537 RSW Eastman Mandolin Really Tough Setup

This was a really tough setup. Hope you enjoy seeing how I accomplished it.
Support: / rosastringworks
Website: www.rosastringworks.com

[@christophergallagher531]

I ran to some thing like this on a arch top guitar. I yanked out the adjusters, for starters, and re-mated the feet and saddle. This got rid of hight, and weight. Thanks.

[@bluesingmusic3443]

As usual, you've taken lemons & made, if not a delicious lemonade, one that tastes pretty good. Kudos!!! You're the man!!!

[@andrewreynolds2647]

Great job Jerry as always, i thoroughly enjoyed this repair. Peace and love from Bonny Scotland.

[@carlosmacmartin4205]

Nice looking black saddle. Goes good with the ebony!

[@jeffgrier8488]

Great work Jerry, it sounds really good!

[@RedRose4711]

This video was just great. Its so amazing to watch the nitty gritty of it all, the little things which are always so important.

[@bobl2995]

Thanks Jerry great repair nice sounding mandolin

[@robertmoore6700]

Sounds very very good to me. As usual Jerry, heck of a job.

[@fallscityfirearms5713]

Excellent work sir...Thank you....

[@briandixon2700]

lovely job as always.

[@that_thing_I_do]

Now I understand your credo to pick the simple if not easy way if at all possible. That was a lot of careful. tenuous work.

[@barrycook6603]

Appreciate your attention to detail. Thanks

[@jamiej14544]

I adjusted my action on my Eastman 615 as I watched this video!

[@costrio]

Another challenge well met. Life is full of hard choices, sometimes.

[@davidharman4078]

I had the same trouble with the truss rod on my 815 Eastman mandolin. The easy solution is to remove the truss rod nut, add a number of appropriately sized washers, then reinstall the truss rod nut. The neck contour will now be easily adjustable.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Trust me you're preaching to the choir if it were that simple I would have done that I've only done thousands of setups in the last 40 years

[@robinengland5799]

Enjoyed the video! I bought an 815 from the acoustic Shoppe and really enjoy it! Hope I never have this problem! Thanks

[@old-timeangler5356]

Great video, I seem to have similar problem, but at least I know what I'm in for. Now just have to find a luthier local to me.

[@paulakers8801]

Love the color

[@kimwilliford6303]

Very nice sound i love it ❤❤❤❤❤

[@flannelmeister]

Sow's ear to silk purse, amazing. Would be really interesting if you told us customer's reaction when you broke the news about the neck!

[@poorfesor]

My neighbor when I was growing up had lots of musical instruments in eluding a pre war Martin but he also had a chili dipper mandolin and he taught me to play a tune. Carl's Junction, ever heard it? I lived in the KOAM are of Oklahoma so not far from you and my Grand father and family migrate down from Rocky Comfort-Melrose are.

[@davidhale1568]

Great job looks like it might have been dropped or something heavy placed on the neck, with hindsight might have been easier to take the neck off and possibly used some heat to take the ski ramp out of it so many unknowns in repair work. Greetings from the UK 👍

[@wayneshirey6999]

Nice job

[@billsterling6485]

I liked that Jerry...mighty fine !!!!

[@vadenk4433]

I had the EXACT thing happen to my old 1960’s Harmony. I knew suspected that was the problem before you noticed it.

[@stevefiorito5379]

Get a long ratchet-driven hex driver for those truss rod adjustments ... a LOT easier on the hands.

[@peterbryan3081]

Trouble with that, Steve, is that a ratchet can allow you to put too much torque and you might snap the truss rod or break it loose from the heel of the neck.

[@milantoombs6696]

Love it

[@glennselwitz1377]

You just don't stop untill you get it right...thats what makes you Mr. Awesome..its not easy being you..now get back to the 500 other things you have to get done by supper time.....

[@paulnewsome6289]

Brekke Bridge. All wood. Better sound. Fully adjustable without loosening off strings.

[@ranjrog]

Great job! I enjoyed watching your approach to solving the problem! Not to be too picky but Angeline The Baker is a Stephen Foster song, not Stephen Collins. Probably just a typo!

