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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| fret scale for sopranino? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 19th, 2008 02:58 am |
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1st Post |
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sano Approved 
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I've bought a mini banjo uke (17" head to toe), an antique that was obviously built as a toy. It's solid maple and has a salvageable head that appears to be skin. I would like to make this into a playable instrument, just for fun. I have some experience in restoration of ukes and pieces of furniture, I've got hand tools and I'm up to it. But I'm wondering if this uke will intonate properly. The length from the nut to the 12th fret is 5 3/8" (33.6 mm), and this is slightly smaller than the length on the Ohana sopranino. The frets look like they are graduated properly, but.... There must be posted somewhere the actual ratio or spacing for the frets that I can refer to. This uke requires too much work before I can string it up and do an intonation check, and although I don't expect great intonation, it would be nice to know that there is something here to work with before investing a lot of time on it. I suppose I'll be happy if the first five frets are properly set. An alternative would be to tear off the old frets and glue a new fretboard onto it (indeed possible as this will set the action to a nice height), but I'll still have to know the formula in order to get the frets placed right. I'm a persistent bugger so I think I'll eventually get this little thing to play, but I need some advice. Any is appreciated!
____________________ sano |
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| Posted: Tue May 26th, 2009 12:00 am |
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2nd Post |
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Longneck Approved
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Hi, Sano, Here's a link to Stew-Mac's fret calculator. I used it to figure my fretboard for my lap steel. The hardest part was measuring to thousandths of an inch. Sounds like a fun project. What do you figure caused such high action? If you lay a straight edge on the fretboard at the nut, where does it come to on the saddle? It may need a neck reset, or just the action taken down. I just took the action down at the nut and saddle on my baritone uke. Plays so much easier. Good luck and please keep us updated as to your progress. I'm sure it will come out great. Regards, Rounder http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator
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| Posted: Tue May 26th, 2009 04:25 am |
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3rd Post |
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sano Approved
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Hi Rounder, hey, I'd forgotten about this post from last year. Yeah, I found a fretboard calculator when I googled it and have done a half-dozen fretboards on different ukes since. It's been a learning curve and it's keeping me busy on this hiatus from the rush hour traffic since all I do now is work on string instruments. That Stew-Mac is something, eh? I get their emails with those tips. My workshop is growing, and so is a bit of local attention. Don't really make any money at it as everything gets funneled back into new projects but I don't care as I'm meeting lots of fine people. A guy today sold me a 12 string guitar neck, and when I mentioned fixing ukes, he showed me his music room, and man, it looked like mine, with a collection of ukes and lap steels! This guy plays real Hawaiian steel, he played a bit and then gave me a copy of his CD! What could be better than this! I'm not much of a player, but I seem to do well enough fixing them, and it makes me happy. It's great that you found my post and answered, thanks!
____________________ sano |
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| Posted: Tue May 26th, 2009 09:19 am |
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4th Post |
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Longneck Approved
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Sano, sounds like your life is going in the right direction. Like you, I've found that these instruments offer more than just music. Challenges to our creativity and cleverness as well as an oppertunity to meet and help others. Don't forget to leave time to play music. Regards, Longneck
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| Posted: Tue May 26th, 2009 02:21 pm |
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5th Post |
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sano Approved
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I never let a day pass without playing, but I do find myself noodling around unless I sit down seriously. I still need songsheets for a lot of what I play just to remember what I'm playing! You're absolutely right about leaving time for practice. A fellow ezfolker once explained what to do to post pics to this forum, but I haven't learned that yet. My wife wants to learn to make a website, she says, as soon as I buy her a new computer, and we should have something online later in the year. Till then I only advertise through our local kijiji (and can be found by searching "ukulele" under St. Catharines kijiji), but people still seem to find me, and I've gotten business from Toronto, which is an hour drive. I've spent all my life fixing and building stuff, and I'm in my 50s now, so fixing instruments seems to come to me naturally. I've got a pretty good ear and have always loved string instruments. I'll strum anything! I'm listening to my friend's lap steel CD right now, and man, that's a beautiful sound, init? Best regards!
____________________ sano |
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| Posted: Tue May 26th, 2009 06:42 pm |
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6th Post |
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Longneck Approved
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That's great that you're getting a reputation. And a good one to boot! I'll be looking for your web page when your wife gets it going. Keep up the good work. And yes, lap steel does have a sweet sound. Come to think of it, so do banjos, ukes, guitars, mandolins and the rest of them. Regards, Longneck
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