Mandolin tuning

[David in IL]

Greetings! This is my first post, though I've been lurking for a while. I suppose, as a beginner, I've been intimidated by the advanced level at which so many posters seem to play. (I did play the guitar for several years; in fact my guitar teacher was mandolinist Don Stiernberg).

Anyway, my question has to do with tuning. My rental mandolin, a sort of low-end Kentucky, is not in tune with itself even when I tune it to a Korg chromatic tuner. My teacher says this isn't unusual. So, 1) does anyone else have this problem and 2) what ought I to do? Thanks again, everyone; I truly enjoy the mandolin talk around here.

[tiltman]

May just need to be set up properly.
May have structural issues.
I'd recommend having it checked out, do the people you rented it from know mandolins? Could they set it up for you?
Welcome to the Cafe, by the way.
Kirk

[angrymandolinist]

Do you mean that the pairs aren't in unison, or the seventh fret doesn't match with the string above it?

[Phantoj]

I, too, have a low-end Kentucky, and mine wasn't in great tune with itself as I played farther up the neck. (Mine's a KM-150S).

I dropped the action a bit, tightened the truss rod a mite to flatten the neck (less "relief"), and then placed the bridge on the top according to these instructions:

http://www.folkofthewood.com/8ppmandobridge/sld001.htm

Now it plays easy and it plays in tune!

First, make sure your action is how you want it. High action can give you intonation fits.

Then, adjust the bridge as shown in the link above.

Finally, make sure you're not pressing too hard on the strings or bending them accidentally.

If none of these work, put your mandolin on ebay and buy a better one off the classifieds here!

[David in IL]

I meant that the seventh frets don't match the strings above, even when both pairs are kosher according to the tuner. I'm told that this is not uncommon for lower end instruments (I've already had the bridge lowered a bit, as the action was *very* high).

[Phantoj]

Oh, wait. I didn't see that it was a rental. Take it back and complain... let them fix it or give you another one that plays in tune. Make sure you can demonstrate the problem.

P.S. If that doesn't work, sell it on Ebay anyway... would serve the music store right for foisting ill-setup intruments on newbies. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Phantoj]

It sounds to me like the bridge is adjusted too high or placed incorrectly.

How far is it off? Noticably bad, or just a few cents?

Even a cheap Kentucky should be within a few cents.

[David in IL]

Once I've gotten the thing tuned precisely as possible, it's less than a half-step, not too bad unless you're playing double stops at the 7th (or 5th) fret above or below an open string.