Curiosity about What I have seen

[MLT]

Hi,

I am relatively new to playing the Mandolin so If this question has been addressed before I appologize for asking again.

I have seen pictures of several mandolins where a small leather peice has been woven (coiled) through the strings between the bridge and the tail peice and I am curious as to what the purpose is, and does it help/change the sound in any way?

Thanks

MLT

[otterly2k]

MLT-
sometimes the length of string between the bridge and the tailpiece can vibrate while playing, causing unwanted overtones. The little piece of leather just dampens the strings so they are silent. if you ever see little round rubber grommets there propped between strings, they do the same thing.

If you're wondering if you need this on your mando... pluck those strings.. if they ring, you might want to dampen them. If they go click and don't ring, then something else is already dampening them (some tailpieces have a strip of felt in them for this purpose).

KE

[MLT]

Thank you for the information. I will try plucking those strings to see if a dampener is needed.

MLT.

[Tim]

Without a dampener you can strum the strings between the bridge and tailpiece three times to play the Psycho "kill music". #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[sunburst]

Thank you for the information. I will try plucking those strings to see if a dampener is needed.
If you don't hear them ringing when you play, or it doesn't bother you to hear them ringing when you play, you don't need to damp them.

Damping those string lengths is for the player, not the listener. The audience can't hear it, they're too far away.
A studio mic can definitely hear it! Some people damp all sorts of things on their mandolin for studio work, but mostly, players who are distracted by the overtones feel like they play better without the distraction, and if you feel like you're playing better, there's a good chance you are playing better.

[Bob DeVellis]

Some mandolins (e.g., old Lyon & Healys, new Sobells) are designed so that the length of the string between the bridge and tailpiece is a specific fraction ofth etotal scale length and the sympathetic vibrations should thus be harmonic. In theory, you might not want to dampen the strings in those cases but in practice, it's just a matter of doing what gives you the result you want. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't just depending on the individual instrument and whether I think dampening makes it sound better.

[arbarnhart]

Some mandolins (e.g., old Lyon & Healys, new Sobells) are designed so that the length of the string between the bridge and tailpiece is a specific fraction ofth etotal scale length and the sympathetic vibrations should thus be harmonic. #In theory, you might not want to dampen the strings in those cases but in practice, it's just a matter of doing what gives you the result you want. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't just depending on the individual instrument and whether I think dampening makes it sound better.
Wouldn't they only be harmonic if the string was played open?

[Jerry Byers]

The leather strips are relatively cheap if you want to experiment - and they come in many colors.

I know, that was a selfish plug.

[Steven Stone]

I've found that natural rubber grommets work best for damping sympathetic string vibration.

I feel they absorb sound more completely. I make Steve's Silencers, so naturally (like my grommets) I'm biased. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[AlanN]

I remember a NYC old time band, Major Contay and the Canebreak Rattlers. The dude played a mando banjo and actually strummed the strings behind the bridge during tunes. Simply hellacious, which could be good or bad, depending on your life viewpoint http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Baron Collins-Hill]

thile has been known to play those, as well at the strings between the tuners and the nut. but then again, hes crazy. in a good way. i think...

baron

[otterly2k]

I like the look of the grommets, myself, and have some of steve's silencers... but let's be honest...aesthetics aside, just about anything soft that can be stuck in there fairly firmly will work. I've seen silencers that are simply both sides of a piece of velcro attached with the strings sandwiched in between...someone else used electrical tape...shoelace...leather strip...probably cotton balls would work, although they would look silly...

[Bob DeVellis]

arbarnhart - you're exactly right. I think L&H and Sobell may be examples of this practice because they're more likely to be played in styles involving open strings. But still, some of them are fretted most of the time. A cedar-topped large-body Sobell is the mandolin on which I hear the biggest difference between damped and undamped and I've got them damped on that one.

[Stephen Perry]

I find that damping the afterlength (when untuned) makes the mandolin easier for me to play. I can hear the sounding section of the string more clearly. I suspect that the disharmonic stuff from the afterlength affects vibration in the sounding length as well, although I have no empirical support for this suspicion.

[MLT]

Thanks to all of you for answering and providing such a great wealth of information. Now I just have to digest it all and see where I want to go with this.

[SurebetVA]

Weber Mandolins actually sells a Wood Nymph to take care of this problem. I have one, not because I thought I needed it but because it looked cool and as with all hobbies, you got to have all the gadgets they go with they toy involved whether its needed or not. I have noticed a small difference, but not enought that it improved my playing. Wasn't much hope for that.

Weber Wood Nymph (http://www.soundtoearth.com/prod_woodnymph.htm)

[Jerry Byers]

My Weber Fern came with a Wood Nymph and it does what it is suppose to do. However, I don't like it because it interferes with my playing. My forearm sits on the strings behind the bridge and with the Wood Nymph in place, my forearms drags on it. The bass side stays in place, but the treble side slides back and forth - real annoying. With the Buckstrips, I put it on and just forget about it - it doesn't interfere with my playing. The leather strip can also be tucked between the strings and the tailpiece. A lot of the cast tailpieces come with felt under the front edge, but the stamped ones don't.