Does this S1 bridge look normal?

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sbanacho

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Hi, I have a Martin S1, and I notice there's a small gap between the back of the bridge and the body. Not huge, but small enough to slip a paper under a few millimeters (which I show with a picture).

Can any other S1 owners confirm if their uke has the same?

This ukulele sounds really good (to me) so I don't think it affects the tone. But is this something I should worry about? It's still under warranty, so can probably claim an issue with Martin if so.

IMG_20171024_080844865.jpg
IMG_20171024_080932635.jpg
 
I'd be heading that back from whence it came........
 
I would ask Martin Customer Service . My guess is that when these ukes are built , they use exactly the right amount of adhesive to attach the bridge without any glue rolling out from
underneath. The glue isnt on the entire bottom surface of the bridge and that thickness of glue is the space.
 
On mine ya wouldnt get a flea's foreskin between the bridge and the top, on a Tokai that I have, the back is lifted the way your Martin has, I await the day it pings off completely before re attaching.....
 
It will some day detach. What caught my eye was the compensation of the A string compared to the G and E. How is the intonation?
 
spongeuke said:
It will some day detach. What caught my eye was the compensation of the A string compared to the G and E. How is the intonation?
Click to expand...

Some people have switched the saddle end for end to get better compensation.
 
That is definitely not normal. That's one of the checks that a lot of places do when someone is trying to sell them a used instrument. They see if a piece of paper will slide under the back of the bridge to determine if there is any lifting.

I find the C string compensation on those Martin saddles even stranger. Normally it'd be all the way back instead of forward.
 
Thanks for the responses so far. I'll take it to the local Martin service shop if they'll help me make a claim.

As for the intonation, I checked it with a tuner by fretting at the 12th fret. The A string is sharper by about 10 cents, whereas other strings are all slightly sharper by a few cents (using my phone as tuner, I don't know how accurate it is). Is this what you were expecting, based on what you see, spongeuke?
 
Are you using Martin strings? My assumption has always been that the saddle will be compensated for best performance with Martin strings on a Martin uke.
 
I have the same condition on my OXK . I can put a sheet of paper partway under. I have had it for years and it is fine. I think it is just the way they assemble them .
 
It's the same strings that came with it, so unless the shop swapped (which I doubt) then they are Martins.
 
sbanacho said:
The A string is sharper by about 10 cents, whereas other strings are all slightly sharper by a few cents (using my phone as tuner, I don't know how accurate it is). Is this what you were expecting, based on what you see, spongeuke?
Click to expand...
It isn't the G and A will have similar compensation while the C looks right the E would be some where in between. The bridge could be slanted from parallel with the frets which would make things strange. I would reset the bridge and make a new saddle.
 
When a bridge is lifting like that, the saddle can lean forward (towards the neck) more. That means the intonation is going to be sharper than it would be if the bridge wasn't leaning so far forward.

I tried a Martin OX Bamboo that had some serious forward lean to the bridge, but it was attached well with no gap. It did make me nervous enough that I didn't want the uke....but the lean may indeed be just typical of their build...I remember someone else mentioning here they had two OX models with a lot of lean. That said, the gap at the back is certainly not supposed to be there.
 
Update: I took it to a local guitar shop that is also a Martin service center. They agreed the bridge looks bad and needed a reset, so now they're handling the warranty claim for me. Thanks to everyone who replied.
 
sbanacho said:
Update: I took it to a local guitar shop that is also a Martin service center. They agreed the bridge looks bad and needed a reset, so now they're handling the warranty claim for me. Thanks to everyone who replied.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update. I hope it gets taken care of soon for you and you can enjoy it for years to come.
 
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