Stringing up new build

[Robismi]

Any thoughts on how long I should leave my new build strung up white before I remove all the hardware to stain and French polish?

[Vernon Hughes]

I only leave mine strung up in the white for 3-4 days, just enough for things to settle in and let the wood realize it's no longer a tree. Good time to note neck thickness adjustments that need tending to along with final graduation tweeks. I don't like to play them too much in the white for fear of dirt and hand oils/sweat getting into the unfinished wood.

[Tavy]

Until it sounds the way you want it too ;)

Basically once you think you're done with making changes, get it stripped down and start final sanding and finishing....

[Marty Jacobson]

I only leave mine strung up in the white for 3-4 days, just enough for things to settle in and let the wood realize it's no longer a tree. Good time to note neck thickness adjustments that need tending to along with final graduation tweeks. I don't like to play them too much in the white for fear of dirt and hand oils/sweat getting into the unfinished wood.

They do get dirty quickly in the white... I found I usually regretted the changes I made in the white and spent way too much time for very little benefit, so I stopped stringing up in the white after my first few. A few dozen instruments later, and I have yet to feel like there was something on an instrument I should have corrected in the white. But that's just my process, everyone is different in their approach.

[Dale Ludewig]

I do like to string up in the white and stay that way for a day or two. It's purely to make sure the neck shape feels good. Then I strip it back down. I never do the actual final sanding until after the strip down, so a little grime gets sanded off.

[Mike Conner]

I'm with Dale on this topic. If I had built many more instruments perhaps I would feel confident not stringing up in the white. I purposely leave the neck on the chunky side and then refine the shape while the instrument is strung up. Play, sand, repeat. Overall, I want to take at least a week to do this, mostly because I want to avoid bias and pick up the instrument with fresh hands and see my perception has changed.

For my second GOM, it was great to have several people play it and judge the feel before finalizing the neck geometry (guitar players preferred a rounder C shape, mandolinists leaned towards a V, and I ended up with a softer V profile.

The final sanding after the testing has cleaned everything up well, though I was adamant with the test players that they wash hands before, etc.

[Tom Haywood]

As many opinions as there are builders. I string 'em up in the white to be able to make several decisions about fine tuning the individual instrument. I've observed that it takes about 3 weeks for the woods to forget they were trees and start working together, so that's my minimum. The problem is that I tend to like what I'm hearing and I might play it for months before finishing. I apply a thin coat of shellac to protect it in the white from grime, and do the final final sanding right before beginning the finish.

[Clinton Johnson]

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?101710-playing-in-the-white
Here's some more on the subject when I asked the same question several years ago Robismi

[mtucker]

My guess is that it will depend on your level of experience and confidence in your build.

[fscotte]

If youre worried about dirt, string it up and hang it up. Tune it every day until its stops detuning. Then let it sit for a week, then play it. If it sounds good, finish it.

[Tom Haywood]

Interesting to read in the Charlie Derrington interview at question Q18 where he describes the Gibson build process for the Master Model as being like any other high end mandolin build, which included stringing them up to check intonation and playability before staining and varnish. I think that answers the question about how it relates to experience and confidence. In the video interview, he says that it takes Gibson about 2.5 months to build a mandolin, so they must not be played in the white for long.