How to SET-UP a Mandolin in 5 Steps
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- If you're looking to set-up a mandolin at home for the first time, this video is for you. Here are 5 steps to get your mandolin playing and sounding like a dream!
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Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:54 - Step 1: Fitting the Bridge:
4:04 - Step 2: Intonating the Bridge:
7:53 - Step 3: Adjusting the Action:
10:55 - Step 4: Adjusting the Truss Rod:
14:42 - Step 5: Fixing the Buzz:
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My name is David, and I play the mandolin. I've played with multiple award-winning bluegrass bands across the world including Missy Raines, Mile Twelve, Cup O’Joe, and The Foreign Landers, and I curate the weekly mandolin video series #mandolinmondays hosted by the Mandolin Cafe. But most of all, I love sharing my love of the mandolin with others. I run an online mandolin learning community on Patreon, and I also make videos to share my thoughts, ideas, and general mandolin enthusiasm with other mando aficionados. Find out more at the links below:
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My friend I consider this video a straight seminar,thanks.
First thing I do with a tail piece, is take the cover off & take a pair of needle nose pliers & bend it outward at a slight angle so that it can't contact the strings, then I cut a piece of felt so that it fits the inside of the cover so the strings can't rattle against it, & if there's no felt between the strings & the bottom of the tail piece, I cut a small piece of felt for there too... that's how I fix rattling tail pieces...
I was having an intonation problem with my mandolin, and after following the steps in this video it has never sounded better. You, David Benedict, are a genius. Thank you so much.
I just bought a 2006 Gibson F9. As soon as I picked it up, I knew that it had to be mine.
It does need a setup because it nut needs to be repositioned, and the action is high.
It still sounds amazing, and it gives me chills.
Never played a Mandolin before but my wife has decided to play. I plat the guitar, going to be so much fun having her play with me. Thank you for the information and easy to understand. Awesome
Mainly a guitar player but recently took my Gretsch A/E mandolin out of it's case after not playing it for years and have been playing it more over the last few weeks than I have played guitar; everything was so out of whack. This video came at the perfect time! Thanks for sharing David!
As a lifetime wind instrument player, about to dive into mandolin and probably octave mandolin, I love this. I actually have to do the hardest thing - trust someone else to do the set up for me. Having no mechanical empathy, I really hope I do get someone who does a good job. But at least now I have the slightest idea what's going on and where any remaining problems may be.
Thanks !
Just got a mandolin yesterday I found you channel. Really really helpful stuff - I didn't know the bridge isn't attached to the body at all and I can just set the intonation by moving it. Thanks!!
Your instruction and support are always appreciated, David Benedict! Dan in Riverside, CA
Hey David, I joined your Patreon this month and I'm so glad I did. Thank you so much for all of your information. I've had lightbulb moments all over the place thanks to vids like this.😅
Excellent presentation thank you!
Hey, after losening a trus rod, just like when tuning, finish by tightening up to finish adjustment.
Thanks for you content!
Just wanted to say that this was of great help, thanks!
I got one of those The Loar mandos a while back and though I really liked the sound it made and the overall design and finish, it had some horrible buzzing on the open D and on the 6th fret of the G string.
Since I noticed that the strings were a tad too close on the top frets (and I don't have a luthier anywhere near me) I was about to remove the strings and try to sand down on the frets during the weekend when I saw your video.
I just angled the bridge a bit towards the tailpiece which I think fixed the open D (I suspect it also might've re-set the string), and loosened up the truss rod by a quarter turn which fixed the 6th fret on the G string, and now this mando sounds excellent on all the fingerboard, and with no disassembly required.
Really appreciate that you shared this bit of know-how. Cheers!
Excellent tips especially referring to Jerry Rosa channel for advanced mandolin setup problems or when you need to see a luthier for help.😊
Great video! Thank you.
I've found the floating bridge to be much easier to adjust than a guitar's fixed bridge, especially if the guitar has really cheap hardware. but a mandolin bridge is just a little piece of wood and even an inexpensive one does a good job.
Looking at getting a mandolin for my 10 year old son's first stringed instrument. I've played guitar for many years and do my own setups there, but was wanting to know the specifics of setting up a mandolin. This was very helpful and very well done. I really appreciated that you used that Ibanez because that's one we're considering. Thank you!
