I dunno...lots of objections... First, do you have a desk, a dining table, a kitchen countertop, a workbench?? Good. Sitting on the floor and working on an instrument in your lap like this fella is doing is utterly preposterous. Ridiculous! Put down a towel on a hard surface, use a rolled up towel or a coupla paperback novels to prop up the neck so the headstock is suspended. This fella did not read the directions that came with his tonegard...the arm with pad adjacent to the endpin is the sprung contact point. To remove the gard, pull this arm away from that contact point and and tilt the gard away from the mandolin, then carefully lift the entire gard. To reinstall, place the two contact points where they go in the waist, then pull the sprung arm outward and tilt the gard back into place, gently releasing it when in place. There is no need to slide the arms against the finish of the mandolin at any one of the three contact points. If you must remove all the strings and bridge (not recommended to the average instrument owner...loosen, change and return to pitch one string at a time), check your intonation FIRST, BEFORE loosening strings. If your intonation is SATISFACTORY, get a roll of low-tack paper masking tape and mark the location of the bridge. Then, once removed, tape the bridge saddle to the bridge foot. "Oops, there goes the bridge"...my gawd, if you are producing an "instructional" video, avoid/edit out all "oops" moments to maintain the highest possible level of credibility. Apply "some wax" to the contact area of the bridge foot? "Some wax"?? I can see someone taking your "advice" to mean they should light a candle and drip wax onto the surface, or some equally foolish interpretation of your "advice". Heat "with a soldering iron" to release a bridge stuck to the top?? If your bridge is stuck to the finish on the top of the instrument, TAKE IT TO A PROFESSIONAL INSTRUMENT REPAIR TECHNICIAN...PERIOD. I have owned, played and repaired (in a professional capacity) fretted stringed instruments since christ was a cowboy, and I have never employed any sort of musical instrument "polish". I am quite certain that instrument polish is marketed so instrument owners have yet another thing to waste their money on. If you simply MUST apply some sort of goop to your instrument (I am aware that many enjoy the intimate bonding experience with their instrument...likely the same folks that name their instrument and refer to it as "she"...), first wipe off the dust, sweat and spit before doing so. I gently wipe the entire instrument with a soft dry cloth, then examine the surface. If there is crap stuck to it, use the same soft cloth slightly dampened with warm water to remove the crap. If you apply goop (what most refer to as "polish") to a filthy surface, the goop will combine with the crap to create a slurry of goopcrap, resulting in a bigger mess than you had initially. Whilst I do not recommend the following to the squeamish/unskilled, I CLEAN an instrument finish with warm water containing a drop or two of dish detergent, slightly dampening a soft cloth, then wiping dry with another soft cloth immediately. If that will not remove an accumulation of crap, I use naptha, a mild solvent that will not react with a finish. Again, not for the squeamish. If the finish requires a buffing up after cleaning, I will use an automotive finish compound...again, not beginner stuff. Many of these goop products advertise themselves as a "cleaner/polish"...I will insist, to my death, that this is an impossibility...no product can do a reasonable job of both. One cleans, then, one polishes. Do you use 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner on your hair?? That's the same kind of marketing B.S. And applying this finish goop to the fretboard??!? Harvey's Jubilee polish is for application to a lacquer, varnish or polyurethane FINISH, not BARE WOOD. Is your fretboard wood finished? Generally not, it's bare wood, and goop is not for unfinished wood. The aforementioned wet cloth or naptha will remove an accumulation of mung/crap from your fretboard. buff with a soft, dry cloth once cleaned. If you watch a tutorial where the presenter offers a technique by stating "not reccommended", stop watching immediately and disregard everything this person has previously stated. I am all for the concept of DIY, and the intelligent, confident, skillful instrument owners SHOULD at least be able to change their own strings, et cetera, but there are professional fretted stringed instrument technicians in nearly every town and they need to feed, house and clothe their families...support 'em! And most importantly, recognize the difference between information and knowledge...question information and gain knowledge! (with apologies to Mr. Woodhull...)
1. Workspace. This was my option today running a camera and good mics in a room with some sound treatment where my wife and kids wouldn’t have to stop life for a couple hours while I recorded. Usually I do it on my couch. 😎 2. ToneGard removal. Cool, there’s a way to do it slightly better. For something that happens maybe a few times per year, I doubt I’d remember a specific process, and I’d love to see the instrument wear difference between someone doing it “just so” and my way after several decades. 3. Removing all the strings was part of the point of this video. It’s kind of routine, not the majority of the time, but something most good mandolinists I know do a couple times per year. As I said in the video, I usually only do half at a time. 4. Yes, the bridge slid off. Not a big deal. I’m not going to re-take a video to not show that real-life occurrences aren’t going to hurt anyone. 5. Applying wax to the bridge. That’s a direct suggestion by one of the world’s greatest and most experienced mandolin luthiers. Yes, it should be *carnuba* wax. 6. Soldering iron. Again, what the *luthier* recommended. One should put a piece of thin cardboard between the iron and the ebony, and it doesn’t take much heat. But like I said in the video… I agreed with you to reach out for help. 7. Polish. Your preference. David Harvey is currently the Master Luthier at Gibson. If you don’t trust my experience, I’d trust him and the many other mando players using this. For the amount I’m using, I’m not concerned about my fingerboard (a *replaceable* mandolin element.) 8. Use local luthiers. Yeah that would be great, but I live about a time zone from anyone, at least that I’d trust. Same with a lot of others. I’ve shipped expensive instruments through the mail to them before, but for any of the stuff in this video, other than maybe a sticking bridge, you shouldn’t need a luthier.
