sano
Approved
| Joined: | Sun Jun 1st, 2008 |
| Location: | Niagara, Ontario Canada |
| Posts: | 135 |
| Instrument Interest: | Ukulele, Guitar, Other |
| Status: |
Offline
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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!
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sano
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