[@wofgangfester5896]

I like the Eastman

[@charlesheidkamp9766]

wow,that was a trip,lol

[@staleyexplores]

I'm pretty sure I need to do this to fix my cheap electric project to fix the massive forward bend giving the ditch effect if you will. I was thinking of pulling all the frets and leveling the entire fretboard, the nut has to be remade anyway so....i bought it for $5 as a way to learn how to fix guitars.

[@markriggins372]

Very nice job trouble shooting and fixes to the issues. How expensive is something like this? I’ve not ever had anything that this done to my instruments. I’m impressed!

[@SFarling]

StewMac has a fret slot saw, that will deepen fret slots on bound fret boards. It has two cutters, one for push stroke, and one for pull stroke. It comes in three different blade thicknesses, 0.018, 0.023, and 0.028. $22.21 each. I don’t have one, but I do have one of their fret slot cleaning knives that works great! Spend a little money on a few tools Jerry, it would make life so much easier for you. 😎

[@richardpaulhall]

Jerry has a shed full of tools. He knows the StewMac catalog.

[@tommylitchfield3450]

It turned out nicely, but I was wondering, if the cutout in the saddle was getting close to being a weak point, why not split the difference between the top of the saddle and the bottom? Taking it off the top won't help the adjustability, but if it's already bottomed out, taking some off the top all the way across instead of just filing the notches deeper would help without the notches being too deep to look nice. Maybe thin the adjusting wheels also on the bottom where it wouldn't show? It's done now, so it doesn't matter. Just curious though if those things would be a benefit.

[@MatthewBScott-we5qb]

Thanks! Besides very entertaining, I always learn so much; yer my First go to video source. Mara'Natha Blessings to ya, Brosky< m&D Scott

[@adamkempa5157]

Nice - But now you have me eyeballing my stuff - ever use Howard feed & wax?

[@clawhammer704]

Left in a hot vehicle at some time in its life.

[@kevincozens6837]

I found a couple of picks that are 40 thou thick. My mandolin barely holds the pick at the 2nd fret. I've already cut down the bridge and saddle quite a bit from what it was when I first got it. Looks like I need to go even further with it. The mandolin doesn't have an even sound. The two thinnest strings always seem to ring out too much. The lowest pair are mostly riding on the top of the nut. The instrument needs more set up work. Not sure how much more I can do for it. I don't want to touch the nut.

[@robertshorthill6836]

A 40 thou pick is just a fuzz thicker than 1 mm (.039") The metric system is a wonderful thing, especially in measuring something. A meter is 39".

[@lyndamcardle4123]

I might venture to offer an apology to Eastman in lieu of your revelation that the neck may have been mended via a previous owner.

[@zapa1pnt]

I first thought as you did.

[@costrio]

Your exacto knife is like a very thin chisel in this case?

[@lyndamcardle4123]

I've said it before many times, what is the use of frets so near the bridge end when the notes are practically unplayable ?

[@zapa1pnt]

That is why Jerry will, usually, scallop the fret board tongue/extension. This one didn't have that.

[@clawhammer704]

For looks

[@madgeniusmusic]

Looks like it really needs a neck re set.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Really tough to do on a mandolin

[@madgeniusmusic]

@@RosaStringWorks yeah it must be, I’m sure you could do it though.

[@perihelion7798]

Lotta work there. I like the neck reset on a Telecaster, however. Easy-Peasy! LOL

[@madgeniusmusic]

@@perihelion7798 yeah, nice n easy.

[@bluesingmusic3443]

@@perihelion7798 mine has the Microtilt feature, so it's real easy. On my El Cheapo bass I decided to add a shim, took of the neck (bolt on) it had a shim already. Paper. I had a credit card, used that, it didn't fix it perfectly but after adjusting the saddles got it down to between 5/64 & 6/64, so I'm happy, well let's say satisfied.

[@gordonbartlett4164]

Would it be wise to back off the truss rod prior to shaving the fingerboard ? That would allow for adjustment in the future. if you left it cranked like you did when you started, there would be nowhere left on the rod.

