Re: A string intonation weirdness
Originally Posted by
Nick Triesch
...a respected instrument repairman here in San Diego...told me that mandolins many times will not note in pitch up the neck. He told me that that's just the way they are. He also said that most mandolins get that "hump" on the fingerboard near the bridge. I just think mandolins are not an exact science. Guitars seem to be better.
?????
I would think this wouldn't be true for properly fretted and set-up mandolins. Never heard that improper intonation was "just the way [mandolins] are."
Can't find examples of the "'hump' on the fingerboard near the bridge" (? -- mandolin fingerboards don't get very near the bridge, do they?) on any of the 15-20 mandolins I own. Maybe I just got lucky…?
There are pretty well-documented examples of improperly fretted Gibsons from the 1920's, when the fretting jigs Gibson used got worn, or out of kilter, for a period of time. But the idea that mandolins are generically un-intonate-able, and usually develop "humps" in their fingerboards, is new to me. None of the repair techs with whom I work here have ever told me that.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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