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[Max White]

So I have been learning to play guitar for a bit now, practice every day, can play notes easily without a twinging sound... Except on the second fret of my G - B - E strings (That would be playing A - C^#/D^b - F^#/G^b). For some reason no matter what, these three, and only these three notes always have that horrible twinging sound that is similar to people with soft fingers playing.

Am I doing something wrong? Is this likely to be a fault in the guitar? Is this just indicative that I need new strings?  Can adjustments be made to fix this?

[Vespulan]

Well your Avatar seems to be doing a pretty good job   Anyway, my mother once influenced me to learn the guitar, which lasted for the grand total of one afternoon.  However, the first thing she told me was String mechanics (that sounds kinda like a cross between String theory and Quantum mechanics...) and it sounds like they aren't tight enough.  But if those strings are perfectly in tune, either the strings are REALLY loose, or they're on the wrong tuning knobs...  Any chance of a picture of the head of the guitar?   

[Jo]

The above poster has the right of it.

Also what gage are your strings? I recommend starting with a VERY light gage. Maybe some say a heavier gage gives a better sound and teaches better mechanics, but at the beginner stage I think good progress is more important. It keeps you motivated.

There may be something amiss with that fret as well. Perhaps a warping. Look crosswise across the fret and see if anything looks awry. Also if you are still in school almost all music teachers have a good idea of how guitars work.

[Max White]

I'm not sure what gauge they are, but here is the head.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm under the impression that is about right.

As for tuning, I'm pretty confident it is correctly tuned as the guitar comes with a built in tuner that recognizes the note and tries to guess what string you are playing, so it should be pretty good, although I could tighten the entire thing a little and just play a bit higher than normal. I mean it will be 'out of tune' but as long as everything fits it tends to still sound good.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Pause for the old hats to laugh at my dependence on gadgets.

There doesn't appear to be any warping on that fret, and I'm no longer in school.

[Blargityblarg]

It is possible it's a technique issue and that it's just a weird coincidence/ consequence of how your hands position themselves. Are you holding the string down on the fret, or slightly above the fret?

[Max White]

Just above. I don't really have this issue with any other frets, and I have tried pushing down in just about every possible way, with about as much force as I can muster...

Actually while we have a guitar thread, I also place my thumb on the back of the neck, parallel to it, kind of like giving a thumbs up. Is this acceptable?

[Jo]

That's a basic question you know the answer to just by googling...it's fine.

As to the original question. If you are having fuzz on the first fret there is a problem mechanically with the guitar. That fret is too low compared to where the string goes into the head.

[Blargityblarg]

Having your thumb like that is alright, but the 'optimal' way I was taught was thumb perpendicular to guitar neck, with a sort of sock-puppet hand shape.

[Inarius]

I think, like the other people before, that there are two options :

- Either your fret is worn and then the string is too low when played.
The pro- : what you describe looks like a lot an used fret.
The con- : it's very weird then that the other strings (respectively E/B/F#, here) don't do the same. Or it means the fret is worn asymmetrically. Perhaps some maniac of a A major tone...

A simple test : look very carefuly at the regularity of your fret

More generally, a folk guitar is generally quite bad, compared to a classical one (wood quality, heigth of the string, etc.). And classical guitar strings are much softer, which allows you to play with your fingers without bleeding.

- Either your hand is not in position.

A simple test : try to play a C# (for example) with different fingers. Or try to play each not, tone after tone, all over the 3 different strings, just by moving your left hand. If the noise is still here...then it's probably your guitar.

[Vactor]

The sound you're talking about is the sound of a vibrating string hitting against a fret.  This could be the fret you're trying to hold the string against, or it could be a fret further down the neck if the string height isn't high enough.  Try pressing down on the second fret, and see if the string is dangerously close to the 3rd fret.  If your neck is too bowed, or if the 2nd fret is worn too low it might cause the string to hit against the third fret while it vibrates. 

Depending on the guitar there may be a way to adjust the neck's bow (but also decrease string action)  I know my taylor has a nut inside the body of the guitar at the end of the neck that can be turned to adjust the neck's bow.