[@RosaStringWorks]

There is not enough adjustment in a truss rod to matter it's a non issue

[@perihelion7798]

Normally, I would agree, but a mandolin neck is really pretty small, and very stiff, so the truss rod adjustment is minimal, at best. Different story on a guitar or bass.

[@gordonbartlett4164]

@@RosaStringWorks thanks

[@P_Ezi]

Did.you try to talk the customer into scalloping the fingerboard extension?

[@stevesuv]

Can you thin the thumb wheels?

[@jeffreykettler6310]

What brand is the bee good oil? Is it better then linseed oil?

[@snell0710]

Lots of tinkering on that one

[@Mycroftsbrother]

I guess that I expect too much, but when I pay $1,000.00+ bucks for an instrument and then have to pay to have it "set up" it kind of rubs me the wrong way. Shouldn't they have folks at the factory doing this stuff? I know that in this case the neck being repaired looks like the problem, but it seems that almost ALL instruments need to be tweeked to make them right. Sorry for the complaint, now I'll go out and yell at the kids for playing on my lawn. Good job Mr. Jerry!

[@douglaspuett1900]

I hear ya. This is why I learned to set up my own instruments. It’s a shame, but what can you do?

[@zapa1pnt]

An instrument cannot be set up, to please everyone. It all depends on what kind of music you play and how you play it. A finger picker can "generally" work with a very low action (notice I said Generally) but an aggressive flat picker will need a higher action, to avoid buzzing, on the frets.

[@stu-j]

A setup is subjective to every player so 99% of the time a factory will setup high just so you don't get buzzing. My 6k gibson still needed a full setup including a fret job to get the action to my playing style. Only guitar I've ever bought that didn't need anything was my prs and it came absolutely perfect.

[@kushalkumar5715]

I need one mandolin. How i can get it ? Pl tell me.

[@williamjanik8466]

would inlaying the bridge help. If that was my instrument I think I would ask you to try it.

[@zapa1pnt]

Inlaying the bridge would, seriously, compromise the strength of the top.

[@williamjanik8466]

I understand. It's juat that I've seen you do it on guitars and thought it coul'd be done on mandolin's.

[@zapa1pnt]

@@williamjanik8466: Point 1) I'm not Jerry Point 2) and more to the point, I thought you were talking about cutting into the wood, like perfling inlay. You're just talking about removing the finish. Jerry does that on guitars, to be able to glue the bridge, to the wood of the top and not the finish. The glue will not hold on the finish. You can't do that on a mandolin, because the bridge needs to be mobile, to adjust the intonation. It is, also, pointless, because the finish is not thick enough to make a difference.

[@stevehaycraft1901]

Please help. My Recording King mandolin is killing my fingers and the bridge is as low as it will go. I'm bout to quit this thing!

[@amydickerson2145]

Is this a QC issue, or something else? I want to buy an Eastman. Maybe I won't. 😬

[@robertshorthill6836]

Amy Dickerson, you probably have a mandolin by now as I write this (9 mo later). As with the purchase of any quality musical instrument, it is best to visit a decent music store and play, inspect several in the price range you are after. I bought a Gibson J-50 in '66. I had to play at least 4 before I selected the one I had for decades. Same for mandos of the same make and model. There is only one standard these companies go by -- do the job to their standards and get them shipped. And I worked at the Flatiron Mandolin shop for several years before they moved away from MT. While all were of quality, some were better than others.

[@amydickerson2145]

@@robertshorthill6836 Got a good Eastman from Amazon. Very happy with it

[@russellgrooms314]

Remove the adjusting nuts off of the bridge

[@davidpoggioli2204]

All that sanding ,filing etc. . Wouldn't it been best to reset the neck ?

[@lyndamcardle4123]

PS, I'm concerned that this is not a cheap instrument from a reputed manufacturer and the quality control from production staff is extremely poor. Shame on Eastman.

[@letmeooze]

Before you shame Eastman, remember that he said it seems like someone did a janky neck reset/repair. I've never seen an eastman with that messy of a neck joint, and I have tried multiple MD300 and MD500 series mandolins. My personal MD 515 (F style) is incredibly similar to this model and the neck joint looks WAY cleaner than the one he's working on. I don't think this Mandolin left the factory like that.