Re: How to make top E less bright?
First off - what brand & gauges of string are you using ?. As a few previous posts suggest,thinner string gauges can sound a bit thin & tinny. I've played a couple of Kristufek mandolins & they were anything but bright on the E strings (or on any other string). Let's assume that you're using a string that's possibly the widest used string on the market,D'Addario J74's or similar - which,on a Kristufek,i'd say were the correct gauges for a Bluegrass orientated mandolin. I'll assume also that your action is where you want it to be ?. One thing that some folk have a problem with is 'lack of brightness / volume' on the E strings,usually because the action is 'too low'. Just check the height of the E strings at the 12th fret & make sure they're not a bit too high (which i doubt). Another thing that you could do,is to slacken off the E strings,lift them out of the bridge slots & polish the slots using a piece writing paper folded once to give a 'rounded' edge. Sometimes if a bridge or nut slot is a bit tight,the string can get a bit 'pinched' & it can effect the way the string vibrates in the slot. You can do the same to the nut slots as well. The paper won't remove any material,simply give a smooth surface to the slots.
If that doesn't work,then try a different brand of string of a similar gauge - or have you already done this ?. If this problem persists,then a trip to a decent luthier might be on the cards. Those guys are usually very experienced in all sorts of niggling faults
& could put things right sooner, rather than after lots of trials & errors,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
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