060 RSW Kentucky Mandolin Rescued From A Poor Setup Job

KM1500 Kentucky Mandolin was setup very poorly by someone. We rescued the mandolin from the realm of "unplayability" and brought it back to life. The mandolin was shipped in from North Dakota.

[@emmettw123]

Thank you, Jerry, for doing such a great setup on my Kentucky KM1500. It plays like butter and sings like a bird now. Just for anyone watching this video, I did "de-tune" the strings before sending it to Jerry. I'm laughing my butt off listening to Jerry plucking those strings. Honestly, I am so appreciative of your attention to the minor details and great customer service.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thanks Emmett. Glad its working for you.

[@frankquave3471]

Emmett, please provide info on your tail piece; manufacturer, model number. Thanks!

[@RosaStringWorks]

You are welcome Clifton thank you for watching.

[@bleikrsound6127]

Exact set up on any instrument produces a pure resonant sound, especially a four course Mandolin.

[@mariohernandez4502]

Thanks taking the time to post this video. Very nice when someone freely shares and explains their expertise. Priceless information. Thanks again. May God Bless you and yours

[@denbo6054]

Thanks Jerry. This video helped me figure out what height I need my mandolin strings.

[@bobpasero8123]

I learned more about my mandolin watching this than I have in learning to play...thank you.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Glad to heat that Bob.

[@emilianowarren7379]

You have inspired me to get a mandolin with your videos. Currently having a blast setting mine up with your direction!

[@mikedkc]

Really nice work on the set up and very nice demonstration of your playing skills. Beautiful mandolin, too!

[@richardsturm7537]

I was given one of the Rouge Mandolins that was bought out of a Pawn shop. It was a mess, after working on it it looks like a brand new one. Still trying to learn how to play it. It is the A style.. Your instruction film was very helpful.

[@ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm]

string fitment = Jerry 100% correct and seams just logical ? but not to everyone = thanks for your expert tuition !

[@icebob8555]

Good video thank you

[@colleencorbett7282]

Thanks Jerry , I just strung up my first f5 build you're video will really help to get the set up right .

[@RosaStringWorks]

Glad to hear it. Thanks for commenting.

[@KanOfWhoopass]

Another great video. I do my own setups - however I've been fortunate to not have to adjust the nut on any of my mandolins yet. Wonderful insight into the world of Mando repair. More please, and thank you!

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thanks Cody, I really appreciate the nice comments.

[@steby123]

We are in total agreement about nut break angles!!

[@cbearw1]

Nice to see what goes into a mandolin set up. Kinda missed the intonation part though. Thanks for posting!

[@aalihte3378]

Very pretty mandolin. sounds GREAT once you were done with it. very informative, thank you :)

[@RosaStringWorks]

Alida Bailey thank you very much.

[@songbyrdsings1]

Great to watch thank you;)

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thank you.

[@rodmackinnon8497]

Great video . . . I've been playing my old Martin a lot this past year and it's amazing how it seems to have opened up, I don't think it's my imagination . . . not looking for a new mandolin anymore.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Rod MacKinnon thanks for taking a look. Happy New Year.

[@Mandolin1944]

Great video Jerry - -and being a native of North Dakota your opening line caught my attention!

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thanks, it was a nice mandolin.

[@CascadeGriz]

I really enjoyed this one and have a mandolin I might send you in the near future. Learned a lot.

[@roymichaeldeanable]

Excellent...so interesting

[@MountainHomeJerrel]

2:40 I ACTUALLY almost vomitted.

[@RandySchartiger]

Good video Jerry, I think you made a good call on leaving a tiny flat top on the crowns, I always tell people the more of the fret there is to touch the string the longer it takes the frets to wear out. Plus, you can be sure all frets are still level, many folks take too much off with a crown file and lose their perfectly level frets. Enjoy your vids!

[@RosaStringWorks]

Randy Schartiger Thanks for the nice comments Randy.

[@RichardHutchings]

Randy Schartiger That's the one thing I took away from this video that I will apply to all future setups I do.

[@waynedavies3185]

I agree with you about wrapping your strings downward on the tuning post. Ever since I picked up my first guitar, as well as first mandolin ( I have two), all my strings are carefully wound downward in a nice neat wrap. Puts the tension on the tuning pegs, where they are held the strongest. Both of my mandolins have plenty of punch, and sound great. Nice video...

