Is my mandolin intonation right?

[MisterLama]

Hi everyone,
I bought a mandolin recently, and for some reason it doesn't sound right.
When I play, let's say, a D chord, the first string sounds weird, and all the strings together sounds horrible.
At first, I thought it was out of tune, but according to an electric tuner it is all perfect.
Also, when I try to tune my mando to itself (the 7th fret thing) I get a completely wrong tuning event if the 4th string is tuned right.
Is there a problem in the intonation? What can I do fix this?
If I do not explain well or if you guys need to hear, I can post a video.
Thanks!

[Drew Streip]

That means, most likely, that your bridge is in the wrong place.

Another reason could be that your action is vastly too high, and the act of fretting a note bends the strings out of tune.

Can you tell us -- are your fretted notes sharp or flat according to the tuner? If they're flat, you need to move the bridge toward the fretboard. If they are sharp, you likely need to move it toward the tailpiece. Normally it's a matter of a few millimeters unless something is WAY off.

[Ky Slim]

Drew is on the right track. If you want to post a video I'm sure some folks around here can help you figure out what's up. There's also a free e-book by Rob Meldrum that has a lot of good info on mandolin set-up. He'll send it to you if you email him a request.

Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and I will email you a copy for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

Rob

[MisterLama]

Thanks for the replies, but since I don't know much about set up and my english is bad, here's the video

[Drew Streip]

I'm almost certain your bridge is too far forward (too close to the sound hole and fretboard).

Loosen your strings to the point that they have just enough tension to make a sound.

Then, carefully, slide the bridge back (away from the sound hole) about 2 mm.

Tune your mandolin back up to pitch and try playing the chords again. Is it better or worse?

[mandroid]

noting at 12th fret should be an octave above the open string , no more no less..

[MisterLama]

Wow! Now that sounds perfect! Unfortunately I broke a string, but that's no big deal. Thank you very much!

[Drew Streip]

Wow! Now that sounds perfect! Unfortunately I broke a string, but that's no big deal. Thank you very much!

I have also broken strings doing this same procedure. Sorry about your string -- but I'm glad you fixed the intonation issue!

[Ivan Kelsall]

From MisterLama - "...but since I don't know much about set up and my English is bad..". Well - you were pretty good at getting your question over. Never be afraid to ask a question on here - there's always somebody to help out,
Ivan

[Tim N]

That was such a heartening post - with a happy end to boot!