I dunno...lots of objections... First, do you have a desk, a dining table, a kitchen countertop, a workbench?? Good. Sitting on the floor and working on an instrument in your lap like this fella is doing is utterly preposterous. Ridiculous! Put down a towel on a hard surface, use a rolled up towel or a coupla paperback novels to prop up the neck so the headstock is suspended. This fella did not read the directions that came with his tonegard...the arm with pad adjacent to the endpin is the sprung contact point. To remove the gard, pull this arm away from that contact point and and tilt the gard away from the mandolin, then carefully lift the entire gard. To reinstall, place the two contact points where they go in the waist, then pull the sprung arm outward and tilt the gard back into place, gently releasing it when in place. There is no need to slide the arms against the finish of the mandolin at any one of the three contact points. If you must remove all the strings and bridge (not recommended to the average instrument owner...loosen, change and return to pitch one string at a time), check your intonation FIRST, BEFORE loosening strings. If your intonation is SATISFACTORY, get a roll of low-tack paper masking tape and mark the location of the bridge. Then, once removed, tape the bridge saddle to the bridge foot. "Oops, there goes the bridge"...my gawd, if you are producing an "instructional" video, avoid/edit out all "oops" moments to maintain the highest possible level of credibility. Apply "some wax" to the contact area of the bridge foot? "Some wax"?? I can see someone taking your "advice" to mean they should light a candle and drip wax onto the surface, or some equally foolish interpretation of your "advice". Heat "with a soldering iron" to release a bridge stuck to the top?? If your bridge is stuck to the finish on the top of the instrument, TAKE IT TO A PROFESSIONAL INSTRUMENT REPAIR TECHNICIAN...PERIOD. I have owned, played and repaired (in a professional capacity) fretted stringed instruments since christ was a cowboy, and I have never employed any sort of musical instrument "polish". I am quite certain that instrument polish is marketed so instrument owners have yet another thing to waste their money on. If you simply MUST apply some sort of goop to your instrument (I am aware that many enjoy the intimate bonding experience with their instrument...likely the same folks that name their instrument and refer to it as "she"...), first wipe off the dust, sweat and spit before doing so. I gently wipe the entire instrument with a soft dry cloth, then examine the surface. If there is crap stuck to it, use the same soft cloth slightly dampened with warm water to remove the crap. If you apply goop (what most refer to as "polish") to a filthy surface, the goop will combine with the crap to create a slurry of goopcrap, resulting in a bigger mess than you had initially. Whilst I do not recommend the following to the squeamish/unskilled, I CLEAN an instrument finish with warm water containing a drop or two of dish detergent, slightly dampening a soft cloth, then wiping dry with another soft cloth immediately. If that will not remove an accumulation of crap, I use naptha, a mild solvent that will not react with a finish. Again, not for the squeamish. If the finish requires a buffing up after cleaning, I will use an automotive finish compound...again, not beginner stuff. Many of these goop products advertise themselves as a "cleaner/polish"...I will insist, to my death, that this is an impossibility...no product can do a reasonable job of both. One cleans, then, one polishes. Do you use 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner on your hair?? That's the same kind of marketing B.S. And applying this finish goop to the fretboard??!? Harvey's Jubilee polish is for application to a lacquer, varnish or polyurethane FINISH, not BARE WOOD. Is your fretboard wood finished? Generally not, it's bare wood, and goop is not for unfinished wood. The aforementioned wet cloth or naptha will remove an accumulation of mung/crap from your fretboard. buff with a soft, dry cloth once cleaned. If you watch a tutorial where the presenter offers a technique by stating "not reccommended", stop watching immediately and disregard everything this person has previously stated. I am all for the concept of DIY, and the intelligent, confident, skillful instrument owners SHOULD at least be able to change their own strings, et cetera, but there are professional fretted stringed instrument technicians in nearly every town and they need to feed, house and clothe their families...support 'em! And most importantly, recognize the difference between information and knowledge...question information and gain knowledge! (with apologies to Mr. Woodhull...)
1. Workspace. This was my option today running a camera and good mics in a room with some sound treatment where my wife and kids wouldn’t have to stop life for a couple hours while I recorded. Usually I do it on my couch. 😎
2. ToneGard removal. Cool, there’s a way to do it slightly better. For something that happens maybe a few times per year, I doubt I’d remember a specific process, and I’d love to see the instrument wear difference between someone doing it “just so” and my way after several decades.
3. Removing all the strings was part of the point of this video. It’s kind of routine, not the majority of the time, but something most good mandolinists I know do a couple times per year. As I said in the video, I usually only do half at a time.
4. Yes, the bridge slid off. Not a big deal. I’m not going to re-take a video to not show that real-life occurrences aren’t going to hurt anyone.
5. Applying wax to the bridge. That’s a direct suggestion by one of the world’s greatest and most experienced mandolin luthiers. Yes, it should be *carnuba* wax.
6. Soldering iron. Again, what the *luthier* recommended. One should put a piece of thin cardboard between the iron and the ebony, and it doesn’t take much heat. But like I said in the video… I agreed with you to reach out for help.
7. Polish. Your preference. David Harvey is currently the Master Luthier at Gibson. If you don’t trust my experience, I’d trust him and the many other mando players using this. For the amount I’m using, I’m not concerned about my fingerboard (a *replaceable* mandolin element.)
8. Use local luthiers. Yeah that would be great, but I live about a time zone from anyone, at least that I’d trust. Same with a lot of others. I’ve shipped expensive instruments through the mail to them before, but for any of the stuff in this video, other than maybe a sticking bridge, you shouldn’t need a luthier.