Mandolin strings

[natethered]

My left-handed Michael Kelly mandolin has small round rubber 'things' on each of the sets of two strings, located between the tail piece and the bridge. Does anyone know if they serve a purpose, or were they just extra protection during shipping? I haven't noticed them on any of the other mandolins I've seen.

[woulfer]

They are used to dampen overtones that are sometimes produced by the strings between the bridge and tail piece ringing. Some instruments you don't here it, others you do. Some people use a leather strip threaded between the strings to damp the overtones. Hope that helps.