[@michaelnelson3469]

I got used to doing it years ago when I was playing Telecasters. With the headstock being parallel to the fingerboard, you need as much downforce across the nut as you can get.

[@murphmurph2124]

Make sure to add a mandolin to your prepper kit

[@gybx4094]

The lowest mandolin action I ever encountered was a $5,000 Monteleone. It was a 5 string with a curved fretboard like a violin fingerboard. There was virtually no effort and it sounded heavenly, but I couldn't afford it. So, I bought an electric Mandoblaster with an action as low as a Telecaster.

[@asparak]

If only we could get this kind of service in the UK :(

[@RosaStringWorks]

Richard Ellis thank you very much.

[@deweybowser796]

Nice work .. i have old Kentucky serial number 12686 KM - 850 Mando that has real good sound ,,wish i could have you fine tune it as far bridge

[@mandojimmy]

Good video. Pity that the instrument has had to be around the houses and not set up properly from day one. I imported mandolins from China and it was a mixture of some good, some average and some poor on set up. Occassionally a mandolin does work with wheels on one side bridge higher than other so no big deal there really. Just shows how much knowledge, patience and care is needed. To me, set up is everything. Pity hw didn't show which tool he used for nut filing. I slide a normal kitchen knife blade hard against the front of the nut and that way I can't go down too far but strictly speaking they should all be different. all knives are not the same. Another way is the Stew Mac product which is rather like a capo with a very thin arm on it. I alos use an old capo and had the arm filed down. thanks Enjoyed the video. Jimmy UK

[@slackjawstudio]

Really cool videos man... Can always tell a luthier is passionate bout his work when he starts makin youtube videos! Haha!

[@RosaStringWorks]

Will Jerauld thank you for taking a look.

[@EmbelekoBand]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@steveharris2589]

Good video Jerry I did not know about getting the strings higher at the bridge I will remenber that.First thing I thought that they had turned the trust rod some people do that to make the action better I think it a Mastake doing that.Have a nice weekend.)))

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thanks Steve. Glad to hear from you.

[@ep2353]

I love my Gurian Fret Rounding File.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thanks for watching.

[@danielmconnolly7]

She's Pretty~!

[@leonardburns1780]

I must say you are a master I did not realise there was much to setting up a mandolin thanks for sharing ehhh

[@Y2daT420]

My OCD says wrap strings down also .. then after i install fresh strings and get them close to intune i use small pliers to gently pinch the loops so they oval @ the tail peice , so i can have new strings holding tune in a short amount of time ..

[@snakejumper3277]

I've been doing that & thought I was a genius for figuring it out all by myself.

[@terryhack8498]

i had a sumi era km 1500. i didn't even know you could get one anymore

[@RosaStringWorks]

Terry Hack thanks for watching. I don't know if you can or not.

[@davestambaugh7282]

I wish they would put the hole in the post higher because I prefer to have the string go down the post to.

[@RosaStringWorks]

+Dave Stambaugh thanks for taking a look.

[@mohin8256]

What file do you use for the frets?

[@rhettbickley9097]

Jerry, you have a good vocabulary and are an effective communicator. What do you attribute them to? .

[@everTriumph]

Just curious that you did a fret dress with (I assume) a tensioned truss rod. Or did I miss something?

[@donwendorf2401]

This isn't relevant for the new Kentucky but fyi: I have a 1984 Sumi-era KM1000 with a lovely tone, that a friend took and shaved down the unnecessarily thick tone bars on and it just opened it up enormously while preserving that wonderful sound. He made a special tool to do that through the f-holes.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Thanks for taking a look Don. No doubt heavy braces and a thick top will kill the sound.

[@crabtrap]

this guys work was just as bad.

[@RosaStringWorks]

crabtrap sorry you feel that way.

[@ChrisPadillaAZ]

I feel that Jerry’s work is great. I would apprentice under him if I had the chance. It brings joy to me to see him work and the quality is great.

[@fusion-music]

I'm like you on that Jerry. I cant believe someone claiming to do a set-up, would call that a set-up. Either they were a con artist or it did play ok when it left them & went astray/movement because of environment/ect. Instruments often do not like travelling continents. You certainly made a nice job and I suspect you did more work than the initial set-up.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Fusion Music thank you very much.

