Yep, that's about it. I didn't notice any sound difference, although there might be some. It did take care of the problem - the string pressure was distorting the shape of the box and was throwing intonation off. I saw someone else on the web did this as well with a mandola - I think it was on an E-bay auction... I might try a threaded rod through there as well, and just have a nut at the tailpiece for adjustment.
Slim, yes I did make those x-braces. I also build carved-top mandolins and have plenty of spruce bracing material. I put the cross-brace on there for added support for the top.
Comments
Yep, that's about it. I didn't notice any sound difference, although there might be some. It did take care of the problem - the string pressure was distorting the shape of the box and was throwing intonation off. I saw someone else on the web did this as well with a mandola - I think it was on an E-bay auction... I might try a threaded rod through there as well, and just have a nut at the tailpiece for adjustment.