My mandolin...

[Red Zep]

Yeah I just got my first mandolin off of Ebay (I can see people's faces changing as they read this part, saying oh god no). Well it's better quality than I thought it would be. First of all, its an F-shape. I paid $130 dollars for this mandolin. It's a Galveston, model #MDL-25A-7.

Does anyone know anything about Galveston products?

So far the only issues with it is that the machines are horrible. They feel cheap and I am able to turn some of them 1/2 rotation, others only 1/4 of a rotation, without the pitch changing on the string. Would it be worth it to invest in some new tuning machines?

Also, fret #13 is sharp on every string. And any fret on the G string is slightly sharp. I adjusted the action to as low as it can go.Again, would it be worth it to have this fixed? Would just buying some different types of strings help this problem?

Thanks

[jbgordon]

Here are some helpful tips that I was given when I started playing.

Unlike guitar, you can move the bridge of a mandolin back and forth on the top of the instrument. The intonation of the instrument is adjusted not so much by raising or lowering the height of the bridge, but instead by moving the bridge closer or further away from the headstock. The pitch in open position and the pitch when played at the 12th fret should be exactly an octave apart. If the pitch is sharp at the 12th fret the bridge needs to be moved towards the tailpiece. If the pitch is flat the bridge needs to be moved toward the headstock.

That should solve the intonation problem. As far as replacing the tuning machines, by the time you buy new ones you have spent about a third of what you paid for the whole instrument. Consider that before getting new machines.

Hope that helped.

[Red Zep]

I will be selling this mandolin soon to buy a better one. It was well worth it for only being $130. I have a friend who wants to learn how to play and I told her I'm not teaching her unless she buys one hahaha.

Its an F shape and there's nothing majorly wrong with it except some of the higher frets don't work. So that means its a great mandolin for someone just starting out, just like I did. I believe I can get $120 bucks out of her for it.

[Red Zep]

Another one of ole Galvy.

[Red Zep]

Finally a third.... of the crappy tuning machines. We'll call them beginner machines. :-)