looking for help with lowering my action.

**charles1766** · Feb-03-2020, 7:37pm

Hello i am new to the group everyone and i am learning the mandolin and right now i have a savanah f style mandolin that was given to me to learn on, i plan to get something better in the future but for now it is all i have and i know the action is high on it bc i habe looked at other mandolins and they are so much easier it seems like so i want my mandolin to play easier if at all possible. so the action at the 7th and 12th fret are high but the action at the 1st fret is close to the fret kinda where it seems like it needs to be and i havent done anything to it with the truss rod or bridge or anything with adjustments and was just looking to ask what sugestions will get my action right all the was down the fret board. Also before i get people suggesting to take it to a luthier, i am about 2 hours from one or a shop and dont have alot of money to spend so just wanted to try to get it right myself if it is possible to do it at home without messing it up completly. thank you all for your help in advance.

**buckhorn** · Feb-03-2020, 8:04pm

be sure that the neck is level.. if too high up the neck, then bridge is too high.. remember that when you remove material, ya can't put it back.. only a new bridge will correct that...

**charles1766** · Feb-04-2020, 3:51am

ok thank you i have also checked the bridge and it looks like it is as low on both sides as you can get it just by simply adjusting the wheels on it. idk what the next step to check might be but thank you for replying

**John Kelly** · Feb-04-2020, 5:59am

Charles, check that the bridge is in the correct place in relation to having your intonation accurate. Sometimes the bridge may not have been placed correctly on the instrument, and with the curved top of an f-style, this can affect string height. You should have the 12th fret as the midpoint between nut and bridge saddle. A good check is to adjust bridge until you have the fretted note at the 12th fret having same pitch as the harmonic note at the 12th fret - harmonic note got by just touching the string immediately above the 12th fret then plucking the string. If fretted note is flatter, the bridge needs to come forward towards the nut, and if sharper, bridge goes back slightly towards the tailpiece.
As Buckhorn has said, check neck for high spots and for neck angle. If your bridge is as low as you can get it, then other areas need to be examined.
Good luck, and welcome to the world of trying to get an instrument as playable as you can!

**pops1** · Feb-04-2020, 9:09am

Cafe member Rob Meldrum will email you setup instructions if you email him. You can do a search for him and several threads should show up.

**Richard500** · Feb-04-2020, 9:38am

Charles, get yourself a set of machinists thickness gauges to check string height, or make a thin gauge using a micrometer or calipers. The numbers you should try for are all over this forum. Second, use any kind of a 12” straight edge, like a ruler to see if all the frets are close to level. Close, for the first pass, is probably .005” As long as the neck isn’t a pretzel, you can probably win. Check to see that the neck where it attaches hasn't started to break the joint, which is bad. Very high action can be that the thing is on the way to folding up. Don’t worry about experimenting. This is an ultra low cost mandolin, so whatever you do will not be a crime. The truss rod either is or isn't a cure, but maybe worth a try before you cut the bridge down. Best case, you will get the action almost ok, but not wonderful.

**charles1766** · Feb-04-2020, 1:57pm

Originally Posted by Richard500

Charles, get yourself a set of machinists thickness gauges to check string height, or make a thin gauge using a micrometer or calipers. The numbers you should try for are all over this forum. Second, use any kind of a 12” straight edge, like a ruler to see if all the frets are close to level. Close, for the first pass, is probably .005” As long as the neck isn’t a pretzel, you can probably win. Check to see that the neck where it attaches hasn't started to break the joint, which is bad. Very high action can be that the thing is on the way to folding up. Don’t worry about experimenting. This is an ultra low cost mandolin, so whatever you do will not be a crime. The truss rod either is or isn't a cure, but maybe worth a try before you cut the bridge down. Best case, you will get the action almost ok, but not wonderful.

ok thank you all for the great advice and things to check, i did check the neck and it is started to crack around the neck where it meets the body it looks like its the top finish kinda cracking but im not totally sure how far gone it may be. any hope to salvage it being stable?

**Richard500** · Feb-04-2020, 4:18pm

Anybody dissect a Savannah F? Is the neck attached with a couple dowels and glue, or bolted through? Or some sort of dovetail. That is, can you answer the question of whether or not the thing might open a little and then stay stable, or if it’s gonna keep pulling out. Unfortunately, it’s f-hole so hard to inspect inside or run in a screw. I don’t have any relevant experience.