Excellent!!!
Excellent video. Really great pacing and clear explanations. Love your content.
Probably time to give my octave mandolin a little TLC and adjust it. That will be a little different since it's a single bridge that doesn't adjust up and down.
Thank you sir....helped me a lot!!
Just started mandolin… have enjoyed an overview of your wonderful content. Will watch it all.🙌. I’m ‘bricking’ it..( Uk colloquial term for F scared! 😂) setting up my mandolin with sandpaper ! 😂 Cheers .
This came right on time. My new Kentucky KM850 suddenly developed a buzz when playing just one of the A strings open 😮💨
Very useful, grazie.
Thanks for the advice! I bought a Kentucky KM 150 a couple years ago but haven't got around to playing it yet. Looking forward to finally play something on it.
You didn't actually need it. You wanted it.😅
Grazie.
Intonation is the last thing you should do' string height/nut and truss rod, all affects the intonation.
Thank you, I feel like he did it all backwards lol
Just leaving a comment for support
Excellent video as always, David! I ordered a recording king dirty 30’s mandolin off Reverb to be a beater to bring to work and the setup is horrible. I’m actually excited to learn by going through all these steps bc I wouldn’t want to do it on my nicer Eastman.
Thanks, David. This is helpful! Where can I find the neck support tripod?
I’ve already done steps 1 and 2 following Gerry Rosa’s way. He suggests sanding across the mandolin as the curvature changes over the f hole distance going up and down the body.
When you sand the bridge mark the feet with white pencil, that'll tell you where the sandpaper is hitting
I wish I had found this a few months ago. Now I need to take my strings off and sand my bridge dang it 😅
David- I would simply bend the bracket upward on that cheap mandolin until there is no more contact with the top. Great video, though! Cheers, David.
What’s the bracket? The tail piece?
for intonation, how many cents is close enough to leave it? my mandolin is about 10 cents sharp, and i want to get in tune enough to record with
I have some buzzing towards the bottem of the fretboard would that require a tightening
Heya! Great video! I had a question about what you meant by "the bridge should lean back". Back how? leaning toward the neck? or away from the neck? Thank you!
Ever so slightly away from the neck.
@@paulshell1729 radical. Thank you friend!
Any tips on setting up a bowlback mandolin?
Those are trickier because of the one piece bridge, I would bring it to a luthier since it involves sanding the bridge to set action. You'll also very likely need fret leveling but on a mando that shouldn't be too dear
If you set up a mando with a flat neck and low action, can you gain some tone back by increasing string gauges?
Absolutely
for the recond, DON'T use scissors when cutting sandpaper - use a disposable box cutter blade to cut it, otherwise you're gonna need to pay to have your scissors sharpened.
Jeez, sorting the bridge looks like a nightmare! Why can't the manufactures do this before they leave the factory? 😡
It all depends on the price range you're working with. A mass-produced ~$100 Mando isn't going to have that level of attention given to it in the factory.
….don’t buy cheap. Bought an Ortega, and as a wood carver it’s not bad. But if the nut is plastic. You’ll have problems.
you got step 2 and step 3 out of order - if you change the action in step 3, your intonation will be out, and you must repeat step 2.
So the phrase “Don’t Harsh my Buzz” doesn’t come from mandolin players? 😂
Wait a minute… y’all have to do more maintenance to an instrument after it comes out of the factory?? all you should have to do is properly tune the strings…
most people arent lucky enough to be able to afford instruments of the kind of quality which you prefer. you sound snobby
In a perfect world you wouldn't need to, but many factories don't bother, and the ones that come adjusted from the factory still typically need work due to environmental changes. Things like humidity and temperature will affect neck relief and action
Even if you DON'T have a boutique mandolin, the one you have was probably expensive for you. So if you don't think you can do it, also call a pro. He'll forgive you for your $400 mandolin and lack of expertise.
A 400 dollar mandolin is usually pretty nice to work on anyway. As a luthier I have to say, the mandolin is absolutely the best quality instrument for the money. A 300 dollar ibanez ticks all of my boxes just fine