make a neck thinner . . . ?

I have a new ukulele that I like a lot, except the neck is uncomfortable. I prefer a thin neck with a 1.5" nut width. This one is a medium depth, with about a 1.375" width. It also seems a bit heavy. Using a strap helps (as I'm getting a little forearm pain, due also to some flawed technique that I learned long ago).

My question is whether it would make sense to thin the neck by sanding it. I guess it might lower the value of the uke, but it cost me just $259. (It's a solid spruce top, laminate back-and-sides.)

I also wonder if it would affect the sound of the instrument.

Someone around here had a neck shaved, but I don't know if I want to go that far. I'd try to sand it myself, or take it to someone, as I'm famously incompetent in such things.

What do you think?

If you alter it, you may not be able to sell it, but if you do, & you like its feel, you've won, only you can decide.

Personally, I'd give it a go, & take the chance, (I cant imagine it would make any difference sound wise as you won't be altering anything that sound depends on).

I agree with uke1950. No reason that has anything to do with it, but what kind of ukulele is it?

Rllink said:

. . . but what kind of ukulele is it?

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It's a Tiny Tenor.

I realize that it's not close to being a "thick" neck. But I'm spoiled by the KoAloha and Islander (Kanilea import) neck depths and widths.

uke1950 said:

If you alter it, you may not be able to sell it, but if you do, & you like its feel, you've won, only you can decide.

Personally, I'd give it a go, & take the chance, (I cant imagine it would make any difference sound wise as you won't be altering anything that sound depends on).

Click to expand...

Sound depends also on neck mass, or stiffness, or how you want to call it. After I had my guitar's neck shaved (thinned), its sound had changed. It became less 'solid', some of the mass of the bass register had gone. But as a uke does not have much bass, I personally would have a go, not because I wouldn't expect any change in the sound, but because I would expect to arrive at a more playable neck. I just hope that the present shape of your neck will translate to your preferred shape.

Is the neck also coated in heavy lacquer? If so your going to have to remove the layer of lacquer first. Before you go to the extreme of modifying the neck, think about the time it will take to remove all that finish. It's hard to do around the heel where it meets the body. You'll have to mask it and scrape it off good.

You might find that simply removing the thick neck poly finish and then applying an oil rubbed finish on the neck adds comfort. I find natural oiled necks to be quite comfy and easier to maneuver than shiny polished lacquer necks.

That's where I would start before changing the profile entirely. You really don't need to go too crazy if you sand off the finish, you can remove small amounts in sessions to see where your comfort zone is.

Don't try to scrape lot's of wood off or chisel. In fact I think you'll be quite surprised how little it will take. I know when I re-finished my guitar, the profile was slightly profiled different for the better.

A little wood removal isn't going to hurt, but if you go too crazy you screw up the stability of the neck. Don't make it too thin. Also don't go sanding and profiling anywhere near the fretboard...

Start from the thicker middle and go out...Take your time but also think about the concept of less is more. It may only take a couple of thousandths to get a better feel for your hands.

My inexpensive Kala has a thicker neck and I'm inclined to leave it for the sake of stability. But there is no reason you can't slightly sand...just rememeber, if it's got that plastic lacquer on it...that stuff takes a long time to remove.

Scuffing and sanding carefully so not as to screw up the entire profile is important. Have fun, take your time. Heck just taking the thick cheapo finish off the neck is probably going to give a few thousandths of change

I've had two necks re-sized, or shaved down. I didn't do it myself, I had a luthier do it. He charged me $40 each. I think that's reasonable. He sanded them both down very smooth, and waxed them heavily, now they both play like a dream.
We have a Tiny Tenor, I don't play tenor, but I find this one quite comfortable.
Let us know how this turns out. Hand pain sucks!