Mando Voicing

Often when new mandolins are shipped to me for resale they require a precision setup to play and sound good. It's understandable that it's not cost effective for a manufacturer to devote individual time to every mandolin. Fortunately you can get this level of detail from a good luthier. Voicing a mandolin is the next level of individual refinement to bring out a mandolin's potential.

Tap tuning and mode matching is a process of tuning the pitch of a wood produced tone until it matches or harmonizes with another wood produced tone and matches the air space note inside the instrument. Using specialized tools, the tone bars of a mandolin can be tuned resulting in an overall increase in volume, evenness between strings, improved sustain and better tone.

The principles that come to play cross the bounds of different musical instruments. When mode matching the pitch of a fingerboard on a double bass with the double bass tailpiece you can raise the pitch of the fingerboard by reducing the amount of wood underneith the end of the fingerboard. You can lower the pitch of the tailpiece by adding weight. You can raise the pitch of the bass tailpiece by shortening the tailpiece wire to stiffen its vibrating characteristics. Tuning the wood of an instrument to vibrate in harmony with itself and the instruments air space is one of the most significant things you can do to improve your instrument's sound.

One of the tools necessary for this process is a good ear. I still remember as a young boy visiting the Smithonian Institute with my class and being one of the few that could turn the dial at the sound exhibit and match a tone 100%. I'm grateful for that tool. I also enjoy solving problems. I came across a mandolin where the E strings volume was much softer than the other strings. After voicing they were well balanced and all the strings sounded better. Making mandolins sound their best is rewarding!

Please email me at kyle@stringfest.com if you have questions or would like to have your mandolin voiced. The cost is $150. The results are worth much more.