Just a reminder

[Br1ck]

It has been ten months and a few seasons since I first strung up my mandolin build, and I was reminded last week when I went on a two store sampling binge, most every mandolin I played had a clarity in the upper range that mine lacked. Thinking back, I remember I was going to cut a new nut and readdress the frets, but I just kept playing it. Well things shifted a bit and when I checked yesterday I had a slight back bow, and what seemed to be the old hump at the body.

So out came the fret tools, and after a truss rod tweak, I leveled the fretboard. I was astounded at how much fret wear I had. Ten months of two and three hour a day playing will do that, and the amount of crud I scraped off the fret board was impressive.

After a crowning and a polish, my mandolin now plays clean just like those Collings do. So just like you don't notice your worn tires, evaluate your neck geometry now and then and take action. You will be rewarded. The more I get into this, the more I realize a fret level is what makes a mandolin go from playing good to playing great.

[LadysSolo]

After a crowning and a polish, my mandolin now plays clean just like those Collings do. So just like you don't notice your worn tires, evaluate your neck geometry now and then and take action. You will be rewarded. The more I get into this, the more I realize a fret level is what makes a mandolin go from playing good to playing great.

Boy is this so true (not noticing worn tires.) I will check my mandolins, and this kind of goes with the "back to basics" whenever my playing starts to not work as well - recheck the obvious!