I have just changed the strings on my mandolin, and I cannot wait to get my head down and start noodling around with the bright and fantastic sound new strings give. But it is looking like it needs to set it up, I haven’t done it in a while and its starting to show. Them strings look a bit close to the neck.? How high does the action need to be? Every time I get around to tweak my mandolins action, I always find myself asking these sorts of questions. Does the action need to be the same for different string gauges? Will I damage the mandolin if I do it wrong? I finally did my research, and this is what we will look into, in-depth, in this post.
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How high should my mandolin action be?
The standard mandolin’s average action height is around 0.05 thousandths of an inch or 1.27mm for the bass strings. And for the treble strings, 0.04 thousandths of an inch or 1.02mm. You can measure this using a feeler gauge or small ruler. This the standard height for playing the mandolin comfortably. Although, each mandolin is different and you may want to heighten the action if you are still getting a little buzz when playing.
What is the average mandolin action height?
The action of a mandolin is usually referencing the height of the strings to the neck. If you have the correct action, you should be able to play the mandolin without string buzz. Fret buzz makes it challenging to move around the neck and make a clear tone. Fret buzz is due to the strings being too close to the fretboard when pressing down the required note you are playing. When the action is too high, pushing down each note will be difficult. You will find it changing moving between notes and chords, and it will require more effort to sound a clear note. This isn’t something you want to be dealing with when trying to play the mandolin. Luckily you can be remedy this easily.
We will deal with the mandolin in standard tuning; alternative tunings may require more tweaking to get the desired action. Change your strings as usual and tune to GG-DD-AA-EE. The distance from the 12th fret to the where the strings sit should be around 0.05 thousandths of an inch roughly 1.27mm in metric; this is the distance the G and D strings should be from the 12th fret. The A and E strings should be approximately 0.04 thousandths of an inch which equates to about 1.02mm. This distance should also be from the neck to the strings at the 12th fret. Once the strings’ height has been altered to around this distance, you should try a song and see how it feels. If there is any buzzing slightly raise the action of those strings. The trick is to get the sweet spot for your model of the mandolin. Each mandolin might take a bit of tweaking to get the required distance. Wood tends to change slightly at different temperatures and can affect the neck’s condition. These individual changes in your instrument will lead to requiring more or less adjusting.
Why is action important?
The action of the mandolin is essential because it directly affects the playability of the instrument. Every musician wishes for their mandolin to sound good. If you practice every day and take pride in your playing, you do not want to be making it harder for yourself by not setting up your instrument correctly. When changing your strings, the neck’s tension may adjust and throw the action out so do not worry if you change strings and all of sudden you are getting string buzz on notes.
One of the best ways to measure the distance between the string and the neck is to use a set of mechanics feeler gauges. They are a little easier to use than looking at a ruler and can be tested all over the neck to measure distances. Using an engineer’s ruler can also work, but you will be eyeballing it, so you will find this way a little less accurate. After measuring the distance between the strings and the neck using either a ruler or feeler gauges, you make your final test by playing the mandolin. If you don’t have a ruler or a set of feeler gauges, a playing card or business card can get you close to where it needs to be. This method will need a lot more trial and error, so expect to be re-tuning, playing the mandolin and adjusting the action quite a bit.
How do you raise the action and lower it?
One way of raising the mandolins action is using the bridge at the bottom of the mandolin. Each mandolin is different, but they will usually have this similarity. The strings rest over the saddle which sits on the bridge and heads up the neck from there. I would suggest loosening the strings each time before making significant adjustments to the height of the bridge. Loosening the strings before raising the bridge will help prevent splitting the saddle or wedge the strings further into the notches. You can sometimes turn the nut of the bridge with your fingers or use a set of needle-nose pliers if the wheel or nut is too tight. Spinning both the wheels clockwise will lower the bridge to the body of the mandolin. This will lower the action of the mandolin. Counterclockwise will raise the bridge to make the distance between the 12th fret and strings more significant.
What happens if my action is incorrect?
As mentioned earlier in the article if the action is incorrect, rather the strings being too close or too far away from the neck then playing the mandolin will be more challenging. If the distance between the strings and neck is too much, as your finger presses down on the string the note will bend and will seem as if it slightly out of tune or hitting the wrong note. Checking how notes sound all the way across the neck is a good way of spotting any rogue buzz notes. You might have to compromise the distance slightly to find the sweet spot between playability and tone.
I have found that many mandolin players like to leave their action a little bit higher than average. This is so that the bridge will be pushing down onto the mandolin base increasing the volume and tone slightly, Also setting you mandolin like this will allow you to play a little bit harder without the strings buzzing and going out of tune. This can be altered to your preference though and may need to be experimented with until you find the combination you are most happy with.
The alternative way of adjusting the action is from the nut. Changing the action this way is a bit riskier and should be done by professionals. The nut of your mandolin can be replaced with a higher nut or a shim underneath this will raise the nut higher. As I mentioned earlier, this is beyond what I would suggest doing unless you knew how to deal with this type of thing. But the option is always there if you are unable to get good playability out of your mandolin.
Will higher gauge strings need a higher action?
The general rule of thumb on most stringed instruments is that the higher gauge the string, the lower the action can be. This means due to the strings being thicker, and they can be set lower to the mandolins fretboard. The thinner the strings, the higher the action will need to be set. Lighter strings have a lot more give when plucked or strummed, which will cause more buzz and rattle. Heightening the strings from the neck will reduce some of this unwanted noise. Experimenting with different strings gauges is the only way to find which type of gauge string you prefer. As you can see, there is a lot of room for preference and playing style. The standard string gauge for a mandolin is 0.011/0.011 – 0.015/0.015 – 0.026/0.026 – 0.040/0.040 and using the distance of 0.05 thousandths of an inch and 0.04 thousandth of an inch as mentioned earlier in this article will suit this gauge nicely.
Do you need to set up your mandolin for different styles of music?
Setting up your mandolin’s action to a standard mandolin set up as stated above will pretty much suit you for all genres of music you can play on a mandolin. You should be able to play all the techniques used for each of these styles. Many styles of music with their heavy-handed rhythm might be better played with a higher action. Having a higher action can allow heavier playing and a more punchy tone. Bluegrass, for example, might be at an advantage with a higher action. Many bluegrass players prefer a higher action due to the heavy rhythm they tend to play. Many prefer higher action with higher gauge strings to play without tuning issues and to cut through when playing with other musicians.
