Distressing a Rover

[Mando_Danny]

Hello all,

I have a Rover RM-50 that I've had for nearly a year now. I love the instrument and its a great starter mandolin. Over all I am pretty happy with the tone and volume of it but I have been thinking about distressing it to see how that affects it. A friend of mine has an Eastman that he distressed himself and it greatly improved the sound of it. Has anybody tried distressing a Rover and how did it turn out?

Unfortunatly mine has a crack in the bottom of it on the back binding and I was hoping that Elderly Instruments would do something about it since I bought it from them, but I pretty much got screwed over from them. I may post a complete story on what happened to me with them in another thread, needless to say I will NEVER buy from them again :mad:. *gets off soapbox* Anyways thats why I have waited on trying to distress it. Thanks in advance.

-Danny

[jim_n_virginia]

I have a Rover RM-50 that I've had for nearly a year now. I love the instrument and its a great starter mandolin.
Over all I am pretty happy with the tone and volume of it but I have been thinking about distressing it to see how that affects it.

I was hoping that Elderly Instruments would do something about it since I bought it from them, but I pretty much got screwed over from them. I may post a complete story on what happened to me with them in another thread

Danny personally, I wouldn't do it. We're talking $150.00 mando here so most likely if you stick with playing it you'll quickly outgrow it anyways and want to trade up soon.

Distressing an instrument is much more than just beating an instrument up and making it look old. It is a process and really you have to know what you are doing.

The only thing I could think of that might improve the sound on most import mandolins is maybe taking off the thick lacquer finish or something like that. But then you would pretty much "uglify" your mando.

I didn't know what your friend did to improve the sound of his Eastman but sound is pretty subjective.

I think if you wanted to improve the sound of your Rover it might be better to get a professional set up and maybe pick up a ToneGard to bring out the sound more. Maybe get a new nut and a better bridge or something.

And I am surprised that you had a bad experience from Elderly's because I have never gotten anything but excellent service from them and they have a great reputation.

I would try and call them one more time and work things out before you post a rant about them on the Cafe which is kinda frowned on here anyway's.

:mandosmiley:

[Folkmusician.com]

I agree with Jim. Cosmetic distressing of your Rover won't do much of anything for the tone, but if you want to give distressing a shot, this sounds like the perfect instrument to do it with (lower priced mandolin with a binding crack). Should the outcome not be so great, no big loss, you have not devalued a high dollar mando.

If you do feel that you have a warranty claim, distressing would surely complicate that. :)

[Big Joe]

I don't have any idea what the Rover warranty is, but it may not cover binding cracks. They may consider that cosmetic rather than structural. It may have nothing to do with Elderly, but the company that builds it. I've known Stan Werbin a long time and have done lots of business with them over the years and have nothing but admiration for Stan.

I don't know that you would accomplish much on your Rover. It would have a poly finish and could well be a plywood instrument. You may find it much more difficult to get the desired cosmetic look you are hoping for and I really doubt it would do much for the tone or playability of the mandolin. Depending upon how much finish is on there, sometimes thinning the finish a bit can help. Then again, a really good setup can do as much or more than anything else to help the tone and playability. Little things like a really good bridge that is properly fit and a good bone nut may do more for the tone than distressing. Of course, it would not do as much for the cosmetics.

[allenhopkins]

Well, if the specs can be trusted, your RM-50 is a lot of mandolin for $150: solid carved top, back and sides, dovetail neck joint. "Distressing" is a cosmetic process, designed to make newly-made mandolins look "vintage," and doesn't in itself make a tonal improvement. Partially removing an overly-thick finish can allow the top to vibrate more freely, by decreasing its mass so that the same amount of picking force produces more sound. I am surprised that your friend got a good tonal result by distressing his Eastman, since Eastmans are known for having a relatively thin finish. But we can't argue with what you perceive as the result.

I would concur with the above posts that suggest starting with a pro set-up before going after your Rover with a sanding block. There are so many variables that affect tone: string gauge and composition, bridge height, picking style, environment (temperature, humidity), even the characteristics of individual pieces of wood. Distressing is no panacea. One of the reasons that factory-distressed mandolins have exceptional tone, IMHO, is that they're often top-of-the-line models, which also get the best woods and the most manufacturing attention.

I'd also like to second (or third) the comments of those who've had generally positive interactions with Elderly Instruments. Again, not to argue with your individual experience, but I would say that in my experience, it's an exception.

[Caleb]

Thought I'd chime in here... I'm the friend Danny referred to with the Eastman. What I did was more of an "antique" job than a true distress. I simply took off the gloss (which was about 3 feet deep) from the body of the mandolin, and sanded the back of the neck down to bare wood. The tonal result was amazing, like taking a wet blanket off the mandolin so it could be heard.

I'll also say this regarding Danny's dealings with Elderly. I know they get good reviews here (I was the one who encouraged him to buy from them based on those reviews), but I saw the correspondence from both sides, and without getting into the details too much, in my opinion, Danny was left hanging.

[JEStanek]

Well, we only have one side of the story and we have pretty clear Posting Guidelines (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/faq.php)on this. Work with Elderly or the Manufacturer to adress your issues. This isn't the place.


Grievances, personal and corporate: The Cafe discussion board is intended to be a nurturing community. While it is fair game discussing vendor corporate policies, malevolent harassment of individual employees, including posting names, email address, or any other personal contact information will not be tolerated. For example, a concern about a manufacturer's warranty policy or a reseller's return policy is permissible. Using the board to malign or leverage personal advantage in a conflict is strictly forbidden. Though intent or motivation are not always provable, the moderators reserve full right in deeming whether or not comments made are consistent with policy, and may take action to edit, delete, or when necessary, revoke posting privileges.


Jamie

[Mando_Danny]

The only thing I could think of that might improve the sound on most import mandolins is maybe taking off the thick lacquer finish or something like that...

Sorry I guess I should have been more clear, that is what I meant by distressing it. Taking off some of the finish to allow it to vibrate more.


I think if you wanted to improve the sound of your Rover it might be better to get a professional set up

It was set up very nicely by Elderly (one thing they did right)

[Mando_Danny]

That is exactly what I was thinking Robert! :cool:

[Santiago]

Best way to distress a mandolin is the play the heck out of it!

[Folkmusician.com]

I sell quite a few of these RM-50 mandolins. They sound surprisingly good for the price. I despise the bridge on these things. That would be my first point of attack. Next in line would be seating the frets. I am not sure whether or not Elderly does this as part of their setup, but if not, this is well worth doing. I would say this will be your second biggest opportunity for improved tone following the bridge.

Get in good lighting (with a magnifying glass if needed), and push on the frets with something hard (not hard enough to damage the frets). Look for any sign of movement. If they move, this is absorbing some of your string vibrations, not to mention causing playability issues.

The Rover RM-50 is one of those mandolins that sounds way too good for what it is. Tonally, it is worthy of some upgrades. Value wise, it is not. :)