still tuning problems

[reb0964]

My first mando came out good and sounds nice but still having trouble with tuning problems and it staying in tune...a couple strings are muffled sounding also,,,what could this all be,,,,I had an old bridge but have a new one coming in in a day or two now,,,hoping this will help some of my problems,,,,i'm hoping its something simple i havent thought of,,,i dont see anything pulling apart or moving,,,confused and frustrated!!!!

[tope]

It could be fret buzz, nut or bridge slots. At the nut and bridge the slots should be no deeper than the string diameter be properly sized for the string and the string needs to have a clean breaking point at the edge of the nut or bridge. If it does it when the string is plucked open it may be in the nut if it does it when the string is fretted it's in the bridge. These can be frustrating, be patient.

[dave17120]

Difficult to know what to suggest, other than everything, without having a idea of a precise problem. EG. Tuning; which string, what's the problem exactly, and a bit of info like scale length and string height at critical points.... evn, what sort of mandolin?
Hopefully, Dave

[reb0964]

I built the mandolin,,and it has a nice sound,,,just wont stay in tune...hopefully picking up the new bridge tomorrow(monday) trying to be patient,,,but wanting to play my own handmade and time spent mandolin,,,also,,,do they make mandolin nuts with slotts in them already??? would be nice not to have to file them ,,,,

[Antlurz]

I'd guess in 99% of the cases, even if you find a premade nut that the spacing happens to be right on, you'll still have to file it to set up the correct string to fret clearance anyhow.

Does it just go out of tune in general, or are their specific strings that are the usual culprits?

Ron

[tope]

I have never seen a premade mandolin nut. There are too many variables, neck width, string spacing, fret height, nut width.

[cwtwang]

I have a mandolin that had tuning problems that were very frustrating, and a slightly muted G-string and a tailpiece that was at the wrong angle to the top of the saddle that just did not allow the bottom end to sing. I knew that it would be a great mandolin if I could get these problems fixed.

I adjusted the tailpiece myself per professional instructions and the it sang right out! I discovered this problem when I played the mandolin with the TP cover off and it was far louder and more "free" sounding. Cover on, and it was muting the strings because it was at too much of a downward angle to the top of the saddle. This caused the strings to rise at too much of an angle and and lie against the tailpiece cover, muting them.

Of course the tuning/intonation problem was still there. It also turned out that all of the strings had been muted by the TP being at the wrong angle, but that they were also were being muted at the saddle (especially the G-strings) because the slots were not at the correct angle.

For all of the rest of the work, I went to a luthier with the best rep around for repair and setup. Using his ears and a Peterson strobe tuner, he precisely filed the bridge slots, nut, and maybe a few other very small adjustments. I had never known that intonation could be adjusted on a mandolin by filing the bridge slots forward or backward and it is not a job that can be done easily by a novice. This guy had done this for years and knew what he was doing. I tested it a few times to help out (my ears are very sensitive to tuning (the goal is to please the customer, not only the strobe tuner) and he made very minor adjustments (like action) to fine tune the intonation until it sounded and felt just right to me.

I could now play up and down the neck and play a first position open chord and then go into a typical fiddle tune lead and it was all good! It was like a different mandolin, really!

You may need a new nut and other things may be out of sorts that are different problems than my mandolin had, but in IMO, the best thing for you to do is to make an appointment a pro luthier repair person with a great reputation who will allow you to watch and learn while he does the work and who will explain the process as he goes. Then you will have a much better handle on setup with your next mandolin. You could just keep playing with it until you get it right and go through a few mandolin nuts and saddles but to learn from a pro would be invaluable.

C