Meow tones

[Carl Robin]

My new mandola, no-name from Taiwan, is a lot of fun to play. New strings, and a different bridge were required right off the bat. The CGDA tuning is an education to navigate, and adapt to playing things in their regular key. The instrument produces pleasant, shimmering, twangy, sitar-like tones from the A strings. It sounds like it could be a resonance from the body of the instrument, like “wolf tones”, but it's at a higher frequency, and doesn't really sound like the “wolf tones” examples on you-tube. I decided to dub them “meow tones”, to ask if anyone has some insight on this, and perhaps the proper term for it.

[NotMelloCello]

The cheapest thing to change would be the strings.
After that, have a luthier look at the nut. If the slots aren't slanted down properly it could make sitar noises.

[Bertram Henze]

Nut or saddle slots - does that happen with fretted notes? => saddle. Open strings only? => nut slots or nut slots too deep (strings banging on 1st fret).

[Carl Robin]

Yes, it happens with some fretted notes too, and is noticeable when the bottom A string is plucked horizontally, meaning in the same plane as the top of the instrument. If the string is plucked vertically, no meow tone. I am not unhappy with the sound, it's pleasing and distinctive, though subtle, at least to my ears. The notes are in tune, and it is not the sound of frets buzzing. So, there is no need to change strings, or try to get rid of it. I was just wondering about it, and if this sound has a name.

[EdHanrahan]

... happens with some fretted notes too, and is noticeable when the bottom A string is plucked horizontally, meaning in the same plane as the top of the instrument. If the string is plucked vertically, no meow tone.

Does it get worse when you pick toward the center of the strings' length (more fundamental & fewer overtones; string swings in a single wide arc) and go away when you pick closer to the bridge (less fundamental & more overtones; string swings in many small arcs, approaching a straight line)? That could mean that the strings are vibrating into each other, inducing some non-standard overtones. But hey, they do it in tune!

[Tavy]

What's the break angle over the bridge? You say: "noticeable when the bottom A string is plucked horizontally, meaning in the same plane as the top of the instrument. If the string is plucked vertically, no meow tone." which suggests a bridge issue. Fine tuning the slots may help, but on some of these cheap imports the bridge break angle is so low, that the instrument always sounds "stringy" - a sort of rubber-band like tone especially when pushed hard.

[Carl Robin]

The break angle is about 8°. You are right about the "rubber-band like tone" on the CG and D strings. I would have described it as though the body of the mandola was made of cork. I'm pretty sure the A strings are not vibrating into each other. The meow tone occurs when the pick is used in the normal position. Regarding the bridge, it's the one I made out of black-walnut wood for my old Romanian-made mandola. It also had a very low "break angle" and I worked, and worked to get it so that I could play it, but it was never fun to play, due to the hard action. Doing more would have been counter-productive. So, I put the original bridge back onto it, and sold it cheap to someone who knew exactly what they were getting. The home-made bridge was coincidentally just slightly lower than the one that came on the feline mandola, and installing it made the action comfortable to play, without buzzing, and with this intermittent magical shimmering sound from the A string. The bridge must be the origin of the meow tone.

[NotMelloCello]

It occurred to me it might be a loose brace under the top.... but I have little idea of how you would brace a mandola of that style.

[Tavy]

The break angle is about 8°. You are right about the "rubber-band like tone" on the CG and D strings. I would have described it as though the body of the mandola was made of cork. I'm pretty sure the A strings are not vibrating into each other. The meow tone occurs when the pick is used in the normal position. Regarding the bridge, it's the one I made out of black-walnut wood for my old Romanian-made mandola. It also had a very low "break angle" and I worked, and worked to get it so that I could play it, but it was never fun to play, due to the hard action. Doing more would have been counter-productive. So, I put the original bridge back onto it, and sold it cheap to someone who knew exactly what they were getting. The home-made bridge was coincidentally just slightly lower than the one that came on the feline mandola, and installing it made the action comfortable to play, without buzzing, and with this intermittent magical shimmering sound from the A string. The bridge must be the origin of the meow tone.

I think your right, but the break angle looks fine. I would suggest trying to fine tune the slots, odd sounds like that are typically caused by the strings wiggling about on the surface of a bridge/nut/fret, so make sure they're ramped back towards the tailpiece so the strings make firm contact with the front edge of the bridge. HTH John.

[sgrexa]

Check for any loose fitting tuner parts and remove the tailpiece cover just to eliminate those possibilities. I have seen these annoying buzzes come from unlikely sources, just about anything that can come loose can sometimes be the culprit. Good luck!

Sean

[Carl Robin]

Thanks everyone for the good advice. Before I fixed the twang-gy A string, I wanted to record an example of the sound. My first you-tube video. It ain't perfect, but for your listening pleasure: The Old Grey Cat