Improving tone

[Mandosummers]

Anyone have any experience with having a mandolin taken apart and re-carved/modified to improve sound? Specifically bass...

[Phil Goodson]

Short answer: no.

Long answer: Unless you have an upper level mando and have lots of experience with it, and have a very specific reason to think that it will result in a significant improvement, you're likely going to get a better result by buying a different mandolin that suits you better.

Bottom line: if you need to ask, this is probably not the right scenario for it to be done.

[Ken]

Well there was John Monteleone's regraduation of Mike Marshall's Loar, and also the "random hippie sanding" and other work done to Sam Bush's "Hoss".

In any event to disassemble a mandolin and regraduate the top and/or back is going to be a pricey undertaking with unknown results. Despite being a confirmed tinkerer who has done some revoicing on a couple of my own mandolins over the years, I tend to agree with Phil that you will probably be better off looking for a different mandolin that is closer to what you want.

[bmac]

There is a possibility that I know of.,.. But you may not want to go this route. Since you are lookiing for something to dismantle and rebuild for better tone.... The International violin mandolin kit may give you the best bang for the buck... At roughly $200 You get an A style partially built kit in which the front and back are overbuilt (intentionally) for just such experimentation. In process of assembling the kit, which is not particularly difficult, you can graduate the front and back plates for adjusting the tone of the instrument... I believe International Violin packages the Building a Bluegrass Mandolin book in which the author explains some of the theory and workings of the mando to enhance its tonal qualities. In other words you can experiment exactly they way you suggested. I hae built a few of these ane you can end up with a quite nice sounding instrument which, for sound purposes you customized to maximize tonal qualities. You can of course build the kit as it comes from the supplier and it will be good, but the opportunity to enhance the tone of the instrument is there and it certainly can be a valuable experience. Anyway the kit and book might be an interesting experiment.

You may be familiar with the book and kit but I thought I would mention it.

[pheffernan]

Have you considered Steve Perry at Gianna Violins and his "mandovoodoo" mandolin optimization process: http://www.mandovoodoo.com

[UsuallyPickin]

Tops can be re-speced ... it is extrelely pricey. You won'y know if it worked until your luthier has put money and time into the project. You may still not have the tone you are looking / listening for when the job is complete. Insofar as doing it yourself .... well ... I hope you have mad wood working skills and the right tools because they alone will be a chunk of change. IMO a better investment of your capital would be in purchasing a mandolin with the tone you seek. R/

[Jim]

I could see this being worthwhile if you could do it yourself and maybe had a mid 70s Gibson you wanted to improve and didn't mind sacrificing if it didn't go well. You would probably not increase the value of the instrument ( most likely decrease it) and what most would charge to do it would by you a nice sounding Mandolin anyway.

[lenf12]

I had my 1956 Gibson F-12 revoiced by Randy Wood in 2008. Prior to that, the mandolin had a quiet but pleasant voice. You could tell that there was more sound locked inside the mandolin but an hour of hard playing only revealed a hint of that potential. Randy cut the back off and re-graduated the top from the inside and replaced the log-like tonebars. He then glued the back on and touched up the finish to hide his work. He told me it would take several months to "break in" as this type of work is analogous to replacing the top entirely. When I first got it back, it was much louder but not very complex. It did take a good 6 months of daily wuppin' to develop the bass response and complexity I was looking for. I have since been complimented on the sound by a well known guy in the local BG scene here in the Tampa, FL area. I have also been told that my mandolin is too loud by a couple of local banjo players (really!!). All in all, it was money well spent and I have no regrets whatsoever. YMMV

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Canoedad]

This fellow re-graduated his Aria(?) from the top. Sounds good to me. (hit Pause at 4 seconds)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EX6A0ajCSo

[lenf12]

I hit pause at 4 seconds and was horrified to see how the top was butchered and the (former) f holes enlarged beyond recognition. This is not the way to go to improve the tone and maintain any value in your mandolin. My 2 cents... To the OP, what kind of mandolin are we talking about?? If it's an inexpensive Pac Rim mandolin, it's probably not worth having someone do the work (DIY or get another, better sounding mandolin). If it's an overbuilt Gibson from the 50's thru 70's, it may be worth considering having a pro like Randy Wood do it for you. I know another guy here who had Randy do his '73 Gibby F-5 and it sounds great.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[padawan]

Have you considered Steve Perry at Gianna Violins and his "mandovoodoo" mandolin optimization process: http://www.mandovoodoo.com

For someone with a (mid priced) second mandolin that they are unhappy with this could be a viable option. For $100-$200 it just might be worth rolling the dice.

...but I'd never send off a high dollar or prized mandolin to have a stranger "operate" on the internal structure.

[FLATROCK HILL]

This fellow re-graduated his Aria(?) from the top. Sounds good to me. (hit Pause at 4 seconds)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EX6A0ajCSo

Sarcasm I'm guessing?
The time he spent 'regraduating' might have been better spent tuning.

[Astro]

He should have used a hammer.

[FLATROCK HILL]

He should have used a hammer.

So...You're saying he didn't?

[Astro]

Looks like just the chisel.

[Stephen Perry]

mandosummers:

what make mandolin?

really, not going to get a lot of fundamental off a mandolin usually

before thinking about carving, i highly suggest having someone look at it to see whether it is really overbuilt, or whether it might just need some work to make what's there do better.

if you head this way i can take a look

tired - pardon my lack of caps - took hint from ee cummings

be well all

[bmac]

zz

[Tom Haywood]

If the mandolin is over-built, some improvement can be achieved. Still, there's no telling up front what the improvement actually will be or whether it will satisfy what you are looking for in the long run.

[Steve Ostrander]

I would try a Cumberland Acoustic bridge before I started cutting. If that didn't work, I would look for a different instrument.

[OldSausage]

Let's face it, no-one has the faintest idea what the results will be, so as long as you have the money and the time and don't care if you wreck the instrument, do it.

If not, just trade it for one you really like.

[Astro]

First get a big pan and fill to the top with water.

Bring it to a boil and then let it cool back down until its soothingly warm to the touch.

Immerse your mandolin in it for 15 minutes, then drain all the water and let air dry.

Then throw the mandolin away and play the pan.

[Pasha Alden]

Agree with Phil, I would rather buy a new mandolin. Particularly here in sA where we do not have many a good builder or luthier close at hand and I am certainly technically minded in terms of learning music but not building an instrument so it's certainly not something I would even given a sniff of thought here in SA. <big smile> Good luck with your journey!
Pasha (Formerly Vanillamandolin)

[Pete Martin]

The sound quality of the G and D was why I determined that the only mandolin that would make me happy was an early Gilchrist. Prior to that I played a LOT of mandolins over a lot of years. I got very lucky to get a great 1980 Gil.

I'm not saying you need to buy a Gilchrist, but if you want better sounds, you usually have to pay (money for mandolin and practice time for your technique).