Saga emando kit... Suggestions?

[Sam Bush Fan!]

I have my mind set on getting the Saga emando kit, and was wondering if any of y'all that have already built it have any tips, suggestions, regrets, etc. about assembly? Also, have any of you tried tinkering with the electronics any? I've got some ideas of some stuff I'd like to do, just wondering if anybody has come up with any mods or improvements.

[Mo Soar]

-- Change the bridge (an acoustic instrument bridge on a solid body electric makes zero sense). There is one on ebay from Allparts for about $27, search "electric mandolin bridge". Or just cut down a Strat or Tele bridge. You'll also need the through-body string ferrules. We initially used the bridge supplied, but it's in the wrong place and, because the solid body is soft, it has a tendency to lean, especially as you start to drop the action.
--The nut is in need of serious filing (like 1/8" inch).
-- Examine the neck and frets carefully - expect to have to file frets.
-- Check all the tuners, we had one very bad tuner and one mediocre tuner and ended up replacing all of them.
-- Our pickup did not have the pickup cover grounded, which, as the spouse said, made it hum like a banshee (I told him banshees wail, not hum, and he was not impressed). It was replaced with a Seymour Duncan Tele neck pickup we happened to have around the house, which took a bit of filing the pickguard.
-- The electronic cavity isn't grounded, and in a dry climate the entire pickguard tribocharges. You have to shield the cavity AND the pickguard. Copper tape is best, but it's priced as though it was 24k gold. Aluminum foil works. This is a budget project, or you'd be buying a Mandocaster or a Moongazer or similar.
-- The "components" are basically two potentiometers and a capacitor. It works.
-- The jack is shady and can stand to be replaced but isn't a priority.
-- The body has been sanded rather nicely and then sealed. Definitely paint-ready. We finished it with ReRanch nitrocellulose, but be aware that nitro can be fragile.
-- The strings that are shipped with it, in our case, were so tightly wound together that they were kinked and unusable. We just just used spare electric guitar strings out of an .090 and .010 set.
-- Have fun shaping the headstock. If you google it, you can find templates for Strat or Tele headstocks that you can print 1:1 and then mess with. It's fun.

There is also this thread:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...yone-build-one

[Ronny]

Using D'addario J67 strings, the bridge was OK with my kit, but when I used lighter strings, it wasn't in tune...
I agree with all Mo Soar's advices... I changed the nut with a bone one, and a serious shielding is needed to avoid the mando from "humming" !
With my kit, the pickup was OK, not terrific, but it does the job...

[Sam Bush Fan!]

Thank you all so much for the tips/suggestions!! If and when I get this kit, I am definitely going to refer back to this thread.

-- Change the bridge (an acoustic instrument bridge on a solid body electric makes zero sense). There is one on ebay from Allparts for about $27, search "electric mandolin bridge". Or just cut down a Strat or Tele bridge. You'll also need the through-body string ferrules. We initially used the bridge supplied, but it's in the wrong place and, because the solid body is soft, it has a tendency to lean, especially as you start to drop the action.

I looked at that bridge, and that looks like a much better solution. Forgive me if this is a noob question, but I am new to the electric world. (As a matter of fact, it wasn't very long ago that I found out what the true difference between a single-coil and a humbucker was.) ANYway, how would one go about installing this kind of bridge? I've never looked up close at a Tele bridge, so I'm not 100% about how they work.

-- Our pickup did not have the pickup cover grounded, which, as the spouse said, made it hum like a banshee (I told him banshees wail, not hum, and he was not impressed). It was replaced with a Seymour Duncan Tele neck pickup we happened to have around the house, which took a bit of filing the pickguard.

Also, how could you ground the pickup cover? Like I said earlier, sorry if these are stupid questions.

@Ronny
I've seen pictures of your finished kit before, and I really like the looks of the finished product! I was wondering, how did you get such a perfect curl cut in the headstock?! I absolutely love the design you've got!

[Ronny]

I cut the curl on the headstock using a fret saw, and a lot of time and sandpaper. I won't do it again !!!

[thistle3585]

You can get a top loading bridge from Tom at moongazermusic.com. Its easier than a through body bridge as it doesn't require drilling or the use of string ferrules. You will run a ground wire from the bridge to the ground in the control cavity. The reason the Saga pickup hums is because its a single coil as opposed to a humbucker. No real good way to totally resolve it, but can diminish it tremendously by a lot of shielding.

Just my opinion, but you will get what you pay for in this kit. If you plan on making extensive changes to it from the start then I'd consider a kit from moongazermusic.com.

[Sam Bush Fan!]

I cut the curl on the headstock using a fret saw, and a lot of time and sandpaper. I won't do it again !!!

Wow. I bet that was a pain! But man, it looks great!

You can get a top loading bridge from Tom at moongazermusic.com. Its easier than a through body bridge as it doesn't require drilling or the use of string ferrules. You will run a ground wire from the bridge to the ground in the control cavity. The reason the Saga pickup hums is because its a single coil as opposed to a humbucker. No real good way to totally resolve it, but can diminish it tremendously by a lot of shielding.

Just my opinion, but you will get what you pay for in this kit. If you plan on making extensive changes to it from the start then I'd consider a kit from moongazermusic.com.

Thank you much for telling me about this bridge! This is definitely the one I'll go with. I really like the looks of the ones form Moongazer, especially the 5 string versions, but the Saga kit is all my budget will allow. And also, I figure this would be a decent starter electric mandolin. Thank all of you all for all the input. This is going to be such a big help!