Just got one for some rags and blues, it needs a setup. Any tips? Action is a bit high.
Just got one for some rags and blues, it needs a setup. Any tips? Action is a bit high.
Last edited by Dave Martin; Mar-02-2020 at 1:14pm.
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Start slow, fade early
So, I must have been a bit brief in the original post, apologies. I have never set up a resonator before...
I received my Recording King RA-998 mandolin purchased from East Village Music Store. There is noticeable excess neck relief. Action is at .135 at 12th fret. The mandolin had apparently not been inspected, the factory brown paper around the strings was still in place. I have been playing fretted about 50 years, 5 professionally. I do know a little about fretted string instruments. It sounds great, of course action is high. There was no paperwork from Recording King, the mandolin was advertised as new. No little card, no warranty info, etc. Is it necessary to remove the cone cover to get to the biscuit bridge for lowering. This instrument has no truss rod, so only path I see for getting the action down a bit is sanding the bridge.
Thoughts?
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Start slow, fade early
I once owned a 30's National steel mandolin with single spun cone and biscuit bridge. It would be necessary to remove the resonator cover to access the bridge. In my case, I made a duplicate biscuit bridge that was lower to make mine more playable. I included the original when I moved it on. It's a pain to adjust as you won't know how much you've gained in playability untill you put it all back together again. Too bad it doesn't have an adjustable neck angle.
Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band
I have a Republic resonator mandolin I bought new a number of years back. Pretty much the same as the RK but with an adjustable truss rod.
Setup on mine was a horror show. Having never worked on a mandolin before I took it to my luthier who made a new nut (bone) to replace the plastic one with poorly spaced strings and a new bridge. Mine came with a rosewood bridge, which is quite soft and kills a ton of tone and volume. The maple/ebony replacement was like night and day.
Here is a replacement biscuit bridge made of maple:
https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and...it-Bridge.html
Here's a StewMac how-to for biscuit bridges:
https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Onlin...it_Bridge.html
I've had mine apart a number of times and can say a resonator can be a challenge to work on but the end result is fun.
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