New Uke player looking for advice

Chicken Rob

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Hi,

I'm a new Uke player, a hack guitarist and a competent bassist, and I'm looking for a nice Uke. I bought an islander tenor a couple of weeks ago, and the action is uncomfortably high, and my local luthier wasn't able to do much about it.

I think I need an upgrade, as it really is unpleasant to play form ore than 10-15 minutes at a time. I've been plying fretted stringed instruments since 5th grade. I'm 48 now, so I know what a nice instrument feels like, but not what a nice Uke feels like. Unfortunately there isn't a great place near me to go try nice instruments before I buy.

I was considering getting a Kanilea from HMS, and hoping for the best, but then I found this site, and thought I'd do a little more research, and maybe even buy from the classifieds here.

So, I can afford a nice instrument, but am looking for getting the best quality before serious diminishing returns kick in. My plan is just to play and sing songs with my niece, not gig or record.

That said, nice balanced sound is appreciated, but playing comfort and reasonable action is my priority.

I'm looking for a tenor with a 1.5" (or larger) nut width. There is a kanilea for sale on the site here in the $700 range that is totally within budget, but not sure how much variability there is in how these things come as far as set up and playability.

Anyone have any advice how to upgrade from this $200 import to something that I will love playing?

Also, in case it matters, I'm looking for something setup for a low G and unwound G string. Living Waters perhaps?

thanks for any help understanding what I'm trying to buy.
 
Get in touch with Mim at Mim Ukes, she'ill give you some of the best advice and choices you'll find anywhere, and do an excellent setup. www.mimsukes.com.
 
PS: find another Luthier.
 
PS: find another Luthier.

Well, he didn't want to take more off the saddle than he did, as he was afraid it would be too much and induce buzzing at the saddle. He said his only option was to remove and shim the neck to change the neck angle, and the work would cost twice what the uke did. He recommended against that expense, and with good reason.

I'm not sure this was a limitation of a luthier with a strong reputation as much as getting what you pay for in a chinese import instrument.
 
Well, he didn't want to take more off the saddle than he did, as he was afraid it would be too much and induce buzzing at the saddle. He said his only option was to remove and shim the neck to change the neck angle, and the work would cost twice what the uke did. He recommended against that expense, and with good reason.

I'm not sure this was a limitation of a luthier with a strong reputation as much as getting what you pay for in a chinese import instrument.

Did he check the action at the neck?
 
PS: find another Luthier.

I agree.

Did he check the action at the neck?

With a string action gage, you can usually find a sweet spot on most tenor ukes at 2.65mm on the 12th fret, and I've found that you need to get down to, or below 2.5mm to get buzzing frets, and usually only with vigorous strumming. if the frets buzz at 2.65mm, then you may need a fret levelling and re-crowning if the frets are of uneven heights.

Also if action is too high at the nut, not only will the uke be difficult to play, bet despite the open strings being in tune, when you are fretting chords in 1st position, they will NOT be in tune, and the nut slots can be lowered in order to improve both action/feel as WELL as your intonation....

It's not rocket science, but doing a setup requires patience and finesse, and can be time consuming due to it's iterative nature of small increments as the best-practices method.
 
HMS & Mim always get good feedback on here, as you will see if you look around, & they do a proper set up before dispatch.

I would normally say a Kala Cedar top or mahogany, but I think Mim does more Ohana than Kala, & Ohana have a cedar top & mahogany uke too.
Get some Low G flourocarbons fitted when you place the order, (I like Living Water).
 
Learn to adjust the action yourself . It is not that hard to do. Start with a search on this site for "action" and there is lots of info. Another wealth of info is "Frets.com" .
Welding torch tip cleaners are very cheap and work well for adjusting action.
 
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PS: find another Luthier.

Agreed.

Generally, I prefer about 0.030" (~1/32") clearance at the first fret, and about 0.090" (~3/32") clearance at the 12th fret for a tenor.
 
The action at the first fret is good. Maybe 2/32". At the 12th fret it is VERY high. Even if I removed the saddle completely, it would be very high at the 12th fret. I asked the luthier about thinking the bridge, and he thought that was a bad idea as the saddle would lose too much support material and be at risk for cracking.

I set up my own guitars and basses, and understand the geometry involved, and the moving parts, and agree the neck angle is probably the biggest culprit. I'll get a string height gauge and get some measurements, but I think this use is hopeless for becoming a nice player. I'd love to be wrong as it would make a great beater since it was so cheap.

In the mean time I sent a pm to the owner of that kanilea tenor in the classifieds. We'll see where that goes.
 
