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ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > banjo uke sounds out of tune when fretted - read on I'll try to explain! |
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| banjo uke sounds out of tune when fretted - read on I'll try to explain! - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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t0neloc Approved
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HI I've played guitar for years and have recently discovered the joys of the ukulele. Having a lot of fun learning it even through the clawhammer style is taking some effort. The problem I have is with an old banjo uke. it tunes up fine (GCEA) and the skin tension is OK but when I fret a note I can hear it slightly flat unless I apply a lot of pressure. I thought this might just be my lazy habits but on my new tenor uke I don't get the same problem. On the tenor if I fret it I get a consistent note. Basically, as I move between notes it goes noticeably flat as I start to come off the fretted string. Is that normal? The strings are nylon .020, .024,.030 & .020. The neck is set to the body so that the strings are parallel all the way up the fingerboard (but no buzzing). I'm thinking that the problem is that the neck is not angled down and the bridge is too low. Any thoughts gratefully received. 
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neilg Approved
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Banjos have floating bridges, don't they? It sounds like the bridge is not in the correct position. The string length needs to be adjusted for the fretboard. Check the intonation by sounding the octave harmonic at the 12th fret and see if the note matches when pressed to the fret normally. It should be exactly the same. Move the bridge accordingly. I would keep a tasty adult beverage handy.
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t0neloc Approved
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Thanks Neil. You're right about the bridge but the harmonics are fine. You did get me thinking again though  (and drinking the appropriate beverage)I think I might resolve this with thicker strings. I reckon that as I press fully down on the string it is actually stretching slightly and going sharp - so that when I start to release, it loses tension and sounds ever so slightly flat. I dont think I would have noticed this on an instrument with more sustain but on banjo that 'flat' bit represents a fair chunk of the length of a note. I'll try a bit of string swapping and see if that fixes it.
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theBlackman Approved 
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If you fret the string and it is in tune, and then goes flat open, the nut or bridge is too high. Harmonics don't use the frets to entone. If you tune the instrument using open strings and a tuner, and then play it and it goes sharp or flat, then the problem is in the setup. Bridge or nut. Assuming that the frets are in the correct relationship to each other.
____________________ Let each day start as a blank page for life to write upon. http://ezfolk.com/audio/dusty http://cdbaby.com/all/theblackman http://youtube.com/DustinFLeer |
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neilg Approved
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theBlackman wrote: The octave harmonic and the fingered note at the same fret should be exactly the same pitch. It's the only harmonic that WILL be the same pitch as the fretted note.
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theBlackman Approved
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Agreed, but most use a comparative harmonic from a different fret. These are themselves a hair out of tune. The enharmonic waves have a percentage of distortion, although are usually closer to pitch than the Fret X play string Y tuning techniques. Harmonic at 5 and string fretted at 5 should be the same, as you say. (5th is example only)
____________________ Let each day start as a blank page for life to write upon. http://ezfolk.com/audio/dusty http://cdbaby.com/all/theblackman http://youtube.com/DustinFLeer |
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neilg Approved
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theBlackman wrote:
You kind of lost me there. The octave harmonic at the 12th is the one I'm speaking of, not the 5th. I'm aware of the inaccuracies of general relative tuning by harmonics but we're talking about getting the string lenth adjusted to the fretboard by using only the octave, which in equal temperament is the only one exactly the same as the fretted note. Or should be.
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > banjo uke sounds out of tune when fretted - read on I'll try to explain! | |
