Is my mandola bridge on backwards?

[scapier]

I'm just wondering. I have a great repairman but i wonder if his assistant did this setup. It's also set at quite an angle.

[Dale Ludewig]

It looks likely.

[Jim]

Is that a left handed saddle? The compensation of the saddle seems to explain the angle of the bridge and to be the opposite of what you usually see. How's the intonation?

[scapier]

intonation's okay, but it does seem to lack a bit of power after the setup. Action's too high and the bridge is at quite the angle.

[DerTiefster]

Looks fine to me.

Thicker cores require more compensation due to stiffness effects in the string. Try to point a perfectly flexible string at someone, and it will lie down along your hand and point down toward the ground at first opportunity. Real strings have stiffness, and this makes the frequency higher for a given free length. So to match a given fretboard "in the best way" the bridge is backed off.

In a mandolin you see the E string stop shorter than the A (plain, thicker than E). See the first two of your pics. The wound D has a thinner core than the A, so the A is stiffer and the D bridge stop is shorter spaced from the frets than the A. The G core is bigger and the stop backs off toward the tailpiece as a result. A mandola is generally compensated for plain wire on the highest pitch, an A, and wound strings for the other courses. The D, the first wound course, as for the mandolin, takes a shorter string length and the stop moves toward the headstock. Progressively the G and C back off due to thickening core. This is what you show in your third picture, and it's proper for mandola strings plain/wound/wound/wound.

Mandolin strings are generally plain/plain/wound/wound. If you compare the mandolin items 1 and 2, drop the E string, and then add a C with a thicker core and more toward the tailpiece than the G, you'll get your item 3. I hope this makes sense.

[Phil Goodson]

So, if the diameter of your first string is greater than the diameter of the CORE of the wound strings, then the bridge is correct.

[scapier]

wow, that pretty much explains it! Thanks colleagues.

[Tom Wright]

Looks ok to me also, except for large angle. That can be due to different string gauges than the original design accomodated.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Saddle looks like it is upsidedown.

[Jim]

Thanks DT for the explanation of Mandola saddles, learn somethin' new every day.