Wife's new mando arrived yesterday.. some newb questions

[tedb]

Greetings all. We have had a bit of a saga getting my wife's mandolin that was supposed to be a Christmas Present. At first I ordered a Michael Kelly A-Solid from an online vendor. After much wait and no word (and constant updating of the due date, I emailed them and found that the instrument would not be available until April.

After lurking here, I decided to cxl that order and get a Kentucky KM-505. It arrived yesterday, despite the fact that it was supposed to be "shopped" the bridge came separately with no instructions (it is a thumbscrew bridge).

Are there instructions somewhere on how to install the bridge properly? Thanks for any help!

I am sure my wife will be joining here soon. I just want to get this gorgeous instrument setup so she can start lessons.

[LarryMando]

Let me start by suggesting that it was down-right nasty of the vendor to ship the mando with the bridge uninstalled. Secondly, it is your destiny to ASAP take the mando to a proper place to have it setup. There are websites with photos and instructions - but it is unlikely you will be able to set up the instrument so it is easy to play, get in tune and etc.

Having said that, here are some links:

http://www.johnsongtr.com/pdf/Mandolin_Bridge_Set_Up.pdf
http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/MandolinBridges.htm
http://www.crossroadswood.com/bridgefaq.html


there are many more websites out there - - - Good Luck.

[dj coffey]

Agreed. Even though my first mando came fully assembled, a setup made significant difference. And it's not something a newbie can do.

[catmandu2]

I see no problem with shipping the mando with bridge removed and safely wrapped. With the strings slightly detensioned (as it should be), it's apt to shift a little during transit anyway. There's no sound post to be affected by detensioning and bridge removal. With some improperly fitting cases, this may be safer than shipping with bridge installed. If the dealer set it up before removing the bridge, no problems. After properly locating the bridge position on the top and adjusting the action, you should be fine.

[Tim2723]

Congrats on finally getting a mandolin. I think it's pretty bad or a vendor to ship a mandolin in pieces. Like the others have said, if the bridge wasn't installed, I'll bet you can't count on any of the other important set up adjustments having been made. Shipping a bridge separately isn't the norm as far as I know. I've bought a total of seven instruments through the mail and not one of them was shipped that way. They may not have been set up, but they weren't shipped in pieces. Four of them even came in near perfect tuning. Get it to a shop for set up and then enjoy the instrument in good health!

[Dave Cowles]

Ditto comments made so far regarding setup. Find a stringed instrument tech and have it set up properly, preferably with input from your wife as to her preferences. There is no substitute for this, and it is invaluable in the overall scheme of things.

Dave

[Jim MacDaniel]

I agree with CatMandu2, and I have both received and shipped mandolins in the past with the bridge removed as a precaution against them marring the soundboard, since if you detune the strings to relieve tension, it certainly makes sense there could be a risk of the bridge moving during transit with a shock the shipping container. (In fact, Frank Ford recommends detensioning strings and removing removable bridges as a "best practice" before shipping or travel, per his tutorial on instrument packing at Frets.com.)

Since the instrument was "shopped" as you mentioned, the bridge was most likely properly fitted to the top. If so, putting the bridge back in place and adjusting the intonation is no big deal. For guidance on how to do so, refer to the top of page three of this restringing tutorial (http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Mandolin/MandoString/mandostring1.html) at Frets.com. (Just make sure you put the bridge on in the correct direction, with the bigger slots aligned under the larger wound strings.)

Alternatively, you could also contact the store who sold it to you for advice, since it is in their best interest to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

[Tim2723]

Well, we really need to know where it came from. If it was purchased through an Internet box seller, the loose bridge suggests it may have come straight from China with no actual set up, 'cause God only knows what 'shopped' means to some of those guys. If it came from a highly regarded dealer who knows mandolins, that's different.

Isn't it funny? You could have 5000 experienced mandolinists say to do something one way, and if Frank Ford disagrees, it's gospel. :))

Of course, one way to go would be to put the bridge on according to the instructions here and elsewhere, then see what the teacher thinks of the set up. If nothing has been done correctly, the teacher should be able to tell. For that matter, the teacher can place the bridge for you. It's not even a five minute job, and if he doesn't know how, that tells you to find another teacher.

[tedb]

Thanks to all of you for the warm welcome and great advice. The actual player in the family will be joining soon. Last night, when the instrument arrived was the first time I had ever touched a mandolin. A guitar player I work with has suggested someone to do the full setup, so I'll do that as soon as I can.

To give you all a good laugh, I originally thought the bridge was a capo........

[Elliot Luber]

Careful, if you touch that mandolin again the bug will bite you and you will be playing one yourself!
I used to play guitar. :-)

[Jim MacDaniel]

Isn't it funny? You could have 5000 experienced mandolinists say to do something one way, and if Frank Ford disagrees, it's gospel. :))

LOL -- I guess all that means is you and those 4,999 other mandolinists never ordered a mandolin from Gryphon, else someone might have said "You know, there is that one time when I bought my Collings, and they took the dang bridge off when they shipped it, but other than that..." ;)

[yankees1]

From personal experience, a new mando player should have the mando set up by someone who knows what they are doing! I would have been lost had my mando arrived like that!

[catmandu2]

LOL -- I guess all that means is you and those 4,999 other mandolinists never ordered a mandolin from Gryphon, else someone might have said "You know, there is that one time when I bought my Collings, and they took the dang bridge off when they shipped it, but other than that..." ;)

If Tim's mandos come with the bridge off of them, it means they're broken. ;)

[Sleepy]

It's worth the money to have it set up. Mine plays like a dream after i took mine in.

[Greg H.]

When 12th Fret sent me an Apitius (about 4 mandolins ago) they had the bridge seperate and in the compartment of the case. It made perfectly good sense to me to just make it a bit safer. Now they, however, also left two pieces of masking tape on the top so it showed me EXACTLY where the bridge needed to be so my job was even easer.

[mrmando]

I've had two mandolins damaged in shipping, and both times it was because an impact to the box hit the bridge and damaged the top. So now, when I buy a mando that has a floating bridge, I always ask the seller to remove it before shipping.

[Tim2723]

Wow, and they say I have bad luck.

The reason I mentioned my comment was that the only mandolins I ever encountered as shipped with the bridge off were Asian imports that came into the music store in their original boxes that way. They, of course, needed full set up.

[Folkmusician.com]

May or may not be the case, but SAGA does ship Kentucky Mandolins with the bridge out. If drop-shipped, this is how they arrive. I prefer that when they are incoming to me. There is a much higher percentage of breakage from distributors that ship the mandolins bridge in place (and I am going to be taking it right back out anyway). Keep in mind these are typically, poorly packed. Once these are setup and off to customers, they are shipped bridge in place and detuned.


Saga describes their Kentucky mandolins as "shop adjusted", which they are. This brings up the whole meaning of "setup/shop adjusted". This term is just too broad. A dealer can sell this as shop adjusted or setup and still drop-ship it to the customer. The dealer has not necessarily mislead the customer. This is where it becomes important to ask the dealer exactly what is being done to the instrument. Just saying "setup", "professional setup", "shop adjusted", etc, really doesn't tell us much. An instrument can be setup poorly and still be called setup. If done poorly by someone for profit, it is now "professionally setup". :)

TebD,

If you still have the shipping label or tracking number, check to see if the package was shipped via FedEx from San Francisco. If so, your mandolin came directly from the warehouse (assuming your dealer is not in San Francisco).