Does my mandolin need some kind of adjustment?

[Languagemaniac]

Hi, I just bought a cheap type A mandolin off Amazon (no truss rod) . I never played one but I have played the violin for quite a long time and always thought it would be nice to have one since the two are tuned the same way.

I adjusted the bridge so that the octaves were in tune and that's pretty much all I did to it.

Now, it might be because I've never played the mandolin before but I find it quite hard to press on the frets enough for it to sound right, it kind of hurts. I only have a callus on my index finger, nothing on the rest of them, so that could be the real issue, but I can fit a guitar 0.7mm pick in the first fret quite easily, it would fall down if I stopped holding it, so that makes me think there might be something I need to adjust.

It might also be because everybody says that the strings that come with the mandolin are bad. I also bought some d'addario ej62 light strings just in case. But I don't want to replace them if nothing is wrong with the stock ones.

Other than that, I'm using this 0.7mm guitar pick for my mandolin, it's this ok? Or maybe I need a different kind of pick?

Thanks everyone

[DavidKOS]

Hi, I just bought a cheap type A mandolin off Amazon (no truss rod) . I never played one but I have played the violin for quite a long time and always thought it would be nice to have one since the two are tuned the same way.

I adjusted the bridge so that the octaves were in tune and that's pretty much all I did to it.

Now, it might be because I've never played the mandolin before but I find it quite hard to press on the frets enough for it to sound right, it kind of hurts. I only have a callus on my index finger, nothing on the rest of them, so that could be the real issue, but I can fit a guitar 0.7mm pick in the first fret quite easily, it would fall down if I stopped holding it, so that makes me think there might be something I need to adjust.

It might also be because everybody says that the strings that come with the mandolin are bad. I also bought some d'addario ej62 light strings just in case. But I don't want to replace them if nothing is wrong with the stock ones.

Other than that, I'm using this 0.7mm guitar pick for my mandolin, it's this ok? Or maybe I need a different kind of pick?

Thanks everyone

1. Most players of A and F style mandolins tend to use a somewhat thicker pick than .7mm. I use .73 Ultex sharps, but I play non A and F mandolins. Many folks use 1-3mm picks, often way more rounded than I would ever use.

2. Although pressing 2 metal string on a fretboard is tougher on the fingers than fingering a single violin string on a fretless neck, you may be having trouble with the action height at the first fret.

Many inexpensive fretted instruments come from the factory with the nut action set a bit high. You'll need to adjust the depth of the nut slots to make the action play at its best. It sounds like yours could use a little work.

3. Often the strings on budget instruments are not the finest. If the windings are still good, you might use these strings to do a rough setup, but you will want to use "better" strings and do a final adjustment.

Best of luck, and I hope the folks that specialize in A and F mandolins offer their insight.

[Languagemaniac]

Hi, thank you for your comment, I will take a look at the nut...

[dscullin]

If your 0.7 mm pick slips freely between the first fret and string, it sounds as though your action at the nut is too high. Rob Meldrum has a free setup guide talked about on the cafe with specific details on complete setup including bridge and nut. Hope this helps.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...up-rob-meldrum

[Languagemaniac]

That's good to know, I'm reading it now. Thank you very much! I knew something was wrong