New mandolin set up.

[Jon2054]

Hey all,
I should be receiving my new (first also ) mandolin today. I ordered it on amazon. I ended up choosing the Kentucky km150 for its solid top and body and the fact that it has an adjustable truss rod. I'm pretty stoked to learn to play it. I know it will require set up when I receive it , but my question is: is this something a total novice should attempt or should I go through a luthier? Secondly, if I should go to a luthier, does anybody know of a good one in northwest Washington ? ( Bellingham/ Whatcom county specifically )
Thanks for your input.
-Jon

[Jon2054]

Sorry of this is in the wrong sub forum btw.

[Mark Wilson]

Congratulations! Get ready for an all nighter or two.

If you own a digital tuner(or a good ear), I would string it and set the bridge position and height for best intonation. Its a bit of a bother first time maybe but well worth learning the basics.

Play it for a while.

Then if you decide to have it setup by a pro you will have a sense of what the setup acomplished.

I recently got my first mando, a KM-171 from amazon and all it really needed later was the nut slotted for medium strings.

You may need more or less but since you are getting it from amazon (not setup), why not try your hand at it.

[Michael Bridges]

Rob Meldrum has put together an excellent E-Book on DIY mando setup. Free to Cafe members, just email him at rob.meldrum@gmail.com. He put a good bit of trial-and-error and research into it. It'd be worth a look-see to see if it's something you want to tackle, and just learn a bit. Good luck with your new journey!

[bmac]

If you bought it mail order to get the best price I would guess it most certainly needs a set up. Yes, you probably can do it yourself...as suggested above... Another excellent souce of info on set up is frets.com. the proper cutting of the nut is also very important to getting an easy playing mando.... Often they are so awful (from the manufacturer) that they are painful to play and impossible to get good intonation.

You will need an electronic tuner to tune your mando accurately. Well worth the $12 or thereabouts. Also, if you don't have them a few sets of strings is a good idea... I would suggest mediums to start off. Lights are so small they cut my fingertips, while heavy may be a little stressful to your mando, unless recommended by the manufacturer.

Have fun

[Jon2054]

Thank you all so much for the input. I set the bridge and got it tuned.( had to slack off the strings and retune because the bridge started to tilt ) action height seems okay. We will see once I sit down to play it. I will fire off the email to get the ebook seems from reading various posts that it is a valuable resource. Thanks again. Any other tips or tricks are appreciated. Also the question re: Washington luthiers stands as I'm sure I'll need one eventually.

[bmac]

as a beginner you will be approaching any adjustments cautiously... That is good, but remember that all common adjustments are reversible... Nut adjustment is one exception, but nut material is cheap and I would suggest you have one or more nut blank in your repair parts supply... in case you over cut a nut.... But there are discussions on this adjustment as well on how to repair an overcut nut. Making these and other adjustments will give you confidence in further exploring your mandolin as you get used to it. My prime point is that mandos are built to be adjusted and unless you start whacking away at the wood with a chisel or saw you are in good shape. I wouldn't try a truss rod adjustment at this point. In fact I wouldn't fuss with it unless you are confident and comfortable with your instrument.. They seldom need adjustment at this point. ( but I suppose it is possible).

Anothr thing I found, when I started, was that for the first few months of ownership and playing I became obsessed with proper adjustment and was seeing problems which didn't actually exist. In fact my mando was perfectly adjusted.... by the seller before I received it... That is the advantage of buying from a brick and morter instrument shop. You pay a bit more but receive set up services.

[Jon2054]

Luckily the nut seems to be where it needs to be or at least so far as I can tell.
Intonation is good on all four courses at the 12th fret. Think I lucked out.
Thanks again for your advice I appreciate you taking the time to help.
-jon

Oh yeah as to tuners I'm set , and I have two sets of j74s for when I need to change strings. Cheers!

[JeffD]

I joined the thread late. Congratulations. Your in for a lot of fun.

I personally would never do my own set up. Novice especially, but just in general. If bridge or neck adjustment is involved I leave it to the pros. I just play 'em.

And when I change the strings, I remove and replace each string one at a time, so the bridge does not move. I have preserved an excellent set up that way for a long time.

[Champlin]

Hi Jon,

I'm a luthier in B'ham, and I play and work on mandolins. Feel free to contact me or drop on by most weekdays 12-4 at Make.shift Artspace, 306 Flora st, downtown. Congrats on the new mando! champlinguitars@gmail.com

[Jon2054]

Thanks will do.