I don't kow what to tell him

Timbuck

Timbuck

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I recieved this message from an E-bay customer who bought a soprano uke I made ...And to be honest I don't know what advice to give him ..co's I've
never had this "Hand hurting" problem before... I'm tempted to just tell him to improve his technique on holding it..and fitting Pegheds would'nt be easy co's the holes would require plugging and re-drilling

Hi Ken,

The ukulele is beautifully made and sounds incredible. I really love it - the only thing I'd like to change is that I don't like how top heavy it is with the tuners you installed. It's hurting my hand to hold the neck up while playing so I'm interested in buying lighter tuning pegs. Is it easy enough to do or does each brand require a different size hole to be reamed? Do you have a recommendation of a lighter peg to use? I recently tried a restored Martin which had geared pegs made to resemble violin pegs. Those were very light, I'd have to find out what they were. Any advice would be appreciated as I don't know what I'm doing here. Thanks!
 
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Hurting? I mean, ACTUALLY hurting? I could understand if he was trying to play a Cello sitting down, but a Soprano? Could you ask him to send you a video of him playing, or Skype with him, to see if he has a fundamental problem with his technique that you could advise him on? It'd be a shame if he had to modify the uke in a way that he didn't originally envision.
 
Golds Gym perhaps?
 
Sounds to me like he needs a strap. After trying to play ukes without a strap at first, I found it too awkward, so I added two strap buttons to all my ukes and found narrow mandolin leather straps that are rough on the inside.
 
Has to be technique....can't be the weight ???????????
 
Just take it back and tell him you fitted special "helium filled" tuner buttons
 
When I got my Ukulele the tuner pegs were stiff, over the last 3 weeks they have got a lot looser. I've also found it depends on how you hold the Uke when tuning.
 
I would suggest he could try a strap or that you will refit with pegheads for X amount of dollars. I would suggest a strap in the nicest way possible. Something like "a lot of players like using a strap to take all the weight of the ukulele off their left hand." Then name a couple of great players who use a strap" I certainly would not criticize or question his pain or technique. My attitude would be if you want pegheads. No problem you can buy and have installed pegheads. I would of course explain about the plugs and that will show. Make the price equal to your hourly rate, retail peghead cost, shipping, etc. When he finds about the price he will probably fall in love with a strap.
 
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Timbuck said:
I recieved this message from an E-bay customer who bought a soprano uke I made ...And to be honest I don't know what advice to give him ..co's I've
never had this "Hand hurting" problem before... I'm tempted to just tell him to improve his technique on holding it..and fitting Pegheds would'nt be easy co's the holes would require plugging and re-drilling

Hi Ken,

The ukulele is beautifully made and sounds incredible. I really love it - the only thing I'd like to change is that I don't like how top heavy it is with the tuners you installed. It's hurting my hand to hold the neck up while playing so I'm interested in buying lighter tuning pegs. Is it easy enough to do or does each brand require a different size hole to be reamed? Do you have a recommendation of a lighter peg to use? I recently tried a restored Martin which had geared pegs made to resemble violin pegs. Those were very light, I'd have to find out what they were. Any advice would be appreciated as I don't know what I'm doing here. Thanks!
Click to expand...
what tuners is it fitted with? don't you use friction tuners on your ukes? how heavy can they be and are pegheds that much lighter?
 
kohanmike said:
Sounds to me like he needs a strap. After trying to play ukes without a strap at first, I found it too awkward, so I added two strap buttons to all my ukes and found narrow mandolin leather straps that are rough on the inside.
Click to expand...

+1 A strap is exactly what I was going to suggest. The strap buttons are invasive, but so be it.
 
I wrote that email to Ken. Thanks to those who actually posted something helpful. I'm going to go to a great vintage instrument restoration shop here that works on a lot of old ukes and will get the answer I asked Ken for in the first place. Ken made a beautiful ukulele and I wasn't complaining about the workmanship. I play a lot of finger style on my soprano and I prefer a different balance of the neck and body, so that my hands are very free. It also helps me prevent the return of a hand injury that I have recovered from but must be careful about. Thanks to the person who posted the link to the thread on tuner weights. It does seem from that list, that the tuners on this instrument are on the heavier side. To all of you who wrote snarky comments putting down my technique, strength etc. after Ken posted my (private btw!) email to you all, I hope you will treat me with more respect from here on out on this board.

Dan
 
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Ken, the tuners you use are not heavy. Seems an improved hold or a strap is needed.

I agree with Bill. I'd also recommend the uke leash, as no mods are needed for the uke. http://ukeleash.com
 
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