Kentucky KM-950 Amazon Warehouse Deals

[WoMando]

Me, again.
I put J75s on the KM-950. I had to raise both sides of the bridge to get less buzzing on some of the upper frets. Unfortunately,when it comes to the mechanical stuff, I am flying blind. In previous years, I almost always took potential purchases to my luthier. He has since retired. I feel like an orphan.

Have been scared to death of attempting a truss rod adjustment ever since I was a kid. I was in Harmony Hut when a fellow brought back a guitar that had recently been purchased there. Even from several feet away, the fretboard looked like a roller coaster. He tried to get his money back for the guitar. Not sure that he succeeded.

I don't even have a proper straight gauge. What should I do next?

Help.

Laura

[houseworker]

I don't even have a proper straight gauge. What should I do next?

Help.

Let's try and think this through.

Buzzing is generally caused (as you know) by the strings making unwanted contact with the frets. This can be caused by
1. Some (or all) of the slots in the nut being cut too deep. You'd experience buzzing on the open strings, but not fretted strings.
2. The bridge being too low. This would mean that the buzzing would get worse the higher up the fretboard you got.
3. Incorrect neck relief - too little or too much will exacerbate problems at nut or bridge.
4. Uneven frets - if this were the situation you'd find that the buzzing was inconsistent up and down the neck rather than being worse at one end or the other.

It sounds as though your bridge is still too low.

Start by checking your neck relief - use the strings as your straight edge. Hold an E string down at the first fret and at the highest at the same time. You'll now be able to see how much relief you have at the 12th fret. Compare this to a mandolin that plays well (such as the KM-505). If there's a significant discrepancy, you should hopefully have an adjustment tool in the box.

Then raise the bridge further, until the buzzing disappears. I'd suggest slackening all the strings bar one G string, which you can ease off before raising the bridge, and then bring back to pitch to test for buzzing. When you find the point where the buzzing is gone, add an E string at pitch, then all strings and you should be buzz-free. Having all strings at pitch will have added significant tension to the neck compared to that solitary G string, and you may find that you can drop the bridge back a fraction as a consequence.

Don't panic, Amazon give you 30 days to decide whether or not you want to keep the KM-950. That's plenty long enough to establish whether it's a simple set up issue, or that there are more serious structural problems that necessitate a return.

[multidon]

Sounds like it needs to be taken to a luthier for an evaluation. A set up would be 50-75 dollars and money well spent. Why "fly blind" on the "mechanical stuff" when you can be sure?

If you could tell us where you are located, maybe we could recommend someone.

That being said, you can do it yourself. As houseworker says you can use the strings themselves as a straight edge. Capo the first fret, that makes it easier. I disagree about measuring relief at the 12 fret. The truss rod adjustment affects only the portion of the neck that is free of the body and the relief should be greatest in the center of that. If you have 15 frets clear of the body then relief should be greatest at the 7th or 8th fret. Most players like a mostly straight neck, with maybe just a tad of relief to prevent buzzing. Maybe a business card width. You should be able to slip it in without touching the strings.

Always do neck adjustments first, then bridge height. A set of feeler gauges ( probably 5 bucks at an auto parts store) will enable you to measure with accuracy. But old timers would just use a dime and a nickel. A dime at the first fret and a nickel at the 12 puts you in the right ball park.

Of houseworker's suggestions, numbers 2 and 3 should be able to be solved by you. If it's number one you probably need a new nut ( luthier) and if it's number 4 you probably need the frets leveled (luthier).

Your truss rod probably adjusts with a 4 mm Allen wrench. That is the import standard these days. Always start by loosening it first. Loosening hurts nothing. Righty tighty lefty loosey. When you tighten go in small increments, like 1/8 turn or so. Wait a while before measuring, neck takes time to shift.

Has anyone mentioned that our member Rob Meldrum has a free e-book on mandolin set up? Just send him a PM and he would be happy to send it to you.

[Austin Bob]

I agree with Don, if I were in your position, without proper tools/experience, I would try to find a luthier to help you. From reading this, it sounds like at the very least the mandolin needs a proper setup.

Is there any music shops in your area you could call and ask for a recommendation for a luthier? At most, they would probably charge you a nominal fee to inspect the instrument and fairly quickly let you know what needs to be done and what it would cost. Then you could make a better decision. The problem with this scenario, is that the worst case scenario is that you spend $100 on a setup only to find the tone is still crappy. Also, you need to be aware of the return policy from Amazon. Most likely they would not be able to tell if it had been worked on, but you never know.

I spent the first 5 years of trying to learn the guitar playing on a cheap guitar with bad intonation high action. I would not wish that on anybody. Good luck.

[gtani7]

Probably somebody has suggested member Rob's pdf on setup with lots of specific measurements on string height af first fret etc, but I'll do it again: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...by-Rob-Meldrum

I don't know if the sandpaper on bridge feet rough fit is in there, but you should look at the bottom of bridge feet for rough edges. And you can use the line of the strings on the polished frets to see high frets, unevenly relieved neck and hump over the neck joint, just sight down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzirIfsQPo. You'd like to see a perfect smooth gentle curve; My km900 is a little asymmetric, slight hump on the G string side, very close to board flat on E string.

[pheffernan]

if I were in your position, without proper tools/experience, I would try to find a luthier to help you.

If I were in your position, I would send the KM-950 back and spend my time saved enjoying that Old Wave.

[Jeff Mando]

If I were in your position, I would send the KM-950 back and spend my time saved enjoying that Old Wave.

Agreed. Sounds like there was a reason it was half price.

[WoMando]

I have an appointment with a luthier tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

[mandolinstew]

I had a $100 amazon gift card and saw a Recording King parlor guitar for $200 and one with a blemish for $150.I got the one with the blemish and it was just a little spot on the headstock that I repaired with a sharpie marker.Nice little guitar.

[almeriastrings]

Normally, unless there is a serious defect (neck warped, out of alignment, joint failing, badly fitted frets or top imploding) these buzzing issues are just a matter of a decent setup. They do not spend much time on this at the factory, and then, there is shipping involved. So - as we have all said many times, getting a truly good setup is absolutely critical. These higher end KM's are usually a pretty safe bet... but... of course, there might be the odd exception and with no setup, it is hard to evaluate them properly.

[WoMando]

For being so helpful, a great big "Thank You!" to everyone.

Oh, and my, my! How this place has grown since the early days. I was here before there were categories. Seriously.

The luthier evaluated both the KM-505 and KM-950. The KM-505 was louder but had a hump on the treble side of the fretboard. I think it was up near the 15th fret. The KM-950's neck was straight, no humps. He adjusted the truss rod and raised the bridge. Buzzes stopped. Yay. We concluded it is a keeper, so he did some fine adjustments to the nut slots.

Also had the old KM-250S rebridged in ebony. It sounds better than it has a right to.

Wish I could magically move the KM-505's peghead inlay to the 950.

There is a moratorium on spending until further notice....