Shimming the saddle is the wrong way to go; it just puts more pressure on the top edge. The crack very likely extends under the saddle slot- the first thing to do is close it as best you can and...
Type: Posts; User: Greg Mirken
Shimming the saddle is the wrong way to go; it just puts more pressure on the top edge. The crack very likely extends under the saddle slot- the first thing to do is close it as best you can and...
If that's the original Kentucky bridge, be aware that they may not be the highest quality wood. Taking material from the base is safer than taking it off the saddle. Removing 1/16" will allow you to...
First, send that pic to the builder and get his perspective.
Second, ditch the strap with a buckle!
Greg Mirken
Jo, possibly my friend Ron Fernandez can help you.
http://www.fernandezmusic.com/
Greg Mirken
As a violiner you know that an uneven fingerboard can lead to funky notes and odd sounds. The same thing holds for uneven frets, and is not uncommon on cheap instruments. One thing that happens is...
This might be the right place, but there isn't enough information to know. Are you referring to the "zing" as you release? That's technique. Have you played other mandolins? You say "probably factory...
That's my preferred repair as well. The quick-n-dirty fix is superglue and baking soda to fill the slot, but that's temporary and as a pro, I wouldn't do it.
The inlaid material doesn't have to be...
Not enough information; not a close enough photo. Crack looks open- has it been there for a long time? Trauma involved?
Looks like the crack was stopped by the transverse brace, which is good....
The fact that the phenomenon occurs on the E strings, near the fingerboard edge, supports the loose fret theory. I check for loose fret ends by tapping a steel 6" rule on each fret end. A tight fret...
I would describe the opposite of dry tone as "muddy", not "wet". And a muddy tone [to me] would be lots of mid-range and low-mids, but lacking in highs and low overtones. Hence a dry tone would be...
Yeah, no mystery at all. As the pickguard deteriorates it releases nitric acid. Once it starts, it accelerates.
There’s not much you can do. Remove the guard before those frets are totally ruined.
...
I think Rose#1 is on to it. If it played sharp (likely), the bridge was moved toward the tailpiece, and could easily have left indentations from the feet where it was before. Your mention of the...
Jay, regarding your original question, my experience is the board won't swell back enough to make any difference. File away...
Greg Mirken
If it is like many similar tailpieces the cover will lift straight up and off the part that's attached to the bowl. [You may have to push with something from underneath] That should reveal two more...
You could make a socket from a length of hardware store brass tubing that fits over the post. Either file the end leaving two teeth to engage those notches or solder short lengths of nail to the...
John, enlarging the photo from above shows the treble end of the bridge indeed not making contact. Good catch.
And as John says, the tailpiece should be mounted so the strings track down the center...
I got an identical mandolin, Harmony Monterey, for my 13th birthday- 1962.
There’s a (good) chance the bridge is already bolted on. Are there “pearl” plastic dots on the bridge? Feel inside for hardware. If it’s bolted on just play away.
I'm always suspicious of real cheap instruments with bound fretboards, and that is about as entry-level a mandolin as you can find. I bet if you pop off the binding at the end of the "fingerboard"...
Indeed, it is a very useful fixture. Not only on mandolins, I might add. He simply means this type of damage happens too often, and often heat and humidity are factors.
The most important thing about the stiffness of wood is that it is stiff in the direction of the grain, but flexes much more easily across the grain. This makes a soundboard that resists deforming...
I have a simple test to see if a fret is loose [in this case your 13th]; I take a 6" steel rule and tap the end on the frets. Tight frets make a clear "tink", any where a fret is loose in the board...
A standard bit of kit I've found in many old banjo cases from the first half of the 20th Century is a tan art-gum eraser. That seems to have been the tool of choice for cleaning a calfskin head, and...
If fretted notes are most sharp at the low frets but get closer in-tune as you move up to the 12th fret, the culprit is the height at the nut. As you push the strings down to contact the fret you are...
Necks are not glued to metal bodied instruments. At some point the neck began to pull forward and someone smooshed some kind of glue in there. It did no good, of course. It would not be very...