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Thread: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

  1. #1

    Default Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    I am very new to the mandolin, but think the Eastman MD 315 f is a good mandolin for the money, or for a starter instrument. I just put new strings on using GHS A270, because there was,and still is a problem at least as I perceive it to be. Thought the string were getting old, but the strings sound great even the E strings until I press down, then the E strings sound out of tune , no matter what my tuner is saying, unless I use a very light touch, then they sound good. This does not happen on any of the other strings. Is there something I am not doing right or is there an underling problem with the E? Hope I am relating this so it is understandable, because the sound is very ugly, keeping me from enjoying it as much as I should be able to. Also my intonation seems good even with the E string. Thanks for looking.

  2. #2
    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Assuming you are not merely squeezing the skinny E strings too hard, it is fairly likely the E pair are not equal heights in the nut. If one is high it will fret sharp compared to the other. Visual inspection (compare to the other pairs) will suggest if this is the case. It's pretty common. If this is more noticeable in the lowest frets it is very likely the problem.

    A small height difference can cause a large pitch difference near the nut, where the most deflection angle happens.
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    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    I'd go with Tom's suggestion too. If the nut slots are too high then the strings will play out of pitch in relation to the open string, and especially on the first few frets. Many instruments from factory production will have the nut cut too high when they leave the production line. I think this is largely because it is easier to deepen a nut slot than to try to fix a slot which has been cut too deep! Ant new instrument will benefit from a good set-up, and this is one reason to pay a bit more to a local dealer who offers a set-up on instruments rather than buying cheaper off the net and then have to get the instrument set up when you get it or try to do this yourself.

    Interestingly you say that "the E strings sound out of tune , no matter what my tuner is saying, unless I use a very light touch, then they sound good". This certainly sounds like open note plays in tune but fretted notes are out.
    Last edited by John Kelly; Jan-10-2017 at 3:25pm. Reason: typo
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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    My fret wear was such that noting at that fret caused the unison to go dissonant,

    the solution was of course a Refret..



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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Check your bridge and make sure that it has not moved either toward the fingerboard or away from it.
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    You could try tuning it with a capo on the first fret to see if the problem persists. This will eliminate the nut and if the problem goes away you'll know it's the nut.

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  12. #7

    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Thanks to one and all for your response to my question, there are what would appear to be some very viable answers to my problem, so it looks like there is a pro setup for my mandolin in the near future. I have learned my lesson the hard way when it comes to filing anything on my stringed instruments so I wont be doing that myself anytime soon.

  13. #8

    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not? UP DATE

    Up date on my problem. Just got back from a shop where I took my mandolin to have a setup done, turns out I did not need one, because I hate to admit this, but the problem turned out I was tuning the E strings way to low. I guess because I had broken one before I changed the strings I was a little gun shy, and even though the tuner was saying it was tuned to E it was not the right E. Since the strings were tuned so low it caused them to fluctuate in and out of tune when I pressed them down, never really being in tune in the first place. So I guess it was worth driving 70 miles round trip to find this out with no charge. The good news I picked up a strap. this mandolin sounds so much sweeter then before, and I will be practicing with it much more, now that I can stand to listen to it. Anyway, store this solution in the back room in case some other edgit like me ask, why is this thing doing this? You will be a mandolin God to them. The shop guy gave me some advice, train my ear to learn the pitch, so I have been plucking and strumming it ever since getting it back home.

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Ready For Aint Misbehaving ? (thanks to Ms Juliet Frew, via YT)

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  17. #10

    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Pickmo, I think you made my day. i'm impressed you got the high e string to tune an octave low. You might look into octave mandolins sometime, thats how they roll.

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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    On some tuners it is hard to determine that the note is sharp or flat when the lighting they have isn`t that bright, I myself have tuned an E string to an E flat by not paying attention to the little symbol that shows it is an E flat, the tuner will still show it as being spot on but it will be an E flat...

  20. #12
    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not? UP DATE

    Very honest of you to tell us this, and something I'd not have thought of, in spit of recently having a friend bring me a new tenor banjo he had just acquired and he was not happy with it. He had previously asked me what to tune it to and as he played Scottish and Irish music mainly I had told him to use GDAE. He said the strings were really slack and it would not play in tune. His problem was that he had tuned an octave low! Re-tuned and off he went, a happy boy!
    I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. - Eric Morecambe

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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Yeah, I have a friend who will occasionally play guitar, but has been off the kick for 5 or 6 years now. He brought his guitar over a couple weeks ago as he's once again been bitten by the bug. He said it was "a disaster" but wanted me to check it out before he took it to a luthier (I've done some very minor set up adjustments for him in the past). His tuning was all over the place. Most very low, but the B string was tuned pretty high. Electronic tuner got him as well. Tuned it up and was picking in about 30 seconds. He thinks I'm brilliant!

    Glad you got the problem solved! With experience your ear will develop to the point that you may not even need a tuner. (I still use one, esp with string changes, but do my fine tuning to get the courses in unison by ear now).
    Chuck

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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    I guess a tuner which tells you which E you are tuning to would be a help. My clip on doesn't but the app on the phone does (E2, E3 &c.).
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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    I used an A 440 tuning fork for Years, got the A strings, then Matched pitches by ear of the notes
    fretted at the 5th and 7th frets.

    Still a good double check ..


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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    If you are tuning the E string and you are not worried about the string breaking you are not high enough in pitch. After all these years I still don't like tuning up an E string.
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    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    When I change strings, I tune first. Then I change one string of the pair at a time. That way I have a correct reference for the new string. It also minimizes the chance that I'll bump the bridge and mess up the intonation...

    Hope this helps!
    Craig Mandola
    Mann SEM-5

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  32. #18

    Default Re: Mandolin misbehaving or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by mandroid View Post
    I used an A 440 tuning fork for Years, got the A strings, then Matched pitches by ear of the notes
    fretted at the 5th and 7th frets.

    Still a good double check ..


    This remains one of the best methods for tuning a stringed instrument, particularly one with long sustain (provided the bridge and nut are positioned properly). It requires a bit of experience and patience.

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