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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Problems | Rate Topic |
| Author | Post |
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| Posted: Thu Apr 3rd, 2008 12:09 am |
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1st Post |
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brucekh Approved
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I just picked up a new soprano ukulele (for $30) as I have wanted one for a while. It was not really set up at the store (not tuned, nobody knew the tuning, tuners needed tightening), but since I had to leave town the next day I bought it. The tuners are plastic and not geared (meaning I have to tighten them fairly often). After tuning it, I found that when I attempt to play a note using either of the first two frets on any string, the resulting note is much sharper than it should be and I have to press down rather hard to even play a note on the first fret. The action is fairly high, so I cut down the knotches on the nut down a bit and this helped a little, but even after going pretty far down there is still a noticable pitch discrepency when I play the first fret. Should I cut down the slits on the nut more or wait for the strings to stretch out more? Or could it be that I tightened the tuning pegs too much? Any help would be appreciated.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 3rd, 2008 06:08 pm |
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2nd Post |
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UkeForever Approved 
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Get new strings, Aquila or Worth, and check the intonation coming off the nut again. If it's still sharp, use a file on its side to lower the string a bit more. If you hit the third fret, the space between the string and the next fret up should be about a business card thickness. I think that's what they say. It is possible, of course, that the bridge was not glued in the proper place which is definitely in the realm of possibility for a $30 uke. Tightened tuning pegs do not affect intonation. When you get a chance, or the bucks, spend $100-150 on a solid uke, or on a Flea (fleamarketmusic.com). The overall quality will be much improved. Last edited on Thu Apr 3rd, 2008 06:09 pm by UkeForever |
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| Posted: Fri Apr 4th, 2008 08:06 pm |
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3rd Post |
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brucekh Approved
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Alright, I filed down the slits on the nut about another centimeter (!) for each string and now the first two frets finally are in tune. I suppose you get what you pay for. Thanks for the help.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 7th, 2008 11:02 am |
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4th Post |
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Iain Approved
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Hi, if you were new to stringed instruments, I would say to play any new tunes slowly, making sure that every note sounded properly. With practice, you could probably develop a technique that eliminated any sharpness, and would ultimately make you a better player. If, as I suspect, you are a fairly seasoned musician, then I think I may have won the award for the most patronising response of all time  .
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| Posted: Mon Apr 7th, 2008 03:30 pm |
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5th Post |
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brucekh Approved
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I have been playing upright bass for a few years now, but the difference between uke and bass are significant enough to make them completely foreign to one another, so the comment is not that patronizing. If only I had the time to remove the frets from my ukulele...
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