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| Adjusting string action? - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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artcrocker Approved
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Just bought a new Pono PKTC tenor and I would like to lower the string action a little. I see there is a truss rod up the neck and instructions. Wondered if this something I should try myself or find a luthier here on Maui to do it? The further question, is this a simple process and can I be sure I will not screw it up? I would guess if I am not careful it could cause string buzz or uneven action. Maybe someone has experience in this area.
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Will Approved 
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artcrocker wrote: Just bought a new Pono PKTC tenor and I would like to lower the string action a little. I see there is a truss rod up the neck and instructions. Wondered if this something I should try myself or find a luthier here on Maui to do it? The further question, is this a simple process and can I be sure I will not screw it up? I would guess if I am not careful it could cause string buzz or uneven action. Maybe someone has experience in this area. Lowering or raising string action is usually done by adjusting the height of the saddle, bridge, and/or nut first, not by adjusting the truss rod. The function of the truss rod (which most ukes don't have) is to keep the neck fairly straight by reinforcing the neck against the pull of the strings. If the truss rod really needs to be adjusted, it would be best to get the right tool (usually a hexagaonal wrench), and mark your starting point before turning the rod clockwise or counterclockwise 1/4 turn at a time. For step-by-step instructions, try these links: http://www.frets.com/FRETSpages/Musician/GenSetup/TrussRods/TrussRodAdj/tradj.html http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/trussrods.htm http://www.athensmusician.net/archive/2001-05-01_geneimbody1.shtml
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Yoik Approved 
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Hope no one minds if I piggy back on this thread. I finally got some new strings ordered in, and I was thinking about lowering my bridge before I restrung. The saddle is mushroom shaped in cross section, so I can't do anything with it without replacing it, but I noticed that it has almost an eigth of an inch gap under it's stem part which means if I filed off the bridge it would set in a little deeper. Like below, with saddle in 'o' and bridge in 'x'
My height above the 12th fret wire is 0.16 in. high, which seems in the range of needing correction from what I've read. It certainly gets out of tune by the 7th or 8th fret. Since I am planning on buying a better Ukulele soon anyway, and since this one was so cheap, I figured it wouldn't hurt to start learning to tweak them a little. Any tips on cutting down my bridge? Last edited on Tue Jul 1st, 2008 10:57 am by Yoik ____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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sano Approved 
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Yoik, I've got a similar problem to resolve with action though my saddle is shaped differently again. I don't understand your string height measure though. Your height is .16 inch; what's that in metric or standard measure? Are you mixing decimal and standard measures? No joke, our rulers don't do that in Canada : ). My height from the top of the 12th fretwire is a full 12mm or 1/8". The thickness of my callouses after a couple weeks of playing suggests my ol' fingers are getting a workout, but I guess it's hardly like playing a bass, eh Will?
____________________ sano |
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Yoik Approved
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Sixteen one hundreths of an inch, which... carry the three... is 4.064mm or just shy or 5/32 in. I figure I need to lower the bridge about 1/16 in. to lower the measure at the bridge by 1/32, and that's about all I've got.
____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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Will Approved
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Yoik wrote: Hope no one minds if I piggy back on this thread. I think you when you refer to "bridge" you are actually referring to the "saddle." The saddle is the piece of plastic or bone that sits directly under the strings inside a groove carved into the bridge, which is the piece of wood that is glued on to the top and cannot readily be removed without careful application of heat to loosen the glue, and doing a good job of bridge removal without damage requires some past experience. It is the saddle that can be removed in most cases by slackening the strings, and sanded down by holding it flat against a sheet of sandpaper on a table. Prior to grinding, you will want to mark the stopping point for grinding by drawing a line along the bottom with a straight edge, and you will want to grind the saddle as flat as possible to prevent uneven sound transmission to the instrument top; this is especially important if there is a piezo transducer (metal strip) sitting underneath the saddle.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Yoik Approved
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No, I had my terms right. The saddle sits on top of the bridge, is made out of white plastic, is mushroom shaped in a cutaway profile and I wouldn't want to try to sand it down any. It's only 1/16 of an inch in height at most, excepting the "stem" of the mushroom, which goes down in the slot of the bridge. The bridge, in contrast, is glued and screwed to the body of the ukulele, but has room to be sanded down, which would allow the saddle to seat deeper.
____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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artcrocker Approved
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Wondered what is considered a good string height setup for a tenor. Seems like I read MGM sets up about 2.6mm or so at the 12th fret. Wondered if there were recommendations.
