Hey there folks,
I've been having some trouble lately with my banjo. It's a cheap Epiphone MB200 (yeah, aluminum rim) and ever since I last changed the strings, it has had a really bad buzz on the second and third strings when I play it. I had changed the strings recently and tightened the head a little bit and when I went to tune it up I noticed this buzzing. At first I thought it was the strings, so I played with them for a bit and nothing seemed to work. Then I tried changing to another type of strings (same as what was on the banjo originally) and the buzz was still there.
I have tried looking around all over the banjo, but everything seems to be tight. It sounds as if it was a metallic buzzing, but I can't find any loose pieces of metal. I took the banjo into a local luthier and he took a look at it. He spent about an hour or two checking it over and he told me he checked the nut and "cut the bridge back" a bit, but that didn't seem to help. He said it may be because of the weather, but the buzz came on so suddenly that I am doubtful of that. He said he could look at it again, but that would just mean more money (money that could be spent on a better banjo, obviously). I was wondering if anyone had some ideas about what this problem could be so that maybe I could try fixing it myself.
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Cheers!