You are a real master of fixing things.i enjoy your teaching methods and I understand most everything you explain when you are doing things Thanks for all you've done for us.i would love to visit and hang out for awhile.but I know that's not possible and respect yawls privacy.i will be just happy staying in tune with your programs.thanks again for your honesty and comical antics.ive learned a lot from you
I have a wood worker brother who resembles you in your tool skills and attention to detail. He is a perfectionist. I have no such skills myself, but I find all your videos extremely logical, soothing, and satisfying. The pace and explanations are fascinating, and the results.........AMAZING. Thanks for sharing these. Almost makes me want to go out, buy a mandolin, and learn to play.
Great work as usual,thank you Jerry.you have saved me $6000.00 for school, and I believe I learned more the first month watching you,than I would have learned if I had taken that course.
Just found your channel...I retired and decided to learn mandolin, so bought a bowlback mandolin made in 1890s and restored by a luthier (in UK), has Aquilla Nylgut strings on it which sound great (when he plays it); will be getting my first mandolin lesson in a few days, so am excited. Watching your video about setup was very instructive; now I know what you look for in a setup and why/how things are done. Have subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching more videos.
Jerry, this is one time I could hear the difference on my iPad! My Loar doesn’t have the extension on the fretboard so my setup is easier. ❤️🎶🌨 Colorado. Thanxz
Jerry, the difference is night and day, after your set up the clarity is stunning without the clicks and the slightly middly fudgey sound, the loar now rings like a bell and has much more clarity and a punchy sound. Fantastic job as usual. Peace and Love from Bonny Scotland.
Very nice improvement to the sound of that mandolin. Also a fine looking instrument. Enjoyed your detailed explanation of the setup approach and thanks for sharing your experience.
The Loar Mandolin sounds great after a few professional tweaks to make the play-ability & sound impeccable, on another fine looking mandolin.. as we use to call it in my Hot Rod days, the Mandolin has both "Show & Go" !!!
Great, incredibly instructive, video! I was able to completely setup my new Loar LM-520-VS including scalloping the "Florida" so that it now plays like a dream. Wish I could add a photo of my scallop...it turned out AMAZINGLY WELL for a first timer. I attribute it to the superb instruction contained in this video.
Really noticeable how pulling the frets and lowering that end of the fretboard eliminated that “ticking” sound! Also very impressed how you filed the first fret just a bit to fix the issue with the nut. I have watched quite a bit and didn’t see that tip coming!!
Great setup job, Jerry! The customer will be well chuffed, for sure -- not expecting it to come back this good. It will get played in now, for sure, too! Bravo, Jerry.
100% sound improvement. Very nice setup on this Mandolin. This looks to be the Loar Supreme LM-700 which is their top of the line. Very nice Mandolin. I bought the Loar LM-520, and the frets are just as bad as the frets you showed on this Mandolin. And Jerry, what is funny, is the truss rod was also tightened the wrong way on mine. I started turning it to the right, and it was quite loose for a good two turns then it started tightening up. The place I took mine to just did some minor fret leveling to get rid of the fret buzz, but bad thing is that the action needs to be a tad high to avoid some of the buzzing. As good as you do your setups on mandolins, at some point I may ask you to do a setup on mine if possible. Thanks for all your great videos.
Damn ingenious on the nut save! I just got around to watching this one and I really had no idea what you were going to do other than adding material to the nut. Easy when you know how... One of the most impressive things I've seen you do Jerry: incredible/amazing; no lie! In addition to chemicals... I think the Semichrome has a fine abrasive and some wax of some kind in it. I've used it for 20 or 30 years on brass and my copper pots and pans. I'll order some through you soon. Sounds twice as good after; well done!
Excellent video as always! I thoroughly enjoy watching you show your craft. The way you explain everything and pass along so many tips are unlike any other. Thanks so much for showing us what you do so very well!
The improvement in sound was very apparent, and it appears, and you said it - so it must be true - that it also PLAYS better as well!! It's so satisfying to watch you make all these guitars and mandolins (my first mandolin video) live again, or be greatly improved - in both sound and playability, as well as become more durable/long-lasting!! Oh, and more aesthetically pleasing, if that's on the agenda for the owner of whichever particular instrument you are "doing". Excellent job, as usual! Thanks for sharing!!
