What happened to my Morgan Monroe ?

[brudford]

Bought a Morgan Monroe MMS-3 about 9 months ago. I'am using
it along with my Martin D-16 to record a Bluegrass CD.Most
of the time I keep it in its case and humidified,live here in Western PA not to dry in the winter.Almost overnight
the sound changed to a really metalic tinney sound.I have
already changed the strings twice,so I tried a different
brand with no differences.Do you think a brace could be
broken inside ? I see no visible cracks or swelling in the
top soundboard,or difference in the fretboard or string
action height. I have never had this happened to a guitar in 30 years. Could this be that the Mandolin has opened
up and this is the sound ? It is an all wood Mandolin with
no laminates ?

[Tom C]

If you first heard that tone after you changed strings, it will disipate when the strings break in after a day or 2. Many people get use to the tone of dead, worn strings and when they change them are shocked.

[Kevin Briggs]

That being said, I keep a schedule of changing strings at about once a month or so. I will do it more frequently if I see the need, but financially want to keep it around once a month.

I like the metallic sound of brand new strings, and really like them after about two or three days of solid picking.

Did you change your strings one at a time? If so, that's good. If not, it's possible that your bridge may have slipped out of place. When I first started playing, this was something I didn't consider, and I had all kinds of problems because of it. Based on my experiences and what I've read on this message board, the bridge seems to be single most detrimental factor when it comes to the mandolin giving its all to a player.

Great wood, a good tailpiece, excellent bracing and impeccable workmanship don't mean a darn thing if the bridge isn't set up right.

Also, I owned a Morgan Monroe that was not what I needed it to be. It couldn't take the strong chops and everything that I wanted to do. There may come a time when you need more mandolin. Maybe you're there?

[brudford]

Thanks for the replies. The metallic sound actually began
when the old strings were still on. Thanks

[jasona]

If you have a dental mirror check to see that your bracing is intact. Or, the change in humidity may have brought your strings into contact with a fret through a drop in the sound board (adjust with the thumbscrews on your bridge) or a fret pulling up (adjust by seeing a qualified repair person).

[mandogrrl]

The sound of a mandolin can change over time. Usually it sounds better after it has been played for a while.

I've noticed that my mandolin (Flatiron F-5) sounds different depending on the humidity. I actually like the sound better during the winter when it is dryer than during the summer when it is humid.

[steve in tampa]

Had a brace drop loose on a Dean mandolin. They replaced the entire mandolin, and the one I got was handpicked to assure no further incedents. Has a better tone than the first one too.
When the brace gave out, the top started to sink, causing the strings to hit on the frets, and making a metallic sound.

[grant_eversoll]

Remember the MMS-3 has a lifetime warranty

[mando_pete]

I bought a MMS-5 as my second mandolin and it sounded great for about nine months. All of a sudden it sounded like ####, tinny like you describe. I took it to a luthier for set up and when I got it back it sounded great again and still sounds pretty good three years later. I don't know what he did to it, but I'd suggest a profesional set up before you give up on it.

-- Pete