I have a problem with the lowest (thickest) bass string of my 10-string. I get a mysterious buzzing noise when I play it, and I have no idea what could be causing it.
That is especially bad, because we want to start recording a new CD on Thursday and I need the instrument for that.

The buzzing occurs even when I play the highest fret, and I can't see anything that touches the string, and all screws of the bridge are tight.
The problem doesn't seem to be in the pickup, if I turn it around 18 degrees (it's a Stickup), the problem remains on the lowest string, and the adjacent strings sound nice and clear.
I have tried a new string, same problem.
The trussrod sits tightly as well, nothing rattling there.

Now I'm at my wits' end. Does anybody have an idea where to look or what to try?

One additional information: I recently replaced the potentiometer on the bass side. Could that be the issue?
Edit: The noise is there acoustically, I don't need to plug the Stick in to hear it. So it isn't the pickup.

Hi Johannes,

If your instrument has a divided truss, check and make sure all three of the set screws in the truss are tight. You can even loosen them a little and then tighten them to make sure they are reseated.

Since you put on a new string, check to make sure the ball is seated all the way in and that the string is is not "arcing" over the top of the screw, but that is has a definite "angle" in it.

If you raise the bridge screw a couple of turns, does the problem go away?

I await your responses (I also respond to you on Facebook).

Hi Greg,

my instrument has a single truss, it's from the time before the divided truss was introduced.
The ballend sits nice and tight, and I always make sure the string is "bent" nicely across the screw when I change it.
I tried raising both the bridge and the nut, it doesn't male any difference.

Is it clearly a bass string buzz, or could it be something else?

I'm just a know nothing noobie, but last week while adjusting my recently acquired graphite 10 string I was getting an odd rattle when playing one of the bass strings (I forget which one).

The caused turned out to be that a flap adjustment I'd made to lower the highest melody strings had put strings 1 & 2 so low that playing certain bass notes caused them to resonate & rattle on the 1st fret!

The tiniest tweak of the flap screw solved the problem.

I'd isolated the issue by selectively hand muting various strings till I found one(s) that were associated with the rattle. Then having found out which string(s) it was, I remembered that flap adjustment & the solution presented itself.

It was amazing what a difference such a tiny change could make!

Probably not your issue, but maybe worth considering (e.g. try the selective muting & see if the rattle disappears at any point?), or maybe it will inspire you to consider something else?

Hi David,

the rattling noise sounds as if it comes from inside the neck, but it only occurs when I play the thickest string.
My 10-string doesn't have flaps, it still has the nut with screws directly in the wood of the neck. I tried adjusting them, but had no success.

Another wild idea...

You've ruled out the bridge. Have you ruled out someting at the headstock end?

Maybe a cut off string tail that's resonating or catching something? Maybe something about one of the tuners?

I have a guitarist friend who has a 'hair scrunchy' on the headstock (just above the nut) of one of his Telecasters because of a weird rattle that he'd otherwise get. This guy is not a noobie, he's a professional player of many years experience, & it's just this one guitar.

Perhaps if you temporarily drape a cloth over the headstock & see if that alters the rattle. If it does, try to make the muting/damping more selective till you isolate it?

Just a thought...

Phew!
I have now put on a third new string, which came in a shipment in 2017. The rattling/buzzing noise is gone!

Maybe the two other stings came from a bad batch? At least they recently came in the same shipment from SE. What are the odds?

Thank you all fro your help, I'm glad that I will be able to start the recording with my familiar instrument. A helpful local Stickist kindly offered to lend me one of his instruments. My parts would have worked, but I would have had to adapt to a slightly different tuning.

I'll let you know how the recording went.

I've seen some buzz coming from the truss rod vibrating in its channel when low strings were played. A small piece of thick paper can help blocking that vibration.

The (old) new string sounds great on the recording, I'm glad to tell you

The recording went very well, and I'm happy with the results.
We recorded eight songs in three days, now we will need to record some vocals, do a few overdubs and then mix the recording.
I played my ten-string on three songs, the SG-12 on three, on the remaining two I played electric violin.

We recorded in our rehearsal space, as we did with our two previous albums, but this time the heat was a challenge. It is a one-storied building with a more or less flat roof and it's not insulated at all. On the first day of recording, we had a temperature of at least 37 °C outside (that's about 99 °F), and inside it was even warmer...

But thankfully we managed to get through the day without any incidents, nobody collapsed. Fortunately, the following days were a little cooler.