To 'set up' or not to 'set up'...that is the question...

Doc_J said:

If a uke feels and sounds good to you, it's setup enough for you.

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This.

Just play it for a while. If it's not bothering you, what do you hope to gain?

I'm usually a big proponent of setting up instruments but if it ain't broke don't fix it.

It depends mostly on how much you play this particular instrument. If it's just a travel ukulele to play at down times, it may not be worth it to you. However if you like to play for hours on end, it may just be worth it.

A properly setup ukulele is easier to play, therefore makes you want to play more. However most new ukuleles today have good playability right out of the box. Heck, too bad my first ukulele had very high bar frets, bad friction tuners, wooden nut, and a one piece wooden bridge & saddle.

Very simple :
If your fingers hurt after playing for an hour. You need a proper set-up.
If your fingers are fine . You don't need set-up.

Here's the video I used to adjust the action on my first uke, also a Kala soprano, back in the day. I sanded down the bottom of the nut a couple of mm and was going to do the same with the saddle but discovered it has a plastic shim under it, which I simply removed.

https://reyalpeleluku.wordpress.com...video-how-i-adjust-the-action-on-a-cheap-uke/

SoloRule said:

Very simple :
If your fingers hurt after playing for an hour. You need a proper set-up.
If your fingers are fine . You don't need set-up.

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Haha. I hope you are being sarcastic. A beginning ukulele player's fingers will hurt after about 3 minutes of playing, regardless of whether the instrument was set up properly.

Very true bikemech! I have played guitar for over 40 years, played mandolin for 5 years, dabbled with violin off and on for nearly 40 years (playing much more in recent years) and still with all that string experience in my hands, when I got my tenor uke a month ago, my fingers hurt after a few minutes of playing. Now they don't hurt at all, and I have done nothing to the uke except play it. It seems to be set up just fine. I did put new strings on it a couple of days ago, but my fingers had stopped hurting a couple of weeks ago so it isn't the strings which have changed things. But I am still baffled by why, with all my string instrument playing, the ukulele gave me finger pain at first. I guess the different material of the strings was a factor.

I bought a uke that was pre-set up. It played great but did not fit my style. I had to raise the saddle. Unless you have an issue, intonation, buzzing, excessive action you may want to pass on the setup. Also, changing string brand or type can require a new set up.

A good thing to do, once you get past the initial challenges of basic chords, is to start learning things about the ukulele. One of those things is action. At some point, the purchase of an $8 string gauge is worth it, so you can see if your ukulele falls into standard action (2.65mm at the 12th fret) or lower/higher--and then to consider trying other action settings if you would like.

Many ukuleles come with high settings, which makes sense--it is always easier to take away than to add. But this means that many beginners buy from dealers who don't set up ukuleles to a standard starting point, and the resulting challenges of playing can cause pain or the eventual abandonment of the instrument. Therefore, the advice to have a ukulele set-up properly is truly meant with the right "heart."