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Thread: NMD Trinity College TM-325 octave mandolin

  1. #1

    Default NMD Trinity College TM-325 octave mandolin

    Arrived yesterday from TMS.

    This is my first OM, so very exciting for me.

    It's a spruce top, maple B/S, flat-top build.
    20 3/8 scale, 1 1/4 nut.

    It's well-made, no flaws, neck is as expected. It has glassy smooth guitar tuners.
    Bridge floats on the top, but is not height adjustable like most mando bridges, it has to be filed for height like a guitar bridge.

    Sounds just like this video here (this video got me to buy it):

    https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/20...-mandolin.html

    Setup came in pretty good, but I will want to lower the upper strings near the nut, as they all came in all at .019, I am used to the upper strings being a bit lower than that on guitars (which are pretty close to this instrument scale and setup-wise). I bought nut files, so am ready to do that work. 12th fret height is dead-on at 60-80 (same as my Taylors (the gold standard for factory setups).

    Definitely darker than an archtop. It is also very sensitive to how you strum, a light strum gets a bit nasally, a harpsichord-like sound quality, but hold the pick a little tighter and dig in slightly (with a nice dark nonbevelled BC TP60) and it produces the rich warm sound you hear in the video. I can work with that, got exactly what I was expecting. Like other dark oval holes, you have to favor the higher strings to get a balanced tone because it has so much down low. Again, me likey.

    I want to try flatwounds to see how they sound. There is a recording of this instrument out on u-tube and I liked what I heard. The nasally sound was completely gone.

    Planning to install a pickup at some point, no rush though, gotta get used to it first before I think about playing out on it, since it's my first OM.

    It came with very odd string sizes: micrometer measured 11-22-32-40, that's light for the inner courses, and ultra-light for the outer two. I will restring to ultra-lights to begin with (11-16-26-40).

    Notice the bridge is compensated for an unwound A string, which means an ultra-light set of strings seems to be what this mando is built for. The largest unwound A available is a .016, commonly seen in sets labelled as 'ultra-light'. Why it ships with a wound A string is a mystery.

    Fret height is .037, but it feels ok. I may have it refretted to taller frets (I prefer 50ish), not sure yet.

    Nut string spacing is perfect - fits my preferences. Notice the string courses are narrow, leaving lots of space between courses. I like nuts cut like that. To me how the nut is cut makes more difference than nut width for ease of not muting adjacent strings when playing.

    Neck is a thicker, modified D shape, like a milder V but with a more rounded top. Works well for both traditional mando pinched-neck style and guitar-like thumb position (which I used for barre chords), so I like this neck shape.

    I don't seem to notice the flat fretboard (this is my first one), and I was worried about that.

    As for the finger stretching, this is a shorter-scale OM. I can play barre chords anywhere on the neck, so it can be used as a guitar replacement. I actually estimated the increased width and tried fretting that span (an A barre chord) on a regular mando before I ordered this one.

    You aren't gonna reach a four-fingered G chop on it unless your hands are bigger than mine though.

    Most open scales are accessible without alternate fingerings. Still, the pinky will get more of a workout on this instrument for sure. I can't reach the high 'B' without moving my hand a tiny bit. Seems like 90-95% usable for the same fingerings with some exceptions.

    Like a guitar, you have to pay attention to fretting notes near the fret (as opposed to centered between the frets, a common mistake for beginning guitarists). Even on a regular mando I find this helps for the first 4-5 frets, but on this one its like that for most of the fretboard.

    Overall got pretty much what I was expecting, very nice instrument for below $1k.

    If you like a more focussed (less bassy) sound in this price range, the Eastman OM is at the opposite end of the spectrum. I am not aware of anything more in the middle sound-wise (basically an arch-top oval hole) for under $1k. FYI I love the sound of a Weber arch-top oval, that to me is the perfect OM sound. But this one will do for now.

    Enjoy this pics below:
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    Davey Stuart tenor guitar (based on his 18" mandola design).
    Eastman MD-604SB with Grover 309 tuners.
    Eastwood 4 string electric mandostang, 2x Airline e-mandola (4-string) one strung as an e-OM.
    DSP's: Helix HX Stomp, various Zooms.
    Amps: THR-10, Sony XB-20.

  2. #2

    Default Re: NMD Trinity College TM-325 octave mandolin

    Good write up! I assume you still like it. I pulled the trigger on a black top one today after seeing it for less than half off MSRP. I have several Kentucky mandolins so I hope the quality is just as good! I had bought a used Gold Tone on GC but as always Good or Great condition they are not! The store manager gave me the evil eye after having to show him the top was collapsed!

  3. #3

    Default Re: NMD Trinity College TM-325 octave mandolin

    A luthier can add a piece of material to the bridge to properly compensate, like so (photo is of a TC octave I used to own):
    Click image for larger version. 

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