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Thread: Finally got it playable

  1. #1
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Finally got it playable

    sort of ...
    After months as a wall hanger I decided to have a look at the bridge. The top, that is the saddles, was just flat all across. It has never been sculpted at all. I have no tools so I went at it with a nail file, to at least get some saddles there. I measured the distance from zero fret to 12th and positioned the bridge in the right position. It was still out and there was buzzing. I lifted the bridge top with the little screws and voila! It now plays in tune and is reasonably in tune at the 12th. However it does go a little sharp when fretted, which is weird. There's nothing else I can do with it, and it only cost me £60 new, so its not worth hiring a pro. If I had a couple of hundred spare I'd just replace it with a better one, but it is what it is.


    https://youtube.com/shorts/VTrhChYrp0k?feature=share
    Stupid youtube has this thing now called Shorts, so short videos only show as a link!

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CNXeSyZg...=10neb9evqm01x


    https://www.instagram.com/p/CNXgBgtg...=1ij54hv3iym8o
    Last edited by Minorkey; Apr-07-2021 at 1:46pm.

  2. #2
    Dave Sheets
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    If it goes sharp when fretted, the strings may be too far off the fretboard at the nut. Pushing the string down to the frets can stretch the strings, making it play sharp.
    -Dave
    Flatiron A
    Way too many other instruments

  3. #3
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sheets View Post
    If it goes sharp when fretted, the strings may be too far off the fretboard at the nut. Pushing the string down to the frets can stretch the strings, making it play sharp.
    The thing is the action is very low there. Its just a piece of cheap crap I should have walked away from...

  4. #4
    Dave Sheets
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Well, think of it as practice on setup work
    -Dave
    Flatiron A
    Way too many other instruments

  5. #5
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sheets View Post
    Well, think of it as practice on setup work
    Without any tools it is not good practice

  6. #6

    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    [QUOTE=Minorkey;1818496]sort of ...It now plays in tune and is reasonably in tune at the 12th...

    It's time to just enjoy it for what it is and use it to learn more about the mandolin. It won't be your last one and there's still so much to learn.
    You may come across the tools to make this one better and eventually find the funds to replace this with one much better. Enjoy the trip.

    Len B.
    Clearwater, FL

  7. #7
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    [QUOTE=lenf12;1818902]
    Quote Originally Posted by Minorkey View Post
    sort of ...It now plays in tune and is reasonably in tune at the 12th...

    It's time to just enjoy it for what it is and use it to learn more about the mandolin. It won't be your last one and there's still so much to learn.
    You may come across the tools to make this one better and eventually find the funds to replace this with one much better. Enjoy the trip.

    Len B.
    Clearwater, FL
    Actually, it probably will be my last one. I can't afford to buy another and I've plenty of guitars and ukukeles to play on. Chords on guitar are a breeze compared to mandolin.
    Mandolin sounds nice, in the right hands.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Move the bridge so it is more than reasonably in tune at the 12th fret, but in tune at the 12th fret and see if it still plays sharp.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  9. #9
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    Move the bridge so it is more than reasonably in tune at the 12th fret, but in tune at the 12th fret and see if it still plays sharp.
    Yea I did do, but unfortunately it has a zero fret so I had to measure from that, so the bridge is set back further than it would be on a regular mandolin

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Measurement only gets you close. Play the note open and then fretted at the 12th fret. If the fretted note is sharp move the bridge back, flat, move it toward the headstock. Do this for the E and G strings until both are in tune, open and fretted. See if that helps.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  11. #11
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    Measurement only gets you close. Play the note open and then fretted at the 12th fret. If the fretted note is sharp move the bridge back, flat, move it toward the headstock. Do this for the E and G strings until both are in tune, open and fretted. See if that helps.
    Yes I did all that, hence me saying I got it playable. It is in tume at the 12th (I know a bit about instrument set up)
    But its still frets sharp lower down, which is weird, even though the nut is not high.

  12. #12
    Confused... or?
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by Minorkey View Post
    ... still frets sharp lower down, which is weird, even though the nut is not high.
    Two possibilities that are correctable:

    1- Worn or super-cheap strings, so that mass and/or elasticity are not consistent along the length.
    2- Worn frets w/ grooves, most common in 1st position. Pushing further down to fret is effectively similar to a too-high nut. Plus, the takeoff point may have moved forward from the fret's center.

    Even if neither one is real bad, the combination might still be noticeable.

    A non-(easily)-correctable possibility is that frets are misplaced, but that would be unusual for even an "economy" modern instrument.
    - Ed

    "Then one day we weren't as young as before
    Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
    But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
    I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
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  13. #13
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by EdHanrahan View Post
    Two possibilities that are correctable:

    1- Worn or super-cheap strings, so that mass and/or elasticity are not consistent along the length.
    2- Worn frets w/ grooves, most common in 1st position. Pushing further down to fret is effectively similar to a too-high nut. Plus, the takeoff point may have moved forward from the fret's center.

    Even if neither one is real bad, the combination might still be noticeable.

    A non-(easily)-correctable possibility is that frets are misplaced, but that would be unusual for even an "economy" modern instrument.
    Neither of those are an option. It was a new mandolin, with new strings. Its just a cheap, badly made piece of crap. An ornament

  14. #14
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    The nut may be too close to the first fret. If that is the case a shim between the nut and fingerboard would correct this. I had to do this for a couple of '22 Gibsons. It would take a measurement to find out.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  15. #15
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    This is actually very common. The nut slots need to be filed so they angle downward toward the tuning pegs. This makes for a clean break at the edge of the nut. Also, replace the strings. The strings that come with cheap mandolins are garbage. Email me for my free ebook on how to set up a mandolin, including how to make nut files for less than ten dollars. Email rob.meldrum@gmail.com and put Mandolin Setup in the subject line.

  16. #16
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    The OP said it has a zero fret.

  17. #17
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Meldrum View Post
    This is actually very common. The nut slots need to be filed so they angle downward toward the tuning pegs. This makes for a clean break at the edge of the nut. Also, replace the strings. The strings that come with cheap mandolins are garbage. Email me for my free ebook on how to set up a mandolin, including how to make nut files for less than ten dollars. Email rob.meldrum@gmail.com and put Mandolin Setup in the subject line.
    When I bought it the guy in the shop was tuning it up and a high e string snapped. So he went and got a new set and tuned them up. I got it home and after a while I noticed it had serious intonation problems. So I tried to move the bridge as per instructions I found online. Tuned it up and boung, the high e snapped. This was quite a few years ago and I should have realised when I bought it that it is junk
    Should have walked away.
    To be honest I've given up with it now. Got no money or inclination to mess with it any further, its a wall hanger.
    I'm sticking to ukulele...

  18. #18

    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by Minorkey View Post
    To be honest I've given up with it now. Got no money or inclination to mess with it any further, its a wall hanger.
    I'm sticking to ukulele...
    Absolutely nothing wrong with a mandolin-shaped object being relegated to wall-hanger status. They are fun to look at! Playability is not always the goal, IMHO.

    OTOH, I'm not sure ukulele would do it for me. Maybe a slightly better mandolin is in order?

  19. #19
    Deacon M100A Minorkey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Finally got it playable

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    Absolutely nothing wrong with a mandolin-shaped object being relegated to wall-hanger status. They are fun to look at! Playability is not always the goal, IMHO.

    OTOH, I'm not sure ukulele would do it for me. Maybe a slightly better mandolin is in order?
    Got no money for a good mando. They're not cheap. The chords are weird anyway...

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