I said "play", not "sound".. although it doesn't sound that bad for a beginner instrument
There have been a lot of questions about the dirt-cheap mandos like the Rogue, and I wanted to post what my experience was with one - in case it helps any others get the most out of theirs. Nobody wants to drop 3-400 on a beginner mando when they aren't sure they or their kid will even stick with it. Anyway - after working my Rogue over - it is amazingly playable and serves its purpose well - a beginner mandolin for my daughter. I'm a 30+ year guitarist, so I'm pretty harsh when it comes to judging beginner instruments.. If it plays poorly, it is hard to learn on - so i'm not saying the Rogue is a great instrument by any means.. but I was able to make this one play like a dream and I don't think my daughter would be nearly as far along if I hadn't. She can play it for a couple of hours and not even complain.
Goal: Buy a Rogue A-style mandolin and make it as playable as possible. Was on sale at the time for $39, so it wasn't that big of a risk.
The Theory: A Rogue is a cheap, asian-import mandolin. Mass produced in a factory. However - so is that $199 fender, $150 gretsch, etc.. They just have had a little more effort put into the setup. My theory was that I could buy this $40 mando, put a little elbow grease into it and have something way more playable than your average stock beginner mando for considerably less.
The Plan: I can't do much about the tone - it is what it is. However, I CAN make it playable by adjusting the action. The action (how high the strings are off the fretboard) is affected by 1) the height of the nut, 2) the height of the bridge and 3) the relief (curve) in the neck. We will adjust all three. While we can't really adjust the relief of the neck on the Rogue (it has no truss rod) we can make sure the frets are level and don't have any high / low spots.
Here is what I did - step by step
Step 1: Unboxing. Tuned it up and played on it a bit.. not the worst thing I have ever played, but definitely cheap. Throw those strings away - buy some decent once. Less than $10.
Step 2: Frets - Disclosure: this is NOT the proper way to do a fret job.. this is just how I did a fret job on a $40 instrument that I would be willing to throw away if ruined.. Not having a truss rod - we can't adjust relief. We just need the frets to be level with strings off.
2a: Get a dead-level / flat sanding block and use 150 or so. Block should be at least 8 inches long, so it forces the frets to be level. Lightly sand up and down the fretboard (just on the metal) until you see the surface of each fret has been scratched. If the nut gets knocked off, don't worry - we're going to pop it off in a minute anyway.
2b: Sand lightly down each side until you don't feel rough fret spots. Lightly! We're not trying to sand finish or binding off here.. just feel for any sharp fret ends and get rid of those.
2c: at a 45 degree angle, bevel the edges of the frets along each side of the neck.
2d: (if any builders reading this haven't cringed yet - here is where it starts) Take 300-400 grit, and using the pad of your finger, sand each fret back and forth to smooth it. This will give it a slight crown. Yes - you are probably marring the fretboard, but again... it's a $40 mandolin.. You can clean that up later. While you're at it - run up and down the neck sides to smooth / roll any hard edges. It'll feel better to play.
2e: Do the same thing with steel wool. This will make the frets shiny again. if you have wet-sanding paper (i did) feel free to use up thru 1000 - 1500 and really get them glassy.
If any frets have any deep scratches in them - repeat the last two steps again on that fret and polish it up. Just be careful not to sand too long on any one fret - you'll lower it. Everything has to be even.
Step 3: The Nut. Using a card or something in a fret slot - see how far above the first fret it is. Make a pencil line below the slot where you want it to be. Measure that - and this is how much material needs to come off the BOTTOM of the nut. Pop off the nut. I just pushed it back towards the tuners with my thumb and it came right off. Sand the bottom of the nut on your sanding block until that much material has been removed. I just make a pencil line and sand until it is gone. You can't put material back, so err on the side of caution and check often.
Step 4: The Bridge. The bridge is adjustable, with thumb wheels, but for me it wouldn't go low enough. To fit the bridge, lay your 150 or so sandpaper grit-up on the top of your mandolin where the bridge goes. Now sand the bridge right on your mandolin so the bottom is a perfect fit. You can take a little material off this way. For more adjustment room - I took the saddle off and sanded material away under each side that sits on the thumb screw. All in all I took about 1/8" of wood off.
Step 5: Re-Assembly. Put a dot of glue (super glue is great) under the nut and put it back. Lay the bridge back on the top. Not sure where the bridge goes? Get a ruler.. the distance between the front-edge of the nut to your 12th fret will be the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. String it up, tune it up, check and see if you have any buzzing. From here, you can raise / lower the bridge to get it where you want.
Intonation - without getting too deep.. any string fretted at the 12th fret should be exactly an octave higher than the same string open. If it is sharp - mobe the bridge slightly toward the tailpiece. If it is flat - move the bridge slightly away from the tailpiece. As a beginner - just get it close, most of your work will be below the 7th fret.
Couple of other notes: The tailpiece on my rogue was very buzzy.. I ended up putting a tiny shim underneath so it would press a little harder against something. Took out the low G rattle / buzz.
Also - keep in mind that the lower your action, the worse your tone is. If you need it super low so your kid doesn't quit the first time their fingers hurt - then don't worry so much about the tone or a buzz here and there. However, as their fingers get stronger, raise it up a bit to get a purer note.
Lastly - if you want to keep tweaking.. replace the nut with something else. Bone, TUSQ, etc.. Pick up a better bridge/saddle.. Get a heavier tailpiece. Tuners are a bit suspect on the rogue but from what I understand they are not standard - so you might be stuck with them. Taking them apart and lubricating everything can cure a lot of ills but keep in mind that you can spend a TON of money on high end tuners - so it is what it is.
This post isn't meant to start any sort of debates - i'm not claiming this is the right way or best way. These methods are quick and dirty - heavy on the dirty! I'm only posting in case anyone else has bought one of these little guys and is feeling adventurous enough to dig in and work on it a bit. If you know nothing about instruments - trying to follow a professional guide to a setup is pretty daunting. This is just meant to break it down into a few easy steps. If you can figure out how to rub something with a sanding block - you can do this...
Everyone recommends a professional setup on a new mando - and I completely agree. I'd happily spend the $100-$200 to get an intermediate mando professionally set up - but for a $40 mando? it just isn't very practical. I hope this post helps somebody out! And while this may sound like a lot of work.. I did this all over my lunch break.. But even if you put 2-3 hrs into it, it's still worth it if you can greatly increase the odds for success - for you or for your student.
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