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Thread: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

  1. #1

    Default New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    New mandolin came in toady (yay!) but there's a weird mark/groove in the nut which makes me worried it may be about to break any moment. Anyone recognize it?

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  2. #2

    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    Here is a zoomed in photo

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  3. #3
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    If the mandolin is new, you could send a picture to the manufacturer.
    But this is probably what they will tell you, and it is true:

    Bone has natural lines and pores which can easily pick up dust and other contamination from sandpaper, files, saw blades, etc.

    I wouldn't worry about it. It's doubtful that it will break.

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    (Just curious) How much did it cost?? (more or less than the phone you needed to get those pictures?)

    Just saying; micro QC is a cost,,
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    If this is the Eastman about which you deleted your inquiry about scroll craftsmanship, bear in mind that it is a modestly priced instrument that may not have as high a level of craftsmanship as a $5000 instrument. That's one of the reasons that Eastman's don't cost as much as Collings.

    For that matter, I've also seen some rough craftsmanship on instruments that commanded high prices.

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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    What is the nut advertised as being made of?

    If it's synthetic, it could just be some impurity that got in the mold.

    If it's bone, it could just be dirt caught during final sanding, or a vein in the bone itself.

    Either way, you could try a little gentle buffing with very fine (600 grit) wet-dry or some 0000 steel wool. If it goes away, it was dirt.
    -- Don

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    Registered User Randy Mallory's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    That little shaving on the headstock side doesn't look like bone to me.
    Randy Mallory
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    Side topic:
    I'm mystified by the nine layers of alternating grey & white fretboard binding. At first, I thought it might be a grained ivoroid surface catching the light differently, but it's consistent across all three photos. Is this a "thing" that I just haven't noticed before?
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    Registered User Doug Brock's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    Quote Originally Posted by EdHanrahan View Post
    Side topic:
    I'm mystified by the nine layers of alternating grey & white fretboard binding. At first, I thought it might be a grained ivoroid surface catching the light differently, but it's consistent across all three photos. Is this a "thing" that I just haven't noticed before?
    Those aren’t multiple layers of gray and white binding. The main binding strip has those alternating colors. I don’t have anything with a bound fretboard, but the binding around the body on this Eastman mandola has a similar appearance.

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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    it's like a Persian rug. You can only tell the quality for the flaws. Otherwise, a machine made it.

    jam on!

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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brock View Post
    Those aren’t multiple layers of gray and white binding. The main binding strip has those alternating colors. I don’t have anything with a bound fretboard, but the binding around the body on this Eastman mandola has a similar appearance.
    It looks to me like it's their equivalent of ivoroid binding... Some of the StewMac bindings used to look like this a few decades ago, consistent lines to the extreme. It's not ugly, but it's also not like the slightly more random-pattern ivoroid we've seen on some big name instruments.

    This mandolin looks like a nice player... How does it sound?
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    The binding is very similar to that on my Kimble “F”. It’s only plastic!

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    Registered User Toni Schula's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    Quote Originally Posted by PDMan View Post
    That little shaving on the headstock side doesn't look like bone to me.
    To me neither. Looks like plastic to me.

    I had to finish a gig with only 7 strings due to a nut failure early this year. Luckily our instruments provide a sufficient level of redundancy ;-)

    So I would ask for a replacement nut and replace if it really breaks or if the gap grows wider.

  15. #14
    mandolin slinger Steve Ostrander's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    I had a km900 that had a fossilized walrus ivory nut. It had all kinds of imperfections like that. It looked like a fossil. I thought it was very interesting, and it sounded good.

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    Registered User Kevin Briggs's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    It's likely not a problem. But, with that said, I think you have an argument for getting it fixed for free. You'd likely have to ship it though, right? Let's just say that's $70 each way. Balance that with considering the cost of an uncut bone nut (maybe $15), and it takes a luthier what, an hour to do the work ($50/hour-ish)? Even if it's fine, you'll want to consider getting a bone nut installed for tone, so why not find a local luthier who can do all of that and get that bone upgrade (or pearl, preferably).
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    I've replaced many nuts over the years, and I assure everyone that it takes quite a bit more than an hour to remove an old mandolin nut, clean the pocket, and cut, fit, polish, slot, and adjust a new one. Nuts that fit in a pocket take longer than nuts that sit on top of a peghead veneer.

    I can do a banjo nut in less than an hour. A 6 string guitar nut takes about an hour and a half to two hours, more or less, depending on how long it takes to get the old one loose, the type of pocket and its condition after removal, how much old glue has to be cleaned out, and which way the wind is blowing. Mandolin nuts usually take close to 2 hours.

    In the case of the OP's mandolin, you might want to consider the old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
    Last edited by rcc56; Apr-21-2020 at 1:43pm.

  18. #17
    Registered User Kevin Briggs's Avatar
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    Default Re: New mandolin, is there something wrong with the nut?

    Quote Originally Posted by rcc56 View Post
    I've replaced many nuts over the years, and I assure everyone that it takes quite a bit more than an hour to remove an old mandolin nut, clean the pocket, and cut, fit, polish, slot, and adjust a new one. Nuts that fit in a pocket take longer than nuts that sit on top of a peghead veneer.

    I can do a banjo nut in less than an hour. A 6 string guitar nut takes about an hour and a half to two hours, more or less, depending on how long it takes to get the old one loose, the type of pocket and its condition after removal, how much old glue has to be cleaned out, and which way the wind is blowing. Mandolin nuts usually take close to 2 hours.

    In the case of the OP's mandolin, you might want to consider the old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
    Fair enough! Thanks for clarifying.

    Agree. If it's playing and sounding great, leave it. :-)
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