On the top register scallop; ever think of keeping the slot depth as you route, and then evening off with a slotting file or saw. Then thin strips of binding can be installed with acetone and sanded flat later. It leaves a very fine white (or cream) line that some customers like the "look" of afterward. Some luthiers I've seen leave in the fret tangs and end up with a metal line. I can't see how that wouldn't take a lot longer OMG to do and get perfect. At least the binding strip is easy to control depth and sand smooth afterward with no bump from any uneven parts of the tang stud left over. Just sounds like a job I wouldn't welcome, the binding method is tough enough LOL!! BTW- watched this and you did a superb job on the scalloped end. Beautiful. Nice curve on the gradient too. ~JSV
I have mandolins with both the small and medium size frets and I prefer the mediums. The reason is it is easier for me to slide up and down the fretboard. George in Montana
Great rescue, Jerry! After all that work it would break your heart having to replace the nut! I panicked on your behalf for a while...... I should've had more faith in your knowledge of "tricks" - I guess that's what you get after 40 years experience!!! Edit: Also, re tuning your instrument.... There's a reason they call it "Tuning UP"! And finally a very minor complaint.... NO MUSIC! I didn't realise how much I enjoyed your music until it wasn't there when I expected it!
322nd LIKE, already 1.6K+ views. For what it's worth, I have a China-made, satin-finished, A-style "The Loar" LM-290-MS mandolin that I like. It needs to go back to the luthier for some bridge adjustment - it already has a RSW deer-antler saddle. So, this episode is of particular interest. The one in this video looks just like my Rover RM-75.
Brother Jerry, I have pretty bad hearing, but even I could hear an improvement (my opinion) I think due to the antler saddle and style of strings you've used. I sure hope I get to visit you sometime. I live in far western Kansas, but about once every year or two I get to take a vacation or camp in the Roaring River or Branson areas, so hopefully I'll get to see you sometime. Until then, God bless you well
I have two LM600 Loars and I LOVE THEM! I was fortunate enough to find one in BLACK, can you believe it, black. Looks beautiful. The 600's have tone bars and I couldn't say enough about the sound, but they totally need some TLC before perfection. Definitely some spot leveling must be done. The bridge saddles need material reduced to get the action right. I haven't scalloped the tops of the fretboards YET, but I've been playing them so much so I can wait. My customer repair load is way too deep so I won't get to those until maybe next month. I'm only taking out the top 7 on these LM600's though. I added a few custom touches. I wanted them with all gold, so I got the same Gotoh tuners in gold (the 600's don't come with gold hardware stock). I added the Ashton Bailey gold tails AND I filled the endpin so I could install the Gretsch gold straplock strap buttons. They look superb and work perfect. Nice touch for those that would like that sort of thing. The black Loar looks killer with all black hardware. The Loars have a slightly wider nut width than the spec's say (1 & 1/8). It's clearly 1 & 3/16ths. My M3SW's are 1 & 1/8th for sure. I like both nut widths, but often prefer the larger for my longer fingers, and the fact that I mostly play Bach on my mandolins. Seems more Baroque-friendly lol! I refretted my two Washburn M3SW's (2004, and a 1987), and on the 2004 I used the same fretwire on the Loars. It's perfect for me because I can't get comfortable on the really tiny tin-strip frets that many player like. The Washburns almost always have this so it's a done deal to have to refret, but the results are worth it. Love your vid's! Great work. ~JSV
I bet if you looked at the back of the instrument, you'd see that the heal of the neck was cheated over to meet the center book match seam. This is why the neck is slightly twisted.
We have a mandolin made by Suzuki Violin Co., Ltd. Najoya, Japan #226 1968..It is beautiful.. The front is cracked but the rest of it seems to be in good shape. The body is bug shaped..I believe my Uncle who was stationed in Japan during WWII brought one similar to it back home in about 1945 or 1946. The case is very earn but was lined under the out side with paper that hs Japanese writing on it. Id like to send you a picture of it.
jerry, I have a Loar mandolin and it bugs me that i get that tapping sound as the pick hits the fretboard. I've already the strings off it and the fret wire out and I'm now looking at my Dremel, but I think my wisest move is to do a few dummy runs on a couple or pieces of scrap to get the feel of it before I get stuck in to reducing the fret board itself. Your video is playing away in the background giving me a sense of assurance. Thank you for your knowledge.I thoroughly enjoy your videos and you craic.
Sorry to go back a few days, but have you thought of doing a few metal detecting videos? I do that hobby myself and find it interesting what other people find.
