How do you look after a tiple and a bandola?

Why the tiple and bandola need their own care routine

Unlike a classical guitar, the tiple and bandola have metal strings grouped in courses: groups of strings that you fret and play together as if they were one. This puts considerable tension on a lightweight body and places greater demands on the bridge, soundboard, and neck.

On both instruments, the strings within each course should sound in tune with one another. If one is a little sharp or flat, the course sounds muddy, like an out-of-tune choir. That is why string care focuses on the whole course rather than individual strings.

Strings: cleaning and replacing them by course

After playing, wipe each course with a dry microfiber cloth, from the bridge to the nut, then slip a thin strip of the same cloth between the strings, where sweat collects. In hot weather, or if your hands sweat a lot, this step can make the difference between strings lasting months and rusting within a few weeks.

Changing strings step by step

1. Before removing anything, take a photo of how the strings attach to the bridge and which strings in each course are wound and which are plain.
2. Replace one complete course at a time. This keeps the tension on the neck and bridge roughly balanced.
3. Fit the new strings in the course in their original positions.
4. Leave two or three wraps around each tuning post, winding in the same direction as the others.
5. Bring the strings up to pitch gradually, alternating between strings in the course so one does not take all the load.
6. Stretch them gently and retune several times: new strings go out of tune during the first few days.

Buy string sets made for tiple or bandola, or those recommended by your teacher or luthier. Thicker strings used to increase volume also increase tension and can lift the bridge. For tuning each course, use how to tune the tiple and the online tuner.

The bridge and soundboard: warning signs

The bridge is glued to the soundboard and bears the pull of all the strings. Check it whenever you change strings:

• Try sliding a sheet of paper under the back edge of the bridge. If it goes in, the bridge is coming unglued.
• Look across the soundboard from the side, with light falling at a low angle: a bulge behind the bridge or a dip in front means the tension is distorting it.
• Look for fine cracks along the grain, especially near the bridge and the end of the fingerboard.
• Check that the bridge saddle, where the strings rest, is not leaning forward.
• Compare the string height at the twelfth fret with its height when you bought the instrument: if it has risen significantly, something is shifting.

If you see any of these signs, loosen the strings to remove much of the tension and take the instrument to a luthier. Continuing to play with a lifting bridge can cause it to tear off, taking some of the soundboard wood with it.

To protect the soundboard from strumming and pick marks, ask your luthier about a pickguard. Take off rings and watches before playing, too.

Humidity and wood: from Bogotá to warmer regions

Many luthier-built tiples and bandolas have solid-wood soundboards, which sound better than laminated ones but react more to climate: they shrink in dry air and swell in humid air.

• In Bogotá, dry seasons, strong sunshine, and electric heaters dry out the wood: cracks may appear, and fret ends may protrude from the sides of the neck.
• In hot, humid regions, the wood swells: the strings rise, the sound loses brightness, and metal corrodes faster.
• Sudden changes are the greatest risk: descending from Bogotá to Girardot or Melgar in a couple of hours, or moving the case from a sunny window to a cold room.

Keep the instrument in its case when you are not using it, away from windows, exterior walls, and heat sources. When you arrive in a very different climate, leave the case closed for a while before opening it so the instrument can acclimate. We explain this in detail in how to store instruments in Colombia's different climates.

A dry cloth is all you need to clean the wood. Avoid furniture products, alcohol, and glass cleaner. If the fingerboard is unfinished wood, your luthier will tell you whether it needs a conditioner and how often.

Cases and transport

• A hard case protects far better than a fabric bag, especially on a bus or when the instrument travels in an intercity bus's luggage compartment.
• The instrument should not move inside the case. If it shifts around, pad the gaps with a soft cloth, never with hard objects.
• Do not store loose strings, tuners, or picks on top of the soundboard: bumps will make them scratch it.
• In a car, carry it in the passenger compartment rather than the trunk, and never leave it inside a car parked in the sun.
• If you will not play for several weeks, lower the tuning slightly without leaving the strings slack.

At festivals, informal gatherings, and Andean music events, the instrument passes from hand to hand and from one climate to another. Always bring a cloth, a tuner, and spare strings for the course that breaks most often.

When to see a luthier and how to choose one

Colombia has a long tradition of Andean instrument making, with specialized luthiers in Bogotá and other cities. What matters is that they know these instruments: adjusting the height of twelve strings arranged in courses, the nut slots, or the fret level on a bandola is not the same as setting up a guitar.

• Once a year for a general checkup, or when you change string gauge.
• If the bridge lifts, the soundboard warps, or a crack appears.
• If the strings buzz against the frets or, conversely, are so high that they are hard to press down.
• If a tuning peg slips and a course goes out of tune on its own.
• If your bandola's frets have grooves where you play most often.

Your teacher can help you spot these problems early. In tiple lessons and Andean bandola lessons, checking the instrument is part of the work. If you are still looking for one, read how to choose a tiple or bandola.

What you should never do

• Replace just one string in a course and leave the old ones in place.
• Increase string gauge without asking for advice.
• Reattach a loose bridge with household glue.
• Lean the instrument against a wall or leave it on a chair.
• Tune above the normal pitch to make it sound brighter.

Frequently asked questions