[@davidmoyer6051]

What do you charge for a setup? I bought a older Kentucky mandolin km620 from a fellow. The pick guard us loose, missing the truss rod cover, an also missing a couple of tuning pegs..

[@mikewilliams8713]

I like to keep the peace but ....

[@shreepadgandhi6739]

I have this type of instrument (Harley Benton)...its 9 months old now...Of late I feel the gap between fretboard and strings has increased. How to put that in order? Any hints? I have yet to fully watch this video though I did a 'rapid reading' of this clip. Shall do that maybe today. All comments / counter comments welcome. Thanks.

[@thejuayway]

Wasn't it a simple case of raising the higher side of the bridge?

[@diegobac5067]

My mandoling is buzzing on the 11th fret, on all strings, I've looked down the neck and the fretboard looks fine, I've been trying to adjust the action but it keeps buzzing, any tip?

[@RosaStringWorks]

Yes I do have a tip. Unfortunately you probably won't like it. It sounds to me like your action has to be way too low if it's buzzing on all the strings. You're going to have to raise up your Bridge. My guess is you're going to have to raise it considerably. Probably about 4-5 turns on the wheels on each side assuming you have an adjustable Bridge.

[@diegobac5067]

yes, I did adjust the bridge higher, and its gone from the D strings to the E strings, G keep buzzing though, should I get the bridge higher on that side?

[@LukeLittle-rt6sn]

What kind of tail piece is that?

[@RosaStringWorks]

Don't know if it has a brand. It's nothing special, just a standard F style tailpiece as far as I know.

[@tacratt6091]

Looks like a James tail piece!

[@ananthavenkatanarasimhacha9046]

Sir, what would be it's price? It is a very beautiful instrument

[@Frankowillo]

$2600+

[@barkruss1467]

That is a beautiful mandolin sounds good too

[@geezerhill]

I need /samick tuners for my mandolin. They are of a different shape than most. Any suggestions for me where I can get it fixed.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Sorry I don't know.

[@TKevinBlanc]

learn something new everyday. I thought the name of the instrument was pronounced mandoLIN. But MANdolin sounds better.

[@RosaStringWorks]

It's probably just my hillbilly accent.

[@powbobs]

It depends where you are from.

[@apparameswaran1792]

What is the price in rupee

[@thetruthisoutthere8598]

Did anyone ever tell you how much you sound like Jack Benny?

[@crabtrap]

i stopped watching when he started willy-nilly rubbing a file randomly on the frets; THIS IS NOT CORRECT WORK. frets should be lightly marked with a marker(sharpie) and wi the finest file or straightedgewith 1500grit paper lightly drag the file/straightedge, the fret high spots will rub off the sharpie marks telling you EXACTLY where the high spots are; this allows you to ONLY file down THAT HIGH FRET. then of course recrown. I feel bad for whom ever owns this poor butchered mandolin.

[@RosaStringWorks]

crabtrap if you only work on one Fredder the time you'll never get all your Frets within a thousandth of an inch of each other and that's the way you get the lowest set up. Been doing it for over 30 years my friend and have had thousands of very satisfied customers I can count the complaints on one hand. I'm sure you've learned what you know how to matex book or KZbin

[@crabtrap]

i have also been doing this for 30 years (mostly guitars and violins). the first move in ascertaining the fret level is to check neck relief(notched straightedge), when that is dead straight, check for high frets as i described above(sharpie/marker), if you have a situation with random heights, you can run the long fret file to level them, but you always check for individual high frets first. this eliminations removing material from ALL the frets unnecessarily which leads to MUCH earlier complete refretting. on a sub-$200 maybe your way is fine....but on anything more expensive this should be a priority. nice vid production btw

[@RosaStringWorks]

crabtrap as I often say there's more than one way to skin a cat. I charge $60 per hour and am very fast. My customers don't complain otherwise I'd be out of business. Thanks for watching.

[@crabtrap]

"out of buisness"? no you wouldn't, i see people do crap work all the time....custmors don't know the differance, if they did Guitar Center would have been out of biz 15 years ago. while i'll agree on the cat-skinning, there is no substitute for checking the neck relief and combined fret height first.

[@tacratt6091]

I would love to see crabtraps fine vids and all this expert work!

[@eugenelayton5231]

I bought an Ibanez for my granddaughter. It would not tune properly. I had a set up done at a music store but when I turn it and play chords they sound off. I GIVE UP! What can I do?