Different players and instruments have a different highest fret which they are comfortable playing-on or which provide pleasant tone (or are required) for their preferred musical genre’s. Obviously when you scallop a fretboard extension you will get input from the instruments owner about which frets to disable or retain. My questions are these: 1. Do your clients tend to prefer leaving frets removed after the scalloping or to install frets on the scalloped portion? 2. What styles of music seem to favor a longer or shorter scallop (folk, orchestra, Irish, bluegrass, et cetera)? 3. What fret do most players choose to begin the scallop at?
My first video of you working on a mandolin, I just got tuned in to you less than two weeks ago. I really love watching you work and fix almost ANYTHING! - but ESPECIALLY musical instruments!! I play guitar but i always wanted to learn mandolin because i thought it would be (physically) easier. Now i believe it would be harder. Seems like there's more string tension on a mandolin. A really good setup is critical on either, but even more so for mandolin. (Any suggestions from anybody would be greatly appreciated!) About this mandolin, you did an excellent job, as always!! My only question or observation is - the removal of those high truncated frets. Seems like it looks a little odd, like there is a mistake. It's just an aesthetic thing, so it's not that important. But would it have been possible to put the frets back on the fingerboard (or fretboard?) after you lowered the height of the wood? Or would they once again be in the way of the pick/picking? It just seems like if the fretboard wood is low enough now, then the frets would've also been low enough. If not, maybe take the wood down even lower - if possible. Plus, you could file those frets as low as possible. They'd just be there strictly for aesthetic reasons. Anyway, it's just a thought, probably not a good one. Thanks for sharing your superb work! You are a true master luthier. We love ALL your videos!!
I don't know for certain, but I would tend to bet these Loars are made in China. That is where the venerable Flatiron makes are made in these times. A two way TR was invented for basically ignorant people. Not really stupid -- just ignorant of what it does. A really well made mando neck does not even need a T rod. As an aside, a fellow who played my electric mandolin I made about 4 years ago just had to have it for his own. He wrote me a check for 16 hundred bucks. I left a sheet of notes inside the case detailing the features and specs where it said there was no TR, but there was a 5 piece neck and 2 carbon fibre rods. He said most mandos don't need a TR anyway. I guess he is famiiar with the Jerry Rosa / Bob Shorthill school of thought. He got a nice case and a good quality leather strap out of the deal too. I would like to build another E--mando at a future date, but the wife thinks that is a bad idea. Too expensive !(?) Does a fellow not need more than 1 ? And I have an E-- octave as well. Cheers and best wishes for Thanksgiving and a decent winter. Stay safe. Bob
Jerry you remind me of a dentist or dental hygienist when you are working on the instruments. Also just a question. When you take in an instrument for work to be done. Does each have a intake ticket with what are the tasks to accomplish and a comments section where addendum comments can be added as you work on the "pt." as you find other issues to contact the owner about. Much like a pt. chart as each instrument has so many things that need to be addressed or may need to be addressed. You do a great job Jerry and have such a valuable resource of experience, honed over the years!
Hey Jerry, these are great videos! I've got a question - I was going to buy one of your antler bridge saddles, but it seems that my A style mandolin sounds better with an uncompensated saddle than a compensated one (I have both). Have you experienced this? Do some mandolins have better intonation with uncompensated bridges? Mine certainly seems that way.
Um, I remember a custom sanding tool on a spindle, sent by a viewer, that I though might have had a use in lieu of the Dremel? Also, which mando is the daily mando? Surely not the One?
Very nice improvement in the sonics, and likely the playability as well. Tho you cheated on the Nut…you already had the fretwork done…the Nut was too low..should’ve been shimmed or replaced…not filling frets to compensate for it…
Just went on Ebay and looked up The Loar mandolin and those are REALLY cheap Mandolins compared to Gibsons and others Including The Rosa Mandolin that sells for thousands of dollars. The Loar is Hand carved but they can be bought on Ebay for 2 to 300 dollars
how much does a standard setup cost sir? I'm looking for a mandolin. Can't really afford a $400 or $500 (or $900) instrument. Maybe $200 - $300 what's your advice?
I hate that style of fret file and only ever use a traditional crowning file to get the perfect rounded crown with a tiny line in the centre untouched from the level. I understand them shaped files are a little faster but I can see what I'm doing. Just my preference.... as for the 2 way trus rod debate I think they are great but user error is always the problem not the rod...
