MD-315 modifications - what could help?

  1. Clark Short
    Clark Short
    Hey team,

    I've been playing an MD-315 for about 9 months now. Lately I'm starting to think the nut is quite a bit too high and it makes the 1st fret a little difficult to play, especially in chords.

    I'm thinking about having it replaced with a bone nut, but while I'm at it, is there anything that you pros think would help the tone at all? New bridge? New tailpiece? This is their cheapest model and I've been really happy with the sound, but I'm willing to fork over a little cash if I think there will be some significant improvement.

    Thanks,
    Clark
  2. johes
    johes
    I'm not a pro, or even close, but I'll chime in. You already have a bone nut. I also have an MD315 and I've thought about putting a cast tailpiece on it even though most say it won't make any difference totally. My nut slots were also a little high and I had a good set up done on mine and it made a world of difference. In my opinion, that's the best money you can spend on a mandolin.
  3. dfalkiewicz
    dfalkiewicz
    I would take it back to where you bought it. I bought my MD315 from Elderly, and it turned out it was accidently put on the floor before a setup was done. A few weeks later I put on my first set of new strings and heard bad overtones and intonation issues. I took it back to Elderly. Elderly discovered the problem was due to the entire nut being shaved in the wrong direction and the A string at the nut was at a different height than the other strings. Problem was resolved in 15 minutes, the mando sounds beautiful and I would put it against any other mandolin under a grand.

    Personally, I would not replace the bridge or the tailpiece, but instead use the bucks for a pro technician mandolin setup.

    Please let us know what happens.

    P.S., I upgraded the 10 buck gigbag to the Access Stage Three gigbag.......love it
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