I have a Harley Benton mandolin and when I fret the G string at the 7th fret, the resulting D note is different from the open D. Thanks for your help.
Fretted notes different from open notes
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Sounds to me like an octave change but I ain’t no mando plucker
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Hey Mike, welcome to the forum!
This problem could be resulting from one of two causes. Most likely, your mandolin’s intonation is off. If the mandolin is perfectly in tune but fretted notes are out of tune, then your mando’s bridge is probably in the wrong spot. You can adjust for intonation by playing the problematic strings at the 12th fret and then playing the harmonic (chime) at the 12th fret. If the fretted note is higher than the harmonic (sharp), then the bridge is too close to the fretboard and needs to be moved back until the fretted note is in tune. If the fretted note is lower than the harmonic (flat), then the bridge is too far back and needs to be moved closer to the fretboard.
Here’s a video explaining the adjustment:
The other option is that your mando is just out of tune. When you’re doing adjustments, make sure to regularly re-tune your instrument.
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Howdy! I’ll be releasing a video in January for how to fix the mandolin intonation with bridge placement.
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Thanks, Michael! I really appreciate the help.
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Glad to help!
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