rover f 75 bridge upgrade

[goldfox]

hi,,i posted this in the general section,and was totaly ignored i just got a rover 75,and had read somewhere mabey here,that the bigest inprovent would be a bridge upgrade,,i was just wondering what one to get,and your thoughts on this,,thanks in advance

[MikeEdgerton]

You weren't ignored, nobody answered yet. Take a look at the Cumberland Acoustics bridges. They are well regarded here. What is about your current bridge that you don't like?

[nickster60]

I have a RM-75 it is a good mandolin. But my experience with it is tight and bright. I put a arm rest on it that helped. I have Martin bluegrass strings on it which I think is contributing to brightness.

The biggest improvement has been the following. I have done this with some of my violins and it works. We have one of those massager's with the removable heads. I wrap a dry face cloth around the vibrator(set on low) and lay the mandolin or violin on top of it in the center of the bed. I let it run for about 30 min and it helps open things up. Anything that gently vibrates will work.

There are many posts about opening up your instrument. I have also made a a make-shift Tone Guard out a violin rest it also helps alot.

Stings are going to be the next thing I will change I am going to try some j-74s . Dont forget your choice of picks it will make a huge difference in how your instrument sounds. I like Dawg picks I got mine on Ebay.

[Scott Crabtree]

J74's and a Wegen pick are a good start. Have you had it set up properly? From what I gather I would say, if anything take it to a quality luthier.

[Big Joe]

The Cumberland Acoustic Bridge is a real upgrade...at long as it is properly fit to your mandolin. Having it properly installed and a good setup, bone nut, and good strings will help a lot. There is only so much performance you will get from that mandolin. Another area to look at is the tuners. On some of the lesser priced ones the tuners are not very good and a good set of tuners can make a difference in how well it keeps tune and may even improve tone...or maybe not. In any case, you have a decent beginner mandolin but you can spend a lot of money in upgrades. You have to decide if it is money well spent on that instrument, or if it is better to put that money aside until you find a mandolin a step or two above that and be ready to purchase when you find it. Two roads...the fun thing is you get to chose which one you travel!