Tuning problem

[pickin' grandpa]

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smilie
I have a problem with my mando tuning. I am new to it and I just took it out to work on stuff and my first string has the same sound on the first 2 frets. Then on frets 12 & 13 is the same note as well. Can anyone help me?

[Dale Ludewig]

You need at the least a fret dressing. I'll bet if you put a straight edge on the neck you'd find that things aren't straight. A temporary fix might be to raise the action but it sounds like the tops of the frets aren't level.

[Peter Hackman]

Could even be that some frets are loose.

[dcc]

If you tap the frets with a metal straight edge, it should ring like metal hitting metal. If it thuds, the frets are loose.

[Tim2723]

If the mandolin is new or has never been set up, then uneven or loose frets are suspects. Uneven frets are corrected by filing or 'dressing' the problem frets. #I have heard of loose frets, but never encountered one myself in thirty years and a dozen mandolins, but it can happen and should be checked. # That repair is best left to a qualified technician.

But there is something that is even more likely, and from the wording of your post, sounds like the trouble:

If this problem just recently developed, that is, it was OK last time you played, then the neck may have simply moved a bit from changes in humidity. #Mandos with very low action can have this happen. #A tiny turn of the bridge thumbwheels (assuming there you have that kind) will correct it. #I just had to make a tiny correction in my mando last month. #It may take as little as a quarter turn of one or both wheels, and won't affect the playability or sound noticiably. #This is one reason why many mandolin bridges have the adjustable wheels, so the player can make the adjustment as needed. #It's pretty common and often mistaken for uneven frets.