Also wanted to add the sound improvement was remarkable and totally noticeable. What a great job.
Definitely sounds clearer, cleaner, less 'metallic' with the new set-up. Hope the owner appreciates all of that.
You are a real master of fixing things.i enjoy your teaching methods and I understand most everything you explain when you are doing things
Thanks for all you've done for us.i would love to visit and hang out for awhile.but I know that's not possible and respect yawls privacy.i will be just happy staying in tune with your programs.thanks again for your honesty and comical antics.ive learned a lot from you
I have a wood worker brother who resembles you in your tool skills and attention to detail. He is a perfectionist. I have no such skills myself, but I find all your videos extremely logical, soothing, and satisfying. The pace and explanations are fascinating, and the results.........AMAZING. Thanks for sharing these. Almost makes me want to go out, buy a mandolin, and learn to play.
I really like these long in depth videos!
Great work as usual,thank you Jerry.you have saved me $6000.00 for school, and I believe I learned more the first month watching you,than I would have learned if I had taken that course.
Thank you Jerry. I just had to rewatch this to show me how restring one that broke!
Just found your channel...I retired and decided to learn mandolin, so bought a bowlback mandolin made in 1890s and restored by a luthier (in UK), has Aquilla Nylgut strings on it which sound great (when he plays it); will be getting my first mandolin lesson in a few days, so am excited. Watching your video about setup was very instructive; now I know what you look for in a setup and why/how things are done. Have subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching more videos.
Jerry, this is one time I could hear the difference on my iPad! My Loar doesn’t have the extension on the fretboard so my setup is easier. ❤️🎶🌨 Colorado. Thanxz
Jerry, the difference is night and day, after your set up the clarity is stunning without the clicks and the slightly middly fudgey sound, the loar now rings like a bell and has much more clarity and a punchy sound. Fantastic job as usual. Peace and Love from Bonny Scotland.
Definitely. Had almost a weird metallic reverberation before.
Very nice improvement to the sound of that mandolin. Also a fine looking instrument. Enjoyed your detailed explanation of the setup approach and thanks for sharing your experience.
The Loar Mandolin sounds great after a few professional tweaks to make the play-ability & sound impeccable, on another fine looking mandolin.. as we use to call it in my Hot Rod days, the Mandolin has both "Show & Go" !!!
Great, incredibly instructive, video! I was able to completely setup my new Loar LM-520-VS including scalloping the "Florida" so that it now plays like a dream. Wish I could add a photo of my scallop...it turned out AMAZINGLY WELL for a first timer. I attribute it to the superb instruction contained in this video.
Good morning Jerry ❤❤❤
Very informative and entertaining. I enjoyed watching you work. The difference in sound, before and after was amazing! Well done!
You gave it a full sweet sound, immaculate work.
greetings from switzerland
IT SOUNDED PRETTY GOOD BEFORE YOU SET IT UP AND SOUNDS A LITTLE MORE REFINED AFTER... NICE SOUNDING MANDOLIN!
Really noticeable how pulling the frets and lowering that end of the fretboard eliminated that “ticking” sound! Also very impressed how you filed the first fret just a bit to fix the issue with the nut. I have watched quite a bit and didn’t see that tip coming!!
Great setup job, Jerry! The customer will be well chuffed, for sure -- not expecting it to come back this good. It will get played in now, for sure, too! Bravo, Jerry.
Hi Jerry !! Hope your hands are doing ok.
May you have a short winter .
Best setup video yet! Love the nut fix!
Very interesting video, thank you. Wish you still did setups!
Great job.👍 Even listening to the before and after on my phone I could hear the difference. I am sure it was even more apparent in person.
Thanks Jerry and Emeri for the great content
Such a nice job! The sound is great and the little mando looks like she is much happier to be played!! 😀
Thanks Jerry brilliant set up video, wow what a difference after the setup. Thanks for your efforts Emeri well produced 🇬🇧
Unbelievable Job JERRY!!!!!!
Incredible tone improvement!
100% sound improvement. Very nice setup on this Mandolin. This looks to be the Loar Supreme LM-700 which is their top of the line. Very nice Mandolin.
I bought the Loar LM-520, and the frets are just as bad as the frets you showed on this Mandolin. And Jerry, what is funny, is the truss rod was also tightened the wrong way on mine. I started turning it to the right, and it was quite loose for a good two turns then it started tightening up.
