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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| mandolin bridge positioning | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23rd, 2006 10:07 pm |
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1st Post |
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tbradfish Approved 
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Hi there, Have a cheesey mandolin that has a bridge that is not glued to the body. Anyone know how to dtermine where to position the bridge?
____________________ http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/tom bradfish |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23rd, 2006 10:37 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Charlie Approved 
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Tbradfish, The way I do it and have good luck with it is to measure from the nut back to the 12th fret and take that measuerment and go from the 12th fret back to the bridge and that will put you very close. Others may have different ways so you can get many answers for doing this. Good luck and let us hear. Charlie 
____________________ Yesterdays Tomorrow is Today http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/charlesculbertson |
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| Posted: Tue Jan 24th, 2006 12:39 am |
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3rd Post |
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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That gets you into the ballpark. Then to finetune it, play the 12th fret harmonic and listen closely. Then play the fretted 12 fret - the two should sound the same. If the fretted note is sharp, move the bridge slightly towards the nut and vice versa. Check the 1st and 4th strings to make sure the bridge is straight (you may need to angle it slightly to get things all in sync. (of couse, I know there are 8 strings, but you should be able to do this with just 2 strings). Good luck. 
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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| Posted: Tue Jan 24th, 2006 12:56 am |
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4th Post |
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tbradfish Approved
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Thanks guys!
____________________ http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/tom bradfish |
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| Posted: Thu Jan 26th, 2006 02:36 am |
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5th Post |
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Rex Approved
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Brad has it right. By the way, the bridge is not supposed to be glued to the top. Not even on a $5000 Gibson. If it is a cheap mando the bridge was probably not fitted to the top. If your bridge is adjustable you might want to do this for better tone and more volume. Take some fine sandpaper and put it on top the mando where the bridge goes (rough side away from the mando of course) and then work the bridge over the paper so that the bottom of the bridge takes the same shape as the top of the mando. Better sound transfer.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 26th, 2006 02:19 pm |
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6th Post |
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tbradfish Approved
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Thanks for the input - I'll try the sandpaper thing
____________________ http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/tom bradfish |
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| Posted: Thu Jan 26th, 2006 08:18 pm |
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7th Post |
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banjo brad Super Moderator
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I was just revisiting this thread, and I think I gave bad info on the bridge movement. If the fretted note is sharp, you should move the bridge towards the tailpiece, not the nut  You need to lengthen the distance slightly to flatten the note to the proper pitch! My bad, hope it didn't cause too much heartache! (of course, I could be wrong about this, too!)
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27th, 2006 02:30 pm |
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8th Post |
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tbradfish Approved
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THanks So I noticed that my bridge is staggered - so where do I measure to?
____________________ http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/tom bradfish |
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27th, 2006 09:58 pm |
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9th Post |
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banjo brad Super Moderator
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Measure first string to forward edge of the first string stagger (compensation), and the same for the 4th string. After getting the rough distance this way, you will need to work with the 12th fret method to dial the position in exactly. (hint: after you get it set up correctly, discreetly mark the bridge position on the soundboard. This makes it much easier to re-position if (when) it is removed for some reason or another. I intend to live forever - so far so good.
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29th, 2006 02:15 pm |
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10th Post |
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ThirdRatePoet Approved 
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The mandolin bridge misey!  I have to confess, I have two small marks made with a penknife on the top of mine so I can circumvent the process a bit - although I have noticed that different strings still mean you have to adjust slightly both position and height. Dan 
____________________ ezFolk My Website CDBaby |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30th, 2006 04:01 pm |
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11th Post |
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tbradfish Approved
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Thanks - I had the same thought..... Where are you in Ireland? Was there for the 1st time this summer - I am ready to move!
____________________ http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/tom bradfish |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30th, 2006 06:33 pm |
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12th Post |
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ThirdRatePoet Approved
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tbradfish wrote:Thanks - I had the same thought..... I live in the freezing north! What is this 'summer' you speak of?  Dan
____________________ ezFolk My Website CDBaby |
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31st, 2006 11:29 pm |
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13th Post |
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Robes Approved 
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I have had some trouble tuning my mandolin as well. The G string just sounds out of tune (this is a new mandolin) but the other strings are all crisp and clean. My music teacher suggested I take it in and have it looked at (he tried to tune it as well). I had a friend of mine look at it and while I was there this kid (he was 18, but that is a kid to me) who has played guitar, mandolin, and violin since he was 9, took a look at it and did two things: he angled the bridge slightly back on the G string side and moved the whole bridge back a smidge, he raised the bridge on the G string side. All I can tell you is that it works....
____________________ Robes The man who thinks he can't and the man who thinks he can are both right.... http://home.comcast.net/~nostalgiafarm/ |
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12th, 2008 01:56 am |
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14th Post |
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TNFrank Approved 
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ThirdRatePoet wrote:The mandolin bridge misey! I thought about doing that once I get the bridge set to where I want it. A "rough" guide is the points on the "S" cutout, that should get you close. Not to hi-jack the thread but my father's people came over from Ireland in the 1750's form Co.Donegal, Ulster. I'd love to take a trip to Ireland to see where my people were originally from and drink a pint at a local pub. Oh well, back to the thread. 
____________________ “You know what the difference between me and you really is? You look out there and see a horde of evil, brain eating zombies. I look out there and see a target rich environment.” -Dillis D. Freeman Jr. 11/2/2001 |
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25th, 2008 09:59 pm |
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15th Post |
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Jim Yates Approved 
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The info about positioning the mandolin bridge also applies to banjos and arch top guitars - as does the Third Rate Poet's suggestion about marking the position of the bridge. It's nice to be able to ocasionally polish your instrument while changing strings.
____________________ Jim http://www.myspace.com/jimyates http://www.myspace.com/mapleleafchampionjugband |
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