A couple of weeks ago my Fender FM-52E SB started buzzing - in the middle of an orchestra performance no less! I should probably note, I don't usually play this mandolin with the mandolin orchestra. My main mandolin was out of commission with a cracked saddle at the time. The Fender was my starter mandolin, and my current reasons for keeping it are 1) the pickup is useful for playing at church - the A/V guys can make sure I'm heard over the piano and other instruments, and 2) I've developed an interest in lutherie and it's my guinea pig.
Back to my buzzing problem, it was initially on the A, and a little on the E string. I checked the usual suspects and now the buzzing has moved to the G and D strings. It can be any fret above the second, but not all the time; it gets worse above the 7th fret, and if the playing angle of my fingers gets sloppy (anything less than perfectly parallel to the frets). They don't buzz when I play open strings. My prime suspect is the pickup. I've tried to test it by holding the pickup and playing the strings, but since it doesn't buzz on open strings, it's fairly impossible to tell one way or the other.
What can I do to solve this? Would a scrap of felt, fabric, or leather along the bottom of the pickup do any good or would it interfere with the way the pickup works? It sits on 2 internal braces, and is held in place by the pick guard.
Here's a picture. I'm talking about the part just below the neck. For some reason the audio jack isn't integrated into the end pin, so I plugged a cable in to show where it is, in case that's somehow relevant.
Sarah
Bookmarks