The place I took mine to just did some minor fret leveling to get rid of the fret buzz, but bad thing is that the action needs to be a tad high to avoid some of the buzzing. As good as you do your setups on mandolins, at some point I may ask you to do a setup on mine if possible.
Thanks for all your great videos.
many thanks Jerry! I look forward to getting my mandoline back! It will be a different instrument! Thanks a lot for this great setup!❤
Damn ingenious on the nut save! I just got around to watching this one and I really had no idea what you were going to do other than adding material to the nut. Easy when you know how... One of the most impressive things I've seen you do Jerry: incredible/amazing; no lie!
In addition to chemicals... I think the Semichrome has a fine abrasive and some wax of some kind in it. I've used it for 20 or 30 years on brass and my copper pots and pans. I'll order some through you soon.
Sounds twice as good after; well done!
Great setup Jerry. Enjoyed watching this.
Excellent video as always! I thoroughly enjoy watching you show your craft. The way you explain everything and pass along so many tips are unlike any other. Thanks so much for showing us what you do so very well!
I heard a big difference in the sound. The improvement is amazing. Excellent job . . . but that always goes without saying.
Thank you for sharing your skill and experience.
A wonderful video.
The improvement in sound was very apparent, and it appears, and you said it - so it must be true - that it also PLAYS better as well!! It's so satisfying to watch you make all these guitars and mandolins (my first mandolin video) live again, or be greatly improved - in both sound and playability, as well as become more durable/long-lasting!! Oh, and more aesthetically pleasing, if that's on the agenda for the owner of whichever particular instrument you are "doing".
Excellent job, as usual! Thanks for sharing!!
Excellent video Mr. Rosa ! Hope your hands doing better.Take care, wish you have less firewood to cut!
100% improvement, that's for sure!
The video editing was excellent as well!
On the top register scallop; ever think of keeping the slot depth as you route, and then evening off with a slotting file or saw. Then thin strips of binding can be installed with acetone and sanded flat later. It leaves a very fine white (or cream) line that some customers like the "look" of afterward. Some luthiers I've seen leave in the fret tangs and end up with a metal line. I can't see how that wouldn't take a lot longer OMG to do and get perfect. At least the binding strip is easy to control depth and sand smooth afterward with no bump from any uneven parts of the tang stud left over. Just sounds like a job I wouldn't welcome, the binding method is tough enough LOL!!
BTW- watched this and you did a superb job on the scalloped end. Beautiful. Nice curve on the gradient too.
~JSV
GREAT JOB JERRY, GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR RETIREMENT, STAY WELL!!!!!!
I have mandolins with both the small and medium size frets and I prefer the mediums. The reason is it is easier for me to slide up and down the fretboard. George in Montana
Huge difference!
Definitely, sounds better than before. 🎶😘
sounds way better
Love the tractor seat modifications. Great job.
Jerry ❤ that was your best video ever👍 100 procent perfect 🎶🥳 i want more 😁
Wow! Well done and I learned so much!
I don't play mandolin and I have never played a mandolin but that is a beautiful little instrument.
Made it a lot throatier! Like it!
Great work Jerry, that mandolin sounds great!
A big improvement in sound. Nice work.
As always, despite my best efforts, I learned stuff. Thanks much.
Fascinating,as always!
I really enjoy your work of perfection , another excellent job, customer should be pleased.
Enjoy watching you work.
Great rescue, Jerry! After all that work it would break your heart having to replace the nut! I panicked on your behalf for a while...... I should've had more faith in your knowledge of "tricks" - I guess that's what you get after 40 years experience!!!
Edit: Also, re tuning your instrument.... There's a reason they call it "Tuning UP"!
And finally a very minor complaint.... NO MUSIC! I didn't realise how much I enjoyed your music until it wasn't there when I expected it!
322nd LIKE, already 1.6K+ views. For what it's worth, I have a China-made, satin-finished, A-style "The Loar" LM-290-MS mandolin that I like. It needs to go back to the luthier for some bridge adjustment - it already has a RSW deer-antler saddle. So, this episode is of particular interest. The one in this video looks just like my Rover RM-75.
I can hear a definite improvement and my hearing isn't good (birth defect) nice work Jerry!
Great job learned a lot thanks!
Nice job
Loar is a decent Mandolin, but I personally prefer , play, and own an Ibanez A, and an Ibanez F!
Sounds much better
The sound improvement was very noticeable along with it seemed noticeably easier for you to play once you were done.
