I made my mandolin sound better!

[Cue Zephyr]

Howdy folks,

I just wanted to share my happiness with y'all.
I couldn't remember my Kentucky KM-550 sounding as good as it does.

Well how?

I just played it, a whole dang lot. Think of hours a day, since 1.5 months ago.

I must add that I've played it quite hard as well, I think that helped a fair bit.

So remember, you don't always have to spend money on your mandolin to make it sound better, sometimes you only need to spend time on it!
:mandosmiley:

Happy playing.
CZ

[roysboy]

Howdy folks,

I just wanted to share my happiness with y'all.
I couldn't remember my Kentucky KM-550 sounding as good as it does.

Well how?

I just played it, a whole dang lot. Think of hours a day, since 1.5 months ago.

I must add that I've played it quite hard as well, I think that helped a fair bit.

So remember, you don't always have to spend money on your mandolin to make it sound better, sometimes you only need to spend time on it!
:mandosmiley:

Happy playing.
CZ

Hi ...may want to check out this thread . Real interesting stuff...cheers

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?96946-Opening-up-and-breaking-in

[allenhopkins]

I made my mandolin much more pleasing to everyone who shares my living space (you know who you are, Joan).

I didn't play it for three days. Amazing how the eye-rolling subsided...

[Roseweave]

You probably broke in the strings...

[Cue Zephyr]

Hi ...may want to check out this thread . Real interesting stuff...cheers

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?96946-Opening-up-and-breaking-in

I was aware of something like that going on, but interesting read nonetheless, cheers!

I didn't expect results this soon though, I haven't really played it hard or much in the three years that I've owned it.


You probably broke in the strings...

Those strings are pretty old, they're discoloring and the wound strings are somewhat dull. The plains have turned somewhat 'grippy', i.e. there's some oxidation on it.

But the thing sings like I haven't heard before! :)

[Steve Zawacki]

I made my mandolin much more pleasing to everyone who shares my living space (you know who you are, Joan).

I didn't play it for three days. Amazing how the eye-rolling subsided...

Why do I doubt that???

[Tobin]

Those strings are pretty old, they're discoloring and the wound strings are somewhat dull. The plains have turned somewhat 'grippy', i.e. there's some oxidation on it.

But the thing sings like I haven't heard before! :)

I get the same thing. New strings sound awful to me, as they're too bright and metallic and ringy. Once they start to get played in and the plain strings start to turn dark, they really mellow out and develop a wonderful tone. It's unfortunate that the sound improves as the playability gets worse (i.e. slides get harder on rough strings).

What I sometimes do is slip some aluminum foil under the strings, to cover the fretboard. Then I take a small wad of Nevr-Dull and rub it gently over the plain strings where they've gotten 'grippy'. Cleaning the undersides of the strings is important too. Once they've brightened up again and are smooth, I wipe them with a paper towel to get the residue of the polish off, then remove the aluminum foil. The strings feel like new again, but without the awful sound of new strings. It's a good way to extend the life of strings that have turned rough and dark.

If you've played your mandolin in for 1.5 months, you're getting into the good part of the opening up period. You'll notice even more improvement over the coming months, as long as you keep playing it as much as possible! It's like a self-rewarding phenomenon.

[bmac]

I bought a brand new mandolin as my first.... It is amazing how, after playing it three hours per day for a year, how much better it sounded than it did when I didn't know how to play it...

Will this magic never cease?

[Eric Michael Pfeiffer]

I bought a brand new mandolin as my first.... It is amazing how, after playing it three hours per day for a year, how much better it sounded than it did when I didn't know how to play it...

Will this magic never cease?

Ok, well how do you explain how many folks after playing a mandolin three hours a day for a year, it sounds much better than it did when they first bought it, even though they haven't improved in their playing much at all? It's the truth...I've read some comments from folks that have said just that, and even heard folks tell me personally....
It's a change in the actual acoustics of the instrument, how I dunno......but it does happen...

[onassis]

Are you really implying that the average person could play 3 hours a day for a year and not improve as a player?

[Eric Michael Pfeiffer]

Are you really implying that the average person could play 3 hours a day for a year and not improve as a player?
No ...but I've actually heard this before from some people who said they really hadn't improved much in their playing over a long extended period of time, yet they still noticed subtle improvements and changes in the mandolins tone and volume

[OldSausage]

The thing is, Eric, can a person really seriously give you an impartial comparison of a sound they heard coming from their mandolin a year ago, and one they are hearing now? I can take my mandolin into a different room, and it sounds different. It sounds different in the morning when my ears are fresh, and different in the evening when my ears are dull. It sounds different depending on how I feel about my playing, or which recordings I've been listening to, and it sounds very different depending on the exact angle I strike it with the pick, or where on the string the pick strikes. It sounds different when I'm happy, or when I'm angry, or when I'm bored or frustrated. It sounds different when my sinuses are blocked. My ears even work differently to how they did a few years ago, some of the highs get rolled off with the years, which is a well-documented phenomenon.

So that is why I find it so hard to accept at face value anecdotes of people who say their mandolin's sound has changed in subtle ways over extended periods of time. I have no doubt that they honestly experience and believe what they are saying. And it may be true, but equally it may not be.

