New Flea - E string "clicks"

igorthebarbarian

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I just got a new soprano Mango Flea from Elderly in the mail. Great deal at $189 with free shipping and a free slightly-padded bag. It came with Nyltechs which felt like Aquilas. So I swapped them out for Worth CM's. But now the E string "clicks" / "pings" / makes a noise at the zero-fret nut especially when bending the string up/down.
Any ideas why or how to fix?
Do I need thicker strings?
I think the Worth CM's might be too skinny for the wide string opening. Would Worth Fat's be better?
 
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Adding a photo to show the mango color. Burnt orange or brown at times. Kind of a cool color.
 

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Check to see if there's a kink in the string or maybe a burr in the nut slot.

A bit of topic but I don't know why MFC got rid of the Flea bags. I don't like the new design.
 
Those are good ukes.
I'm not sure what you mean by "click". Does it only make this sound when the string is played open? If so, then yes it could be something to do with the nut. If a nut slot is too wide for a string, it can indeed cause some problems. If it does it when it's fretted too, it's something else.
 
If the problem is the string moving in the slot, try slackening the string, slip a thickness or two of paper under it and re-tune. It'll be fractionally higher but should help keep the string from sliding sideways, if that is the problem.

If it's now all OK you can tidy things up and leave it as-is, or go down the "re-fill and re-file" route ... it only takes a few minutes with super-glue and baking powder if you've got an appropriate file.

Good luck :)
 
Don't you have zero fret and the strings pivot on the zero fret? And the nut slots lower and act as guides
Normally on a regular nut if it is too wide it clicks
 
If the problem is the string moving in the slot, try slackening the string, slip a thickness or two of paper under it and re-tune. It'll be fractionally higher but should help keep the string from sliding sideways, if that is the problem.

If it's now all OK you can tidy things up and leave it as-is, or go down the "re-fill and re-file" route ... it only takes a few minutes with super-glue and baking powder if you've got an appropriate file.

Good luck :)

Whether the Flea has the polycarbonate or rosewood fretboard, both have a zero fret, so the above is not really a solution for these ukes.

This clicking is also sometimes called 'pinging' and I've seen it on some instruments where there is actually a very small nick in the zero-fret that is parallel to the string, and when the string moves over it, it makes that clicking or pinging on that specific string, this will only really be evident when either you BEND a note, or if when you finger your chords, you push or pull that specific string up or down, perpendicular to the string itself...

as per what Captain Simian said above, it's best to get at least a 5x or 10x magnifying glass and examine the zero fret, make sure to loosen the tension on the string and pull it up and out of the way and remove it from the 'nut' slot so you can see where it rides over the top of the zero fret.

You can also GENTLY slide your fingernail over the zero fret in that area and see if it grabs or catches a groove in the zero fret...and see if you can FEEL it....
 
Thanks for this suggestion kypfer! There seems to be a little groove in the E string's zero fret and the tiny shred of paper does the trick! It just looks a little bad (I need black paper to match the fretboard), but it does stop it from slipping/sliding in the slot. It's mostly going into/out of chords like Bb for example where I was hearing the little 'ping'.
So this should work for now thank you.
I did order some Worth Fats to see how they'll work.
For comparison I have the Firefly with a hardwood fretboard/metal frets, and have never had any issues.


If the problem is the string moving in the slot, try slackening the string, slip a thickness or two of paper under it and re-tune. It'll be fractionally higher but should help keep the string from sliding sideways, if that is the problem.

If it's now all OK you can tidy things up and leave it as-is, or go down the "re-fill and re-file" route ... it only takes a few minutes with super-glue and baking powder if you've got an appropriate file.

Good luck :)
 
yes thanks Booli, you did a much better job describing it than what I did! Small / supersmall notch in the zero fret itself. And really only evident when bending/moving the string.

Whether the Flea has the polycarbonate or rosewood fretboard, both have a zero fret, so the above is not really a solution for these ukes.

This clicking is also sometimes called 'pinging' and I've seen it on some instruments where there is actually a very small nick in the zero-fret that is parallel to the string, and when the string moves over it, it makes that clicking or pinging on that specific string, this will only really be evident when either you BEND a note, or if when you finger your chords, you push or pull that specific string up or down, perpendicular to the string itself...

as per what Captain Simian said above, it's best to get at least a 5x or 10x magnifying glass and examine the zero fret, make sure to loosen the tension on the string and pull it up and out of the way and remove it from the 'nut' slot so you can see where it rides over the top of the zero fret.

You can also GENTLY slide your fingernail over the zero fret in that area and see if it grabs or catches a groove in the zero fret...and see if you can FEEL it....
 
In situations such as these, I have found that using a different type of strings to be the most successful fix.

The "ping" problem you are having would be due to a combination of many factors, such as whether the frets are level, the amount of relief in the neck in response to the strings, the nut slot, the action, height of saddle, etc etc.

Sometimes with a different set of strings, the problem goes away.

Personally not a fan of the paper-slot solution.
It is too temporary to be a permanent solution. Every time you re-tune, the paper will move.

The super-glue/file solution has been ineffective in my personal experience too.
Maybe I was using the wrong brand of glue, but the strings being re-tuned erodes away the glue quite rapidly in my experience...

Then again, I am not very handy with these kinds of things.
But I did manage to eliminate quite a few "ping" problems with my ukes by simply trying a different strings set.
 
Congratulations on your new mango Flea. Maybe a black Sharpie to the small scrap of paper so it blends in better with the fretboard?
 
Booli is surely right. The "ping" you describe is almost definitely a groove or nick in the zero fret. If you see one, don't fix it until you call Elderly. You paid full price for a new instrument. Elderly will honor your warrantee, unless they decide you may have nicked the fret, changing the strings on your new instrument. (It's always better to wait, for this very reason) Furthermore, they will definitely void your warranty if you try to sand such a nick out. If you do sand it, you run the extremely high risk of lowering the zero fret too far. The height of the zero fret must be very precise, even compared to that of the other frets. And the only way to eliminate the buzz you will create on your new Flea, once you go too far, is to buy a new fretboard.
 
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Ran into that problem on a Flea soprano as well, but on a different string. The problem was in a burr within the nut slot, which was also too wide for the string. Didn't want to fill in the nut slot and re-file it to the correct size (am notoriously lazy sometimes), so just did the old mandolinist trick of adding a string suppressor, but at the nut end rather than the bridge end. The strings rest on the the suppressor (piece for leather shoelace) and it keeps them from sliding side-to-side within the nut slot.

image.jpg
 
I think I'm going to just get the hardwood fretboard upgrade from the Magic Fluke Co. I'll still be $300 when all done
The piece of paper trick works, and if I had a piece of fabric or leather that would be better.
Fleas are cool. I might get a Fluke at some point too.
I love my Firefly. And made in the USA too
 
I had the same issue with my mango Flea when I switched from Aquila nylguts to Martins. I contacted Magic Fluke and Dale sent several spacers that slid over the string and made contact at the zero fret. One solved the problem immediately. I'd recommend that before doing anything else.
 
Awesome suggestion Hendulele. I think that would definitely do it. I think I'm just going to upgrade the fretboard but that is really good to know. I think they work better with Aquilas on the plastic fretboard vs. the Martin/Worth fluorocarbons. At least that's my theory for now.
I'm also getting the grip strips since "it's in the shop"!
Good people up there at Flea Market Music

I had the same issue with my mango Flea when I switched from Aquila nylguts to Martins. I contacted Magic Fluke and Dale sent several spacers that slid over the string and made contact at the zero fret. One solved the problem immediately. I'd recommend that before doing anything else.
 
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