Brother Jerry, I have pretty bad hearing, but even I could hear an improvement (my opinion) I think due to the antler saddle and style of strings you've used. I sure hope I get to visit you sometime. I live in far western Kansas, but about once every year or two I get to take a vacation or camp in the Roaring River or Branson areas, so hopefully I'll get to see you sometime. Until then, God bless you well
Man that was a wonderful video ☺️
Hi Jerry thanks..keep showing..what you do now...strong action..fitting string technique..😁 liam..Queensland.. Australia 👍🌈
I have two LM600 Loars and I LOVE THEM! I was fortunate enough to find one in BLACK, can you believe it, black. Looks beautiful. The 600's have tone bars and I couldn't say enough about the sound, but they totally need some TLC before perfection. Definitely some spot leveling must be done. The bridge saddles need material reduced to get the action right. I haven't scalloped the tops of the fretboards YET, but I've been playing them so much so I can wait. My customer repair load is way too deep so I won't get to those until maybe next month. I'm only taking out the top 7 on these LM600's though.
I added a few custom touches. I wanted them with all gold, so I got the same Gotoh tuners in gold (the 600's don't come with gold hardware stock). I added the Ashton Bailey gold tails AND I filled the endpin so I could install the Gretsch gold straplock strap buttons. They look superb and work perfect. Nice touch for those that would like that sort of thing. The black Loar looks killer with all black hardware.
The Loars have a slightly wider nut width than the spec's say (1 & 1/8). It's clearly 1 & 3/16ths. My M3SW's are 1 & 1/8th for sure. I like both nut widths, but often prefer the larger for my longer fingers, and the fact that I mostly play Bach on my mandolins. Seems more Baroque-friendly lol!
I refretted my two Washburn M3SW's (2004, and a 1987), and on the 2004 I used the same fretwire on the Loars. It's perfect for me because I can't get comfortable on the really tiny tin-strip frets that many player like. The Washburns almost always have this so it's a done deal to have to refret, but the results are worth it.
Love your vid's! Great work.
~JSV
Most definitely sounds better.
I bet if you looked at the back of the instrument, you'd see that the heal of the neck was cheated over to meet the center book match seam. This is why the neck is slightly twisted.
We have a mandolin made by Suzuki Violin Co., Ltd. Najoya, Japan #226 1968..It is beautiful.. The front is cracked but the rest of it seems to be in good shape. The body is bug shaped..I believe my Uncle who was stationed in Japan during WWII brought one similar to it back home in about 1945 or 1946. The case is very earn but was lined under the out side with paper that hs Japanese writing on it. Id like to send you a picture of it.
jerry, I have a Loar mandolin and it bugs me that i get that tapping sound as the pick hits the fretboard. I've already the strings off it and the fret wire out and I'm now looking at my Dremel, but I think my wisest move is to do a few dummy runs on a couple or pieces of scrap to get the feel of it before I get stuck in to reducing the fret board itself. Your video is playing away in the background giving me a sense of assurance. Thank you for your knowledge.I thoroughly enjoy your videos and you craic.
2-way truss rod - solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
Sorry to go back a few days, but have you thought of doing a few metal detecting videos? I do that hobby myself and find it interesting what other people find.
Different players and instruments have a different highest fret which they are comfortable playing-on or which provide pleasant tone (or are required) for their preferred musical genre’s. Obviously when you scallop a fretboard extension you will get input from the instruments owner about which frets to disable or retain. My questions are these:
1. Do your clients tend to prefer leaving frets removed after the scalloping or to install frets on the scalloped portion?
2. What styles of music seem to favor a longer or shorter scallop (folk, orchestra, Irish, bluegrass, et cetera)?
3. What fret do most players choose to begin the scallop at?
My first video of you working on a mandolin, I just got tuned in to you less than two weeks ago. I really love watching you work and fix almost ANYTHING! - but ESPECIALLY musical instruments!! I play guitar but i always wanted to learn mandolin because i thought it would be (physically) easier. Now i believe it would be harder. Seems like there's more string tension on a mandolin. A really good setup is critical on either, but even more so for mandolin. (Any suggestions from anybody would be greatly appreciated!)
