New mando a string ?

[twistednut]

Working on a new mando and the A strings sounds dead. #All the other courses are bell like, ringing out and singing to my ear except the A.

What to do in the white to help there? #How to get that A course to come out from under the top. #It almost reminds me of a resonator on the A strings.

How much does the finish change the sound from there?

I'd love to hear how you guys tune these things in the white after they have been setup.

[mandolooter]

yo twisted...have ya checked the nut? Kinda sounds like you may have a problen either there or on the bridge. I slotted a nut once and had a simalar problem...it turned out my slot wasn't angled back towards the headstock enough and the strings was vibrating in the slot instead of in front of it. Im not very good at explaining stuff but maybe you'll get my drift...

[Antlurz]

This is kind of a crude illustration, but it should give you an idea of the possible problem looter is talking about.

Ron

[twistednut]

Thanks guys, but it's not related to the nut or bridge. I've done pretty well with them from using the techniques shown on the www.frets.com site.

My bias is that a new mando will ring out on the A and E courses right from the get go if it's got it. This one has a weird resonator sound on the A course and a little on the E.

There has to be something folks work on in the white to get what they are looking for.

[Antlurz]

Are you tuned up to standard pitch, or using floppy strings?

Ron

[Austin Clark]

If it has that "resonator" sound, as you say, I would bet money your nut or bridge is NOT slotted correctly. #Try holding the string down tight with a fingernail just at the front edge of the bridge and/or nut and plucking a note. #If it sounds more clear, that is the spot it is slotted wrong. #It will probably be like the second picture in Antlurz series, but may be too subtle for your eye to see. One more thing, make sure you are using the correct size slotting file for the string....

[twistednut]

thanks guys, but it's not a rattle or buzz type sound at all. It doesn't have any thing to do with the bridge or nut. More of a "pong" or dead pan sound from the A course.

Let me rephrase the question. What do folks do in the white to their instruments? Do they carve away more wood in certain places or thin the plates to a tone or note?

What to do when all the numbers look good, but it just has a tone you don't like?

[Antlurz]

How long have you actually played it? It is entirely possible for it to sound like a completely different instrument after only a relatively short play in time. If you have a very short time actually playing it, I wouldn't get too excited just yet.

Ron