For goodness sake, man, liberate a few bucks from your wallet and buy a couple of sets of strings.
For goodness sake, man, liberate a few bucks from your wallet and buy a couple of sets of strings.
Oh, I got some. Just got to take the time to put them on. Among other things, I'm trying to learn Toto's "Africa" for a wedding Tuesday. It's taking longer than I'd like. They're getting married at 4:20 on 4/20. For some reason this is their song.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Are the wedding couple millennial? There is some bizarre millennial obsession with "Africa."
Fingers crossed that there is an incredible tone somewhere inside your new/old Gibson. Even if it had been played plenty, it may have been sitting unloved on the top shelf of someone's closet for the last 40 years. The right strings and pick, along with some time to acclimate to your climate, and it will sing.
OK, here are sound samples of each mandolin. This should give you some idea of why I'm perplexed.
First, a brief melody using the fretboard from the open G up to the 10th fret on the E string. Then the open G chord, and the bluegrass chop G. Finally, the open D chord and my inversion invention D, 11-0-0-10, patent pending, which is a good test of intonation.
The A sounds fuller, richer, deeper to me, with longer sustain. The A4 is supposed to better all around, but it sounds thinner, lighter, more trebly. I'll experiment with strings tomorrow and repost if that makes a difference.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
That's a riot! Mentions some of the very problems I have with it, like the line about Kilimanjaro. "Rising like Olympus" is actually an insult - Kilimanjaro is twice as tall. Moreover, Kilimanjaro is ranked fourth in terms of prominence - a measure of how it relates to its surroundings - while Olympus is 138th. So ... yeah. And as Porcaro says, and I believed, it's written from the viewpoint of a white guy who's never been to Africa. It just doesn't ring true. That said, the chorus has a killer hook. I figure, whatever we do, as long as we nail that, we're golden.
Oh, and no, I think they're Gen X, early 30s.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
I'm currently using EXP74cm, which have the 11.5 E string.
Then too, I like the Heavy Starks.
How's the bridge fit?
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
JB, so you found a new baby.......
Play her in good health!
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
OK, well, turns out my old bridges are not where I thought they were. See, I moved last year, which meant realigning from a five room apartment into two rooms of an apartment. So there's a lot of stuff that is still unpacked, and things that don't get used too often are still that way. I had the important stuff packed just so, in little boxes inside big boxes - some sort of attempt at order among the chaos - but even though I thought I knew just where they were, seems I don't. I considered putting the bridge from the 1935 A-00 on the A-4, but I don't think that'd be an improvement. And anyway, the prong from the pickguard that goes into the hole in the bridge might be in the way. So, not right now. See if the old bridges turn up.
But I did put on new strings, and they do make a difference. Enough of a one? You decide.
PS: Oh, I found out about the little mini-bridges in the bridge. What the? I took off the old E strings and heard a little clunk ... and what's this lying there? I thought I broke it. Yeesh! What's the purpose of those? String spacing? Different ones with different offsets for adjusting intonation? Something else to make seriously obsessed collectors drool?
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Journey,
The small moveable string saddles were explained way back in posting #7 in your thread. They are mainly to adjust the intonation.
Which sets of strings have you tested on the A4? Inquiring minds want to know.
Again, be careful swapping bridges between instruments, they are not interchangeable. We’ve covered that as well. Every bridge needs to be fitted, you risk damaging the instrument top if the curve isn’t exactly right, not to mention that the sound can be affected.
Mark
Mark Lynch
Aha. Now I get it. Thanks. So I guess you're saying I should switch the A strings bridge-let around, as they are indeed not wound. What was on it weren't wound either, so it seems adjusting that would be in order.
I don't know for sure what strings were on there. I think GHS, as inside the case there was a string envelope with some writing on it, including gauges. I believe that was from a shop, indicating what they had done regarding set-up or maintenance. I've got it around here, somewhere ... So that's what you heard in the first sound sample. The one I did yesterday was after I'd put on D'Addario J74s, my usual brand. I think it's an improvement, but still not optimal.
I understand about swapping out bridges willy-nilly. What I'm looking for is the original bridge off my plain A when I had the Fishman bridge installed. I figured that would be appropriate. This might have to wait until I can get it to my luthier. Oh, and when I find the blessed thing.
By the way, the bridge does seem to be in the proper place for intonation. I haven't done a full-on check yet, but the fretted notes and harmonics line up very well.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
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