[ccravens]

The thing is, Eric, can a person really seriously give you an impartial comparison of a sound they heard coming from their mandolin a year ago, and one they are hearing now? I can take my mandolin into a different room, and it sounds different. It sounds different in the morning when my ears are fresh, and different in the evening when my ears are dull. It sounds different depending on how I feel about my playing, or which recordings I've been listening to, and it sounds very different depending on the exact angle I strike it with the pick, or where on the string the pick strikes. It sounds different when I'm happy, or when I'm angry, or when I'm bored or frustrated. It sounds different when my sinuses are blocked. My ears even work differently to how they did a few years ago, some of the highs get rolled off with the years, which is a well-documented phenomenon.




Agree with all, and add to that list relative humidity at the time...

[Ken Olmstead]

Wow, and again...

I'm in the camp of vibrations over time allow the instrument to resonate more sympathetically. However, what does it really matter? The end result is that over time, with the playing of the instrument, your music will sound better. You win!

Cue, congrats on the mando bondage! Nothing quite like it is there?

[Eric Michael Pfeiffer]

Well I understand that...I know I'm never going to convince everyone, nor am I trying. I also understand some subtle temporary changes due to weather humidity, lack of here and there from time to time.....what I'm talking about is a consistent change in the actual tonal character of the instrument, including volume. Some mandolins more so than others. Every mandolin I've ever owned I've noticed this kind of change over time. My current mandolin is already beginning to change slightly in the month and a half I've had it. I can definately hear a change in the mids and highs. There is more sustain, there also has been a slight deepening of the tone and I've noticed some change with the volume as well...and I suspect it will continue.

[roysboy]

Agree with all, and add to that list relative humidity at the time...


One suggestion , as I've noted in an earlier reply , would be to record your mandolin when fairly new , if possible , and again some time later under exactly the same recording circumstances (same mandolin with NO upgrades , same string gauge and approx wear, same mic , room , pick , recording software /plugins , same song etc... ) . I recently did this over a six month period and the the change in the tone was very obviously noteable . However I think you need to do this for yourself with your own instrument to determine and /or accept that there were , in fact , tonal changes. Perhaps some instruments don't experience this 'opening up' to the same degree as others may. Perhaps some are as 'opened up ' upon purchase as they will ever be . However I've convinced my self with two different mandolin brands that , in fact, the tonal changes DO take place over time if the instrument is played regularly . For me , 'regularly' was around an hour daily on average by way of practicing , jamming , gigs and recording .

[Willie Poole]

So much for the hype of a mandolin "Opening up", I once bought an Asian mandolin that sounded great right out of the box and after about two years it just didn`t sound worth a hoot so I gave it away, yeas gave it away, I know that may not be the case with all mandolins but do we really hear them the same all of the time? I don`t think so, Old Sausage is right on the money with his explanation....I did a test a few years ago and recorded four different tapes with the same mandolin and aksed some friends with sounded the best, I got all kinds of answers and they were all the same mandolin playing the same song with the same pick within an hour and in the same room and no adjustments to anything, It`s all in our head as to what we want to hear...

I also know that not all will agree with this but try it yourself and see what answers you get...

Willie

[bmac]

I think that what makes this discussion a little silly is that although the instrument may or may not change over a year or so after purchase what will undoubtedly change is your memory, your hearing, your skill, and your knowledge. You will hear things you never heard before, see things you were unaware of on the mando, sense its strengths and weaknesses through experience. To attribute these observations to a physical change in the nature of the wood is stretching a point to the realm of unbelievability.

I also find it interesting that I have read about the instrument improving over a year or two of playing... I have never heard folks say that their instrument is majicly sounding worse over this period of use... yet it seems to me that it is as likely to get worse as it is likely to get better.

[Timbofood]

Glad you feel like your mandolin sounds better! Back in the day, I tried everything, monstrously heavy strings to drive the top, mother of boiler plate picks, handmade by me, of course! I finally put an ebony two footed bridge on, there were no tone guards, armrests or any of that kind of thing then. After using all that stuff for probably three years, I went back to stock strings, far more reasonable picks, a lot less work to maintain than the custom strings or making picks!
All of this is subject to how it all makes you feel about your instrument. I don't like strings to be grabby, I used to rust through strings in no time, now when they get funky...out they go, a couple of hours and the "new" is burned off a new set for me so the irritation of new strings has never been much of an issue. Changed a day before a gig and tune them up, settle in over night, recheck before the show only minor adjustments through the evening.

[mrmando]

I made my banjo sound better. Traded it in on a mandolin.

[Elliot Luber]

Warming your instrument up makes a real difference too. A known player once showed me this with my own mandolin after I was skeptical. He played my mandolin (much better than I could) and then he played, I think it was a G chord, really hard and really loud, repeatedly. Then he played the same thing again on my mandolin and it was louder and more defined in sound than it was the first time. He was already warmed up from hours of practice, but my mandolin was right from the case after a car ride.

[roysboy]

Warming your instrument up makes a real difference too. A known player once showed me this with my own mandolin after I was skeptical. He played my mandolin (much better than I could) and then he played, I think it was a G chord, really hard and really loud, repeatedly. Then he played the same thing again on my mandolin and it was louder and more defined in sound than it was the first time. He was already warmed up from hours of practice, but my mandolin was right from the case after a car ride.

Yeah ...this phenomenon was an early revelation to me . Now I just accept that if I haven't played the mandolin yet on a given day, it will need to 'wake up' before it hits is tonal stride , so to speak . Granted ....I realize that so too will my ears need to 'wake up'.... but I'm convinced after several mandolins now , that your observation has merit .