This was prompted by the recent "should I buy an expensive ukulele or stay in the gap" thread. This has to do with a ukulele's playability and whether I need to move on, or up.
- - -
The first bit of advice given here when it's NUD is to "get a setup." Easy to say, but I agree that every ukulele I've ever bought has needed that. (If your instrument has a 'zero' fret, this may not apply.)
However, I have learned (largely by trial and error) how to do some setup myself. Finding good files turned out to be the biggest challenge. I found some very small machinist files at a flea market. They are very small, thin, and not sputtered diamond. Do not use those cheap guitar nut file sets. I tried using those and learned the hard way by destroying several inexpensive ukuleles before I realized what I was doing wrong.
I found that adjusting all of my uke's nut slots for a clearance I like (.025") at the 1st fret was all the setup that I've needed. I do check clearance at the 12th fret, and unless the instrument was a wreck, they have all been within an acceptable range. In general, current products, even at the low end, are geometrically pretty darned good.
Concerning nut slot adjustment the best advice I found on UU was (see BaxMaz quote, below), while holding down each string at the 3rd fret, make sure there is a very slight gap at the 1st fret. If there is no gap you may have cut the nut too low. Not good; so be careful and check often when filing.
"The way I like it at the nut - hold the string at the third, and the base of the string should only just kiss the top of the first (or not quite touch, but there should not be much gap.
-BazMaz"
Another possibility is the frets are not level, but that's a whole different bucket of worms. I have tried to level what I thought were uneven frets with the result being a ruined uke. If that's the problem, unless this is a very expensive instrument, my advice is put it on the burn pile.
To me, getting the action at the 1st fret is the most important part of setup.
Intonation has not been a problem that wasn't resolved by improving my playing technique.
Any and all advice on this is welcomed.
-Wiggy
That is my index finger, not my big toe
Oh, I almost forgot the point of all this. Being able to get the instruments I have to be comfortable play has allowed me to keep moving forward with absorbing musical skills. I was previously in an endless rut pursuing 'the dream uke,' when it wasn't near as much about the price as it was about the ease of play and of course, the tone of the instrument.
-W
- - -
The first bit of advice given here when it's NUD is to "get a setup." Easy to say, but I agree that every ukulele I've ever bought has needed that. (If your instrument has a 'zero' fret, this may not apply.)
However, I have learned (largely by trial and error) how to do some setup myself. Finding good files turned out to be the biggest challenge. I found some very small machinist files at a flea market. They are very small, thin, and not sputtered diamond. Do not use those cheap guitar nut file sets. I tried using those and learned the hard way by destroying several inexpensive ukuleles before I realized what I was doing wrong.
I found that adjusting all of my uke's nut slots for a clearance I like (.025") at the 1st fret was all the setup that I've needed. I do check clearance at the 12th fret, and unless the instrument was a wreck, they have all been within an acceptable range. In general, current products, even at the low end, are geometrically pretty darned good.
Concerning nut slot adjustment the best advice I found on UU was (see BaxMaz quote, below), while holding down each string at the 3rd fret, make sure there is a very slight gap at the 1st fret. If there is no gap you may have cut the nut too low. Not good; so be careful and check often when filing.
"The way I like it at the nut - hold the string at the third, and the base of the string should only just kiss the top of the first (or not quite touch, but there should not be much gap.
-BazMaz"
Another possibility is the frets are not level, but that's a whole different bucket of worms. I have tried to level what I thought were uneven frets with the result being a ruined uke. If that's the problem, unless this is a very expensive instrument, my advice is put it on the burn pile.
To me, getting the action at the 1st fret is the most important part of setup.
Intonation has not been a problem that wasn't resolved by improving my playing technique.
Any and all advice on this is welcomed.
-Wiggy
That is my index finger, not my big toe
Oh, I almost forgot the point of all this. Being able to get the instruments I have to be comfortable play has allowed me to keep moving forward with absorbing musical skills. I was previously in an endless rut pursuing 'the dream uke,' when it wasn't near as much about the price as it was about the ease of play and of course, the tone of the instrument.
-W
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