Vintage uke left unstrung

wildfire070 · Aug 20, 2015

I have a friend who just received a vintage uke from his grandfather and it has been left unstrung for the past year or so. He asked me if that would damage the neck leaving it without any tension on it. I never thought about that because I leave all my ukes with strings on and mostly in tune. Would leaving a uke without strings or de-tuning it cause any damage?

Buc-a-Roo · Aug 20, 2015

Generally this should not be a problem, depending on storage conditions. It may need to be humidified for a few days prior tuning to pitch......if the wood is dry it might react badly to full tension applied right away. If in doubt, bring it up to pitch over the course of a few days, increasing a bit each day. Keep an eye on the top and bridge as tension increases. Should be fine but with vintage caution is the word.

deschutestrout · Aug 20, 2015

It would "think" it could potentially cause more damage leaving it at full tension without being played for a year. I've always been told to relieve tension if one of my instruments was going to be "stored" for a while. Hopefully others will chime in, as I too am curious.

UkerDanno · Aug 20, 2015

Good question...If it were me, I wouldn't even have thought about it and strung it up. You might string it up and bring it up to tune slowly, if you hear any popping or cracking sounds, back off!

Tigershark · Aug 20, 2015

There is no problem storing without strings. String tension is more likely to lead to damage.

wildfire070 · Aug 20, 2015

Thanks for the info! Good to know

Vintage uke left unstrung

wildfire070

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Buc-a-Roo

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deschutestrout

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UkerDanno

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Tigershark

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wildfire070

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