Something is rattling inside my mandolin...

[Scott Cressey]

I thought I had noticed something moving inside my mandolin before, but I though it was just the strap rubbing. Tonight after the strap was off I could hear something moving around inside as I tilted the manodlin. I figured whatever is loose might come out the sound hole if I tilted it just right, but nothing comes out. It sounds almost like a piece of string swinging around inside. The mandolin is a Tacoma M3. Should I be concerned about this? Maybe somebody dropped something in the soundhole at some point??

[John Flynn]

If something dropped in the soundhole, it should come back out if you tilt the instrument and gently shake it around a bit. Try every different angle you can and be persistent. Most of us have had to get picks out of instruments before. Sometimes it seems that it will never come out, but if you keep at it, it eventually does. If it is something else, something that is attached inside and therefore won't come out, you have two choices: Live with it, especially if it does not make any noise while you are playing, or take it to a luthier and see what he can do. My luthier has some pretty neat mirrors he uses to look around inside instruments.

[grandmainger]

Take a trip to your dentist and ask him/her for a disposable angled mirror (the kind they use to look at your back teeth). You should be able to either shine a torch in the hole and look inside with the mirror, or shine the torch on the mirror and use the reflected light to see inside.

[keymandoguy]

Be careful with that torch though remember mandolins are made of wood !! lol

[grandmainger]

Be careful with that torch though remember mandolins are made of wood !! #lol
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif LOL! I guess flashlight is more amer-english ?

Don't go torching your mando just because it rattles!

[evanreilly]

Put a rattlesnake rattle in it and never worry again....

[futrconslr]

[QUOTE]I guess flashlight is more amer-english ?

Righto chap! lol

[Keith Erickson]

Hey Scott,

I had the same problem last week. It seemed like the button on my sleeve was touching up against the strings that are between the tail piece and the bridge. It was driving me up the wall until I figured it out.

I hope that in your case, it's the same reason. If so, it can be fixed by just rolling up your sleeve.

Best of Luck http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[flairbzzt]

Any of your kids lose a hamster? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[Bob A]

My big fear would be that a brace had popped off, what with the inevitable shrinking that goes hand in hand with decreased humidity in winter. If that turns out to be the case, de-tune immediately and get to a luthier for a re-glue.

[mad dawg]

Be careful with that torch though remember mandolins are made of wood !! #lol
Although I've read over in the builders forum that sometimes people use torches to bring out the flame in the wood.

[mandodebbie]

Now... if you are also a secret b#%jo player, I'd ask the dentist to check if there was any of your teeth missing. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[TommyK]

Be careful with that torch though remember mandolins are made of wood !! #lol
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif LOL! I guess flashlight is more amer-english ?

Don't go torching your mando just because it rattles!
Amer-english??? WHat's that
I thought there were only two kinds of English:
English
and
The Queen's English!

I guess it depends on your perspective!

[grandmainger]

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Amer-english is the one where using a torch on your mandolin is not a good idea, where birdwatching is always ornithology, where a billion is different by a factor of 1000, where chips are crisps, where courgettes have an Italian name, etc etc http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

"The Americans are identical to the British in all respects except, of course, language."
Oscar Wilde

"We (the British and Americans) are two countries separated by a common language."
G.B. Shaw

This is very fun to me, especially because my first language is French http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Scott Cressey]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm taking it to the music shop where I got it on wednesday, so they can take a look at it. They have a thirty day guarantee on their used instruments. It will be thirty days exactly on wednesday. Hopefully it is something simple, but I can't help feeling a little worried. I don'nt want to end up with a $600.00 piece of wall art.

Regards, scotty

[Scott Cressey]

Whatever is making the noise seems to be still attached. Kinda like the noise a wire or piece of string would make if one was hanging inside the instrument. Forgot to add this in the last post.

Regards, Scotty

[GeoMandoAlex]

Is the Tacoma an electric. I have an Alvarez-Yairi 12-string acoustic-electric a had a rattle. Turns out the battery in the guitars equalizer had come loose.

[mtnrose]

I had something kinda moving/ rattling around inside a vintage Martin. Despite numerous attempts to shake it out of the soundhole, I wasnt able to get rid of or even see what it was. But I knew something was there. Finally one day a paper hang tag and string was visible in the sound hole. Mystery solved and fairly easily removed.

Becky

[Scott Cressey]

GeoMandoAlex, my Tacoma is not electric. I'm hoping it is something simple like the tag you mentioned Mtnrose.

Regards, Scotty

[Kent Barnes]

Could this be what's rattling inside your mando? #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Strange Ebay auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10179&item=3777467466&rd=1)

[mtnrose]

"Could this be what's rattling inside your mando?"
"Strange Ebay auction"

I actually like snakes but that would give me the creeps. My mandolins are resonsant enuff thankyou very much.

I hope so too Scotty.

BTW at a Carlo Aonzo workshop in Denver there was a teenager (with a sense of humor) that was passing out rubbersnakes to place on pegheads so people could have a "snakehead mandolin"
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Becky

[Scott Cressey]

Update: Took my Tacoma to the shop today. It seems that it had a passive pickup installed from the factory, but it never had a pin installed with a jack. The noise I was hearing was the wires swinging around. Mine was not supposed to have a pickup, it is an M3. The ones with factory installed pickups are M3E's. The guy at the shop said it had to be from the factory, because it was put on with epoxy, and in a location that would be very hard to reach after construction. I had them wire up and install a pin with a jack. Only cost me $25. Turned out to be a pretty happy ending. The last owner must have never knew it was in there. Thanks for all the replies.

Regards, Scotty http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[TommyK]

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif
Awwww I was hopin' for something more memorable like a hunnert year old Rattle Snake Rattle.

They're supposed to be good luck you know.
'course, like the rabbit's foot, it didn't do the original owner any good.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[Troyer]

Check the truss rod in the neck. Mine rattled to and couldn't find anything. The rod was turned out so far that it was loose and not really supporting much. I tightend it up just enough and, no more rattle. Had a luther look at it and he said the neck is straight and he would just play it.