About this mandolin, you did an excellent job, as always!! My only question or observation is - the removal of those high truncated frets. Seems like it looks a little odd, like there is a mistake. It's just an aesthetic thing, so it's not that important. But would it have been possible to put the frets back on the fingerboard (or fretboard?) after you lowered the height of the wood? Or would they once again be in the way of the pick/picking? It just seems like if the fretboard wood is low enough now, then the frets would've also been low enough. If not, maybe take the wood down even lower - if possible. Plus, you could file those frets as low as possible. They'd just be there strictly for aesthetic reasons. Anyway, it's just a thought, probably not a good one.
Thanks for sharing your superb work! You are a true master luthier. We love ALL your videos!!
I don't know for certain, but I would tend to bet these Loars are made in China. That is where the venerable Flatiron makes are made in these times. A two way TR was invented for basically ignorant people. Not really stupid -- just ignorant of what it does. A really well made mando neck does not even need a T rod.
As an aside, a fellow who played my electric mandolin I made about 4 years ago just had to have it for his own. He wrote me a check for 16 hundred bucks. I left a sheet of notes inside the case detailing the features and specs where it said there was no TR, but there was a 5 piece neck and 2 carbon fibre rods. He said most mandos don't need a TR anyway. I guess he is famiiar with the Jerry Rosa / Bob Shorthill school of thought. He got a nice case and a good quality leather strap out of the deal too. I would like to build another E--mando at a future date, but the wife thinks that is a bad idea. Too expensive !(?) Does a fellow not need more than 1 ? And I have an E-- octave as well. Cheers and best wishes for Thanksgiving and a decent winter. Stay safe. Bob
You sold it so you have zero, I would let you build another.
We live in Alaska
Jerry you remind me of a dentist or dental hygienist when you are working on the instruments. Also just a question. When you take in an instrument for work to be done. Does each have a intake ticket with what are the tasks to accomplish and a comments section where addendum comments can be added as you work on the "pt." as you find other issues to contact the owner about. Much like a pt. chart as each instrument has so many things that need to be addressed or may need to be addressed. You do a great job Jerry and have such a valuable resource of experience, honed over the years!
design a fret file with no teeth in the center so it stops at the peak of the fret.
StewMac has them.
Z crowning files.
Hey Jerry, these are great videos! I've got a question - I was going to buy one of your antler bridge saddles, but it seems that my A style mandolin sounds better with an uncompensated saddle than a compensated one (I have both). Have you experienced this? Do some mandolins have better intonation with uncompensated bridges? Mine certainly seems that way.
Sounds like the problem with a two way truss rod is people adjusting it that do not know what they are doing.
Um, I remember a custom sanding tool on a spindle, sent by a viewer, that I though might have had a use in lieu of the Dremel? Also, which mando is the daily mando? Surely not the One?
Now how do you really feel about two way truss rods?
Moar Loar
I will buy some of your products this weekend if I can figure out how to do it?
Hi Jerry, What GHS strings did you use on this setup? Also, why does the antler bridge sound better than the ebony? The density of the wood?
??? The body is not damaged when sanding the bridge??
Not if you're careful, have everything clean, and don't have any abrasive on the sandpaper touching the top.
Very nice improvement in the sonics, and likely the playability as well.
Tho you cheated on the Nut…you already had the fretwork done…the Nut was too low..should’ve been shimmed or replaced…not filling frets to compensate for it…
Just went on Ebay and looked up The Loar mandolin and those are REALLY cheap Mandolins compared to Gibsons and others Including The Rosa Mandolin that sells for thousands of dollars. The Loar is Hand carved but they can be bought on Ebay for 2 to 300 dollars
do you make the bridge saddle? I just ordered one of these mandolins and would love to get a bone saddle for it
i just needed to listen i guess
Why don't mandolins have a soundposts usualy? I've seen an Ibanez mandolin once that had a soundpost in it
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how much does a standard setup cost sir? I'm looking for a mandolin. Can't really afford a $400 or $500 (or $900) instrument. Maybe $200 - $300 what's your advice?
?????? Hi Jerry my question is, why dont all stringed instruments have a zero fret Paul, Vancouver Canada
Is this a rerun?
What is the name of your opening tune ? I would love to learn it . Thank you ! Kerry Lyons Knoxville, TN
I hate that style of fret file and only ever use a traditional crowning file to get the perfect rounded crown with a tiny line in the centre untouched from the level. I understand them shaped files are a little faster but I can see what I'm doing. Just my preference.... as for the 2 way trus rod debate I think they are great but user error is always the problem not the rod...
Jerry wiping off the fingerprints. Why? Is he afraid for something? 🙂
You blew it at the end, filing on fret board