String Rattle & Minor Issue

[Jim P.]

I recently purchased a Gibson A, circa '26-'27. Finger board and frets are level by straight edge sighting, no visible repair areas.

My main problem is a string rattle on the A and E strings. When these are sounded at frets 2-5 a very slight but noticeable rattle is heard. My thoughts are 1) bad technique - not fretting properly; 2) action too low; 3) raised fret(s) I'm not seeing.

The minor issue is the musty odor which I think many of us are familiar with when we've gotten an instrument from the early 20 century. This is in the mando and its period case. Any advice on how to get rid of it?

Any input on these two items appreciated.

Jim

[Wes Brandt]

If there are just a few frets rattling in one area ...fret dress needed. A professional would, at the same time, check for loose frets and action heights.

Wood being...wood, necks move some over time... often, if you see a weird grain glitch in a neck, like what happens near a knot, it will eventually show up on the fingerboard surface.

[Vernon Hughes]

Original one piece bridge? Could be too low caused by some settling of the top or just a very slight bow in the neck. I usually opt for an adjustable cumberland acoustics bridge on my gibson A's.Or you can add a little wood to the bottom of the one piece to raise it slightly.People pay big money for that smell you know...

[HonketyHank]

If you google the phrase "mildew odor" site:mandolincafe.com you'll find lots of suggestions.

Here is what I did after buying a Gibson A4 from the teens with exactly the same odor problems. It worked. First off, go to a pet store and buy Nature's Miracle 3-in-1 Odor Destroyer spray bottle.

Case: Spray inside the case pretty liberally with the 3in1 stuff. Let dry for a couple of days. Repeat once, twice if necessary. Each cycle should make a big difference in the level of odor detected.

Mandolin: Remove or at least completely de-tension the strings so there is no stress on the top. Get a cellulose sponge and cut it up into little pea-sized pieces. Spray the sponge pieces with the 3in1 stuff until they are uniformly wet but not dripping wet. Spoon the sponge pieces into the mandolin. Cover the sound hole - maybe with blue tape, maybe with your hand. Shake the mandolin vigourously for a few minutes. Empty out all the sponge pieces. Let sit for a couple of days and then give it the sniff test. Should be noticeably better. Repeat the cycle if odor not 100% gone. I don't remember if it took two cycles or three for me, but I would wait at least a week if I thought I needed to go past three cycles.

This is something I actually did on my own mandolin and not only did it work, I have never had to repeat the process in the two years since I did it.

The odor is cause by mildew spores, not the mildew itself. Spores are basically mildew seeds. If your mandolin lives in a warm, high humidity environment, mildew spores will regenerate a new mildew growth. Thus you really want to eliminate all the mildew spores and remove the mandolin from such an environment -- if you don't it will come back. It is pretty hard to imagine killing every single spore. Fortunately I live in a relatively low humidity area.

[Bill McCall]

As far as the smell goes, cases are very problematic, although leaving it open in the sun can help. But it's hard to kill all the mold. Could be completely reupholstered but maybe not the best option.

On the instrument, a wipe down with white vinegar can be helpful, both inside and out.

[Wes Brandt]

Original one piece bridge? Could be too low caused by some settling of the top or just a very slight bow in the neck. I usually opt for an adjustable cumberland acoustics bridge on my gibson A's.Or you can add a little wood to the bottom of the one piece to raise it slightly.People pay big money for that smell you know...

You can make just about any fret buzz problem go away by raising the action at the bridge high enough, but if it's only buzzing on 3 frets in one area and not up and down the fingerboard, it means there's a problem in that area ...so you will make it play harder up the neck on at least one side of the fingerboard by raising the action... well leveled frets with the correct fb relief will buzz (or not buzz) equally up and down the finger board on a given string... this gets you the lowest action everywhere without buzz.

If you have a fixed bridge, it's not that easy to raise it, especially on just one side, so why not do it right... ? Chances are there are other high/low/loose frets as well on an instrument that old... step one for getting rid of buzzing is making sure the frets are level and the relief is correct... any thing else is fudging it... which can work, but is never the optimum.

[Jim P.]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It does have an adjustable bridge so I'm going to work with that. If not successful - off I go to a local luthier. I guess I'll bear with the aroma - at least until I get the major issue corrected. Thanks again -

J

[Mike Snyder]

If you have good quality instruments, a good quality luthier is a necessary thing. I played junk for years and did my own set ups and various tweaks. It is good to have things done right.