I would say send it back, resale it or learn to work out these bugs on this instrument. If it were mine I would take the saddle out and file it as low as it can go and put some living water strings on it and play it at first position. Everyone should learn how to take the action down at the saddle and at the nut. Its just good practice that will save you money in the long run for every instrument.

Get yourself another either here or from HMS or MiM. You can't go wrong having those two stores setting the action up just the way you want it and if for some reason your still not happy you will know how to go about tweaking it just for you. You shouldn't have to do anything coming from them but then some people like me want a really low action without the buzz and sometimes as a general rule luthiers just wont take the risk. If you give either of these stores a call they can help you decide by brand/build what can be taken down enough for you.
 
So no local stores to get your hands on some nice ukes to check out the differences?

You mentioned Kanilea, from the factory they have nice action, same with Kamaka too.
 
The only local stores to me that carry uses either carry $40 sopranos, or the occasional kala. I've yet to find a local store that has a solid use or a tenor of any kind, never mind a nice one.

To be honest, I don't want to learn to do the work. I am a former hobbyist woodworker, and my eyes and hands Were never that great. I find that kind of detail work more exasperating than enjoyable, and I make enough money to outsource it to someone who knows what they are doing.

As for returning it, I didn't keep the original packaging (cleaning lady tossed it) and it seems like a hassle. I am using it now in first position. Maybe the living waters strings will help.

There are songs I know how to play on guitar that would translate directly to uke, but the high action makes them very unpleasant and very hard to play. It's too bad, it sounds ok and is attractive (splayed maple). I'll probably sell it on eBay after I get my nice uke.

Hopefully the person with the kanilea gets back to me and we can work out a deal.
 
The only local stores to me that carry uses either carry $40 sopranos, or the occasional kala. I've yet to find a local store that has a solid use or a tenor of any kind, never mind a nice one.

To be honest, I don't want to learn to do the work. I am a former hobbyist woodworker, and my eyes and hands Were never that great. I find that kind of detail work more exasperating than enjoyable, and I make enough money to outsource it to someone who knows what they are doing.

As for returning it, I didn't keep the original packaging (cleaning lady tossed it) and it seems like a hassle. I am using it now in first position. Maybe the living waters strings will help.

There are songs I know how to play on guitar that would translate directly to uke, but the high action makes them very unpleasant and very hard to play. It's too bad, it sounds ok and is attractive (splayed maple). I'll probably sell it on eBay after I get my nice uke.

Hopefully the person with the kanilea gets back to me and we can work out a deal.

Sounds like a Kanilea strung low G from HMS would be perfect for you. HMS has a great reputation for setting up ukes and customer service.
 
Either a Kanilea because of the 1-1/2" nut width or a Koaloha which has a 1-7/16" nut width. Koaloha are known for having a very consistent sound from one instrument to the next. I support your idea of getting a high quality instrument as soon as possible. You play other stringed instruments so you know the huge differece a good instrument makes to your playing enjoyment. Buy from HMS, MIM or Uke Republic with total confidence. Ukes are all they do and they inspect them throughly and do a great set up. You won't get a dud from those people.
 
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I, too, tend to think that the problem you're describing could be resolved by adjusting the action both at the saddle and - more importantly in this case - at the nut, even on most cheap ukes.

But since you're thinking about upgrading, I think Kanilea would be a great way to go. They have the most beautiful Koa wood, the nicest finish, a very light build, open sound, and there aren't many others with a nut width of 1.5". I like unwound strings on my Kanilea; I have used Worth Brown, Worth Clear, and now Fremont Blackline, but I'm sure Living Water would be great, too.

When ordering from HMS, you will get free shipping, and they make sure the action is perfect without buzzing. You can add a note to your order requesting for low action. They can also set it up for the particular set of strings you order along with it.
 
Do you really think a Romero measures up against a kanilea? I have no way of trying either except to buy them.

Yeah, I guess it is such a personal matter I could not tell you if it does measure up. I've not tried a kanilea. All I do know is that the products coming out of Romero Creations have been exceptional. IMO. He has a small operation and his reputation is high. I played his Tiny Tenor and immediately fell in love with it. You can play it gently, you can play it hard, it has such emotional range and more to give. Ask the guy that is selling his Tenor what he thinks about it.

Now, we are not talking about a $2,000+ uke here. There are so many available in your price range and especially when you consider a possible used one.

Here is a new review of the Tiny Tenor from Southern Ukulele: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G5ifrj568w It's on the Tiny Tenor but it does talk about the quality of the Romero instruments.
 
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