JIm

[jimj]

I`M think about another mandolin, haven`t made my mind up about what brand suggestion`s would be appreciated. My real question is should I buy a mandolin with a wide nut or a regular nut. I have short fat fingers in my opinion, any advise is welcome.

Thank you.

[Hudmister]

Wide nut. No question about it.

[Tobin]

Regular nut. No question about it.

Seriously, wide versus regular nut will just be a personal preference. If you have short fingers, you might find that it's easier to reach the frets (and arch your fingers over the strings) with a narrower neck. But if you have fat fingers, the narrow nut may cause your fingers to accidentally mute adjacent strings. I can see advantages and disadvantages both ways. The only way to know for sure is to try playing mandolins with different nut widths and see which works best for you.

What type of music do you play? What's your budget? I see from your avatar that you have an F5 already. Are you looking for another (presumably higher quality) F5?

[Jim Garber]

I would go with Tobin's recommendations. What one person likes may not be what is good for you. I personally prefer 1-1/8" (std) nut width. I can play a wider (1-1/4") width but i find it more difficult to get certain runs cleanly. Also I am used to playing adjacent note chords with one finger (like on the fiddle) such as 0-2-2-0 for E minor and with wider string spacing it becomes less easy.

Also figure out what price range you are looking at. For the lower range it might be a narrower choice. Even on a more expensive instrument you may have to special order.

[UsuallyPickin]

You are asking a question that you can best answer for yourself through experience. Playing the various sized and shaped necks is what will give you your best answer. If this involves a day trip somewhere or a weekend at a festival count it as part of the cost of mandolin research. If your current mandolin is difficult to play make sure that the setup is the problem and not the size. After all we are talking about around an 1/8 of an inch which isn't much..... Luck.. R/

[nickster60]

I like a standard nut. I also have short fat fingers a wide neck just makes it harder. If you also have a fat palm it make your fingers effectively shorter. There is also a huge selection of standard nut mandolin

[Ky Slim]

I have a bitterroot F style with a standard nut width and an A2 that is noticably wider. I am not sure what the A2 nut measures and I've never measured the string spacing at the bridges of these instruments. I think I have average sized hands and fingers.

What I appreciate about the wider set up on the A2 is the string spacing where I pick the strings with my RH not where I fret them with my LH. The spacing between the pairs is wider there too a little easier to get the pick in there.

I prefer the "narrow" or standard F- Style width for fretting notes and for playing most types of chords.

[terzinator]

Boxers or briefs?

Seriously, with all due respect, you probably need to narrow down your choices, do a little bit of research, and ask a more specific question. Otherwise it's all wild speculation and erratic chatter. (As much as we like that.)

What do you have now? (I'm assuming it's not your first)
Do you want something quite different from that? or will this replace that?
What brands/instruments have you tried?
What's your budget?
What style of music do you play?
Are you dedicated to a scroll, or do you prefer an A-style?
Have you actually compared a standard nut vs wide nut?

I'm sure there are other questions bouncing around, but that's a start right there.

[Tobin]

What I appreciate about the wider set up on the A2 is the string spacing where I pick the strings with my RH not where I fret them with my LH. The spacing between the pairs is wider there too a little easier to get the pick in there.

Huh, I wasn't aware that nut width had anything to do with spacing all the way down by the bridge. I would think that most standard mandolins use a typical spread of the strings at the bridge. But this is just an assumption, since I've never heard of a 'wide saddle' or 'narrow saddle' option on mandolins. Do builders spread the strings at the saddle when they build a wide-nut mandolin?

I suppose that different nut widths would have some miniscule effect on string spacing all the way down to the bridge even with a standard saddle, but I would think it would be virtually unnoticeable around the end of the fingerboard where picking usually occurs. Maybe 1/128 of an inch difference between courses?

At least, I've never noticed it on any of my mandolins, including my old F4 that has the classic wide nut. They all feel the same to me as far as my right hand is concerned.

[Timbofood]

Get out there and play as many as you can, it's just an exercise in wordplay, you will get as many opinions as stars in the heavens and all will be perfectly valid.
The only way you will learn which is right for you is to try everything you can get your hands on.
I have never heard of the variable saddle width either, won't say it's not possible.

[Ky Slim]

I have never heard of the variable saddle width either, won't say it's not possible.

I suppose it may be slight differences in the spacing within pairs or from pair to pair or both. It might just be these mandolins and it could be all in my head.

I measured the total string spread and the A2 was 1/16 wider from high E to low G than the Bitterroot.

Slots are possibly cut slightly differently by different slot cutters without explanation.

[Jeff Budz]

I love this thread title.