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Will Approved
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Yoik wrote: No, I had my terms right. The saddle sits on top of the bridge, is made out of white plastic, is mushroom shaped in a cutaway profile and I wouldn't want to try to sand it down any. It's only 1/16 of an inch in height at most, excepting the "stem" of the mushroom, which goes down in the slot of the bridge. Please accept my apologies for my misunderstanding. I've done my own set up of all my guitars, and some of my ukes, mainly by adjusting guitar truss rods where necessary and sanding down or shimming up saddles. If I understand you correctly, you are proposing to deepen the saddle slot in the bridge; however, getting the deepened bridge slot to be perfectly flat might be difficult, and you would need special tools or some kind of router. I personally would not attempt such a modification at home, because I don't have the tools or the experience, and I would only trust a luthier for such a job. Then again, a luthier might have a better idea to get you lowered string action.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Yoik Approved
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Actually, no, the slot is already deeper, I want to sand down the two sides of the slot walls. No need to apologize, it's hard to describe things without a pencil and paper....
If you look at my ascii diagram again, you will see the mushroom shaped saddle made out of o's resting on the bridge which is made of x's. I'm suggesting, and asking for criticism on the idea of sanding off the top pair of x's, as it were, so it looks more like this:
____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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Yoik Approved
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Speaking of pencil and paper, I just thought it would be nice if there were an online whiteboard which people who were discussing things like this could both log on and draw thigns to each other. Of course, anything I can imagine, someone else has already done... several times. here is the first one to pop up, free, public and seems usable. I'll leave it up for a while in case anyone drops by, with a diagram of sorts
____________________ __Ukulele Villian__ My other instrument is a pipe My homemade ceramic pipes A forum about simple flutes |
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UkeForever Approved 
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Yoik, I'd think it'd be better to buy some new saddle material and cut it to fit to your bridge (so it goes in deeper). This sounds easier than routing the rest of the bridge. If the current saddle is sandable, perhaps you can just sand it down to fit. Saddle material is a dime a dozen--cheap and easy to work with, and not that costly when you mess up. (I own a big block of ebony that I use only for saddle material.) As far as Art's Pono, yes, go for the saddle shave and don't touch the truss. Worst case scenario: you screw up and have to shape a new saddle. That'll set you back $2 or so. I shaved my own ebony saddle for my Kanile'a to replace the TUSQ saddle they install at the factory. Joe D'Souza complimented my work, so I figure I did OK! My personal prefeence leans toward a higher action so that I can eliminate ALL buzzing and give my fingers some room to work under the strings. Also, higher saddle=higher volume.
____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs 
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sano Approved
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Yoik, I understand your calculation now though I've never been good at mixing standard and decimals : 0 And I goofed in my own writing: mine's not 12mm (!) at the 12th fret, but 4 mm, which makes mine close to yours. I feel my action's a bit high but since I'm still dealing with a small buzz from the E string, I'm not going to lower it. I have to ask Dino what his Applause was set at originally and whether he adjusted it. Are you there Dino?
____________________ sano |
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artcrocker Approved
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John, Thanks for the comment on string action, some things I didn't know - higher saddle=higher volume, and this Pono does have good volume for a cutaway. I am now bonding with the string setup and finding it works out just fine. The switch from my rosewood flea which has exceptionally low strings took a mental adjustment. However the very nice tone and sustain are very worth it. When you say "room for fingers to work under the strings" does that simply mean getting a better grip when fingerstyle?, or is there something else going on? 
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sano Approved
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I've come to realize that although my saddle is a bit high, the real problem is with the nut. I can easily sllde a credit card under the first fret wire barely touching a string, and I can't do this on my other uke which I find easier to play. So I've got to file those grooves more. I know there are special files for this, but I don't have one and probably can't get one locally, so I'll have to improvise at the hardware store. Any suggestions or advice is appreciated! Oh, btw, I found that changing the strings from the d'Addario (stiff, nice sounding) to Worth Browns (thinner, more pliable, different and probably much better sounding after they're broken in) also made an enormous difference in the playability! Fretting is much easier now! I couldn't understand for awhile why fretting was so hard and painful. I mean I've got enormous callouses and pain in my hand in wrist, more than I ever got practising guitar. So I think after I file the nut grooves this is going to be a really nice player! Art, that's sure a fine looking uke. Enjoy!
____________________ sano |
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > Adjusting string action? | |
