new octave mandolin has developed a rattle which I believe is coming from the nut.
It is present only when playing the high e strings at moderate or greater volumes. It is strung with plain steel 14 gauge. Is there a technique to fill in the nut slot so that i may recut a new slot?

I had the instrument set up by a local luthier a few months ago after I let the newly made instrument settle in for a while.

thanks for any assistance
mark

[MikeEdgerton]

The first thing you want to do it to determine where the rattle/buzz is coming from. I'd hate to see you mess with the nut and find out you have a loose screw in a tuner or something. Is there a truss rod? Is it loose? Try Frank Ford's Buzz Diagnosis page here from his www.frets.com site.

After you're sure that's where it's coming from the proper thing to do would probably be to replace the nut but it if was me I'd try a little CA (Super glue) and baking soda to see if that would tighten things up a bit. Be very very careful.

[sunburst]

There is a good technique to fill and re-cut a nut slot, (hint: it doesn't involve a dust/glue mixture, check out Paul Hostetter's site for a good description with pictures) but it is not a quick fix. First, however, as Mike says, it is important to determine the exact cause of the buzz before doing anything.
Now for the quick fix: put a little piece of paper under the string, between it and the nut slot. That will quiet a buzz resulting from a poorly shaped nut slot or a buzz resulting from a slot that is too low. A real fix can be done later after the cause of the buzz is determined.

I left out the first thing to try (sorry). Lift the string and see that the nut slot is clean. A small piece of "junk" in the slot can cause problems. Give it a quick brush with a tooth brush and see if that helps.

[mark sinkoff]

Thanx, I`ll do more research before actually working on the nut.

mark

[roberto216]

Tighter underwear?

[roysboy]

I've successfully used the 'paper under the string' fix for years .

[mark sinkoff]

paper under string worked,(Thanx for the tip!). I am going to practice for a while before trying to work on the nut. Using a thicker gauge will be my intermediate work around for now. I found that substituting a 15 gauge for the high E string does not rattle.

[bmac]

But your initial comment referred to "strings", not string. Now you are talking about "string". More clarity in the question would have helped.

It is always a good idea to have some nut blanks available for experimentation or emergency... I have used popcycle sticks carved as nuts for emergency nuts and they work fine.. An old plastic comb works fine as nut material as well. Tonally lots of things (materials) will work.

[John Ritchhart]

I like the loose nut on the truss rod idea for a noise up there. Does the mandolin have a "0" fret?

[bmac]

Just a note: Your local luthier who did the job initially would certainly have corrected the problem without charge had you consulted him. But at least this way you got a little experience futzing with the nut. Always a good thing.