Lowering action at the nut

[vkioulaphides]

Before anything else, a candid disclaimer: I only play mandolins; I claim no knowledge of anything else.

Soooooo... with that in mind: I have an inexpensive, modern instrument whose action is quite amenable, vis-a-vis the height of the bridge; curiously, however (or perhaps simply because it is an inexpensive instrument), it feels awfully stiff in the first couple of frets, as if the nut is too high.

Hypothetically, then... can the action at the nut be lowered (again, by a reputable repairperson, not by myself), without throwing the intonation all out of whack, or any other catastrophic consequences?

I'd like to know...

Cheers,

Victor

[Folkmusician.com]

Hi Victor,

Most low priced mandolins do come from the factory with a nut that is way too high. Depending on where you buy them, the dealer may or may not correct this before selling the mandolin. In your case it sounds like they did not.

This is standard setup work that most any luthier should be able to help with. It will change your intonation (which the luthier can also fix), and it if safe to assume that if the nut is too high, there may be other issues as well. The more setup work required, the more benefit to having it done by someone familiar with the mandolin.

Most mandolins can be made to play great, it is just a question of whether or not they are worth the cost of an extensive setup.

[Gail Hester]

Hypothetically, then... can the action at the nut be lowered (again, by a reputable repairperson, not by myself), without throwing the intonation all out of whack, or any other catastrophic consequences?

More than hypothetically the action at the nut can be lowered to the correct height and should, by a luthier with mandolin experience. Mandolin nut adjustment is tricky and I believe I quote Rick Turner, “you are thousands of an inch from disaster.” I agree with that statement. Now disaster can be a relative term as the worst case would be replacing and recutting the nut. As far as the intonation changing, sometimes yes sometimes no but your luthier will check that after making any setup adjustments. Sometimes lowereing the action at the nut will require the action to be raised at the bridge and that will usually require a tweak of the bridge position to achieve correct intonation.

Robert, we posted at the same time or I would have let your good advice stand on its own.

[Rick Turner]

Gail has my philosophy on that correct, but I also find that correcting the action at the nut has a positive effect that you can feel all the way up the neck.

Basically, the action at the first fret should feel as it would if you put a capo on at the first fret and played at the second fret...maybe a couple of thousandths higher to allow for a bit of wear.

Another way to gauge it is to press down the strings between the second and third frets and look for a piece of printer paper's thickness of air between string bottom and first fret.

[Folkmusician.com]

Robert, we posted at the same time or I would have let your good advice stand on its own.

It is usually me that is a few minutes behind someone else. I have been practicing my touch typing lately. Must be paying off! hehe

[jim simpson]

I recall making a replacement pearl nut, was very pleased with my result, then filing to deep and being bummed. I put it aside and made another. I think I paid $10 a blank at the time so not too expensive, the time and effort was the learning curve. These days I'll file a little, check, then file a little more. I've found it's not a job to rush. I will tolerate higher action up the neck but not at the nut.

[Jim DeSalvio]

The action at the nut can make a world of difference in playability. Everything I have purchased from The Mandolin Store has arrived with perfect action at the nut.

[Willie Poole]

I have a flat piece of steel that is about 1/32 of an inch thick that I lay on the frets and push it up against the nut and mark the nut at the top of that piece of steel and then file the slots down to that mark, the mandolins note correctly at each fret and play very easy all the way up the fret board...This seems like a common sense problem to solve.....Willie

[Rick Turner]

If you're marking the top of that 1/32" thick piece of material with the bottom resting securely on the frets, then your action at the nut will be almost 1/32" too high.

Try the capo trick and see how your mando feels.

[pops1]

I like the height above the 1st fret no higher and even a minuscule lower than the height a the second fret with the first fret fretted. If it wears slightly, it is usually alright as the vibration is less that close to the nut. I don't play hard and like a very low action. If i want to get on it a little and play harder is shouldn't buzz, but play like butter.