Need advice on new instrument...

May-26-2007, 2:53pm

Hey gang. I've only been playing the mandolin for a year (I'm a keyboard player by trade). I won a gift certificate from a music store and on a lark got a Fender electric, just because my dad used to play the mandolin. After that I bought a few more student instruments so that I could experiment with alternate tunings without having to retune every time.

I've gotten to the point technically where I like playing arrangements of Bach: the Prelude from the first Cello Suite, for instance (transposed to D). My issue is that I have large hands, and a piece like the prelude makes use of incessant double and triple stops. I keep damping strings that I don't want to damp regardless of how square I play to the fingerboard.

I'm sure some some of it has to do with my technique (or lack thereof), but I'm also convinced that if I had just a millimeter more distance between the courses, I could play much more cleanly.

Here's my question: do classical mandolinists use instruments that have wider fingerboards like classical guitarists, and if so, are they readily available or do they have to be custom-made?

Any wisdom would be appreciated.

Cheers, John.

**Bob A** · May-26-2007, 3:37pm

You may not want to hear this, John, but some classical mandolins have exceedingly narrow boards. Roman-style Embergher instruments are only about 24-25mm wide at the nut (that works out to less than an inch).

This is not universal. The Neapolitan mandolins are considerably wider, though whther a couple mm equates to "considerably" is not a subject I'd care to debate.

I'm not familiar with the Fender mandolins, so I can't speak to inter-course distances. Ahem. You may have to go to a more guitar-like chording method to get the double-stops, though I've been able to play the prelude without too much difficulty in that regard. (I believe it is harder on my audiences than on my fingers, but Herr Bach is in no position to criticise).

**Jim Garber** · May-26-2007, 4:26pm

Actually Emberghers have narrower board but also have them radiussed so that may make some difference.

I know that Mid Missouri Mandolins made an instrument with wider board:

Originally Posted by

Mandolin scale length is 13 7/8 inches. Nut width is 1 1/8".
*W-Series scale length is 13 7/8 inches with a 1 1/4" nut width.

VS-Our standard mandolin with a violin scale (vs) 13" scale length
The violin scale and the W series mandolins all feature
ebony fretboards and bridges.

They are now selling as Big Muddy. That 1/8" might make a difference for you or else you may want to have a good teacher look at your technique. You may not be arching your fingers over the fretboard properly.

I know quite a few musicians with large hands and fingers who have no problems playing mandolin or violin/fiddle on standard instruments.

Jim

**Bill Snyder** · May-26-2007, 7:00pm

Some of the Breedlove mandolins have 1 3/16" nut width.

May-29-2007, 5:23pm

Thank you, gentlemen, for your help.

I'm going to look into those instruments.

**generankin** · May-30-2007, 9:05am

Originally Posted by (Zman @ May 26 2007, 15:53)

[snip]
My issue is that I have large hands, and a piece like the prelude makes use of incessant double and triple stops. I keep damping strings that I don't want to damp regardless of how square I play to the fingerboard.

I'm sure some some of it has to do with my technique (or lack thereof), but I'm also convinced that if I had just a millimeter more distance between the courses, I could play much more cleanly.

Here's my question: do classical mandolinists use instruments that have wider fingerboards like classical guitarists, and if so, are they readily available or do they have to be custom-made?

Any wisdom would be appreciated.

Not sure if this qualifies as "wisdom", but ... I play a Phoenix, which has a 30 mm nut (builder says it is just under 1 3/16"), and the fingerboard is radiused to 7 1/4". #I find that the string spacing is excellent, the strings in the paired courses being a bit closer together, so each course is a bit further apart (than on my Eastman 815), making it easier to hit the target and only the target, so to speak.

Gene Rankin