Kala Waterman Intonation Issues?

scullerton

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Hi all -

I recently purchased a Kala Waterman. It's been a ton of fun and I've generally been happy with it but for the intonation. When it is in tune on the open strings it is off pitch on 1st and 2nd frets by 15-20%. The same issue persists or gets worse up the fretboard.

I'm trying to have realistic expectations for a $50 uke but the intonation issues in the first position make for some ugly sounding open chords and really impact playability. In reading Waterman reviews I don't see intonation issues frequently mentioned which makes me wonder whether I might just have one that is off.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott
 
waterman comes with cheap strings.

Try changing them. Martin's seem to be popular and are both inexpensive and easy to get just about anywhere.
 
Intonation on my Waterman is a bit iffy too. Personally I think the problem is that the zero fret (the one right by the nut) is just too high, so the strings stretch too much when playing frets 1 or 2. Don't get me wrong though - the intonation on the Waterman is a lot better than on my £15 laminate uke even after I (albeit rather crudely) adjusted the nut on it to try and correct the same problem. I still enjoy playing both - but wouldn't use either for a public performance unless the visual impact was more important than the sound.
 
The strings. And don't buy a hard tension set.
I am getting a decent sound up to the fifth using Martin M600 Clear Fluorocarbon Ukulele Strings Sop/Con
My 2 cents.
 
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Never thought I'd be picky about soprano intonation however the Waterman never sounded quite right to my ear so I measured the fret locations and compared the measurements against my quality wood ukuleles and found the Waterman frets to be improperly placed. Since you can't easily adjust the fret board geometry, I gifted it to a friend as it bothered me so much. I've got a plastic soprano Aqualele Bugsgear that intonates much better and the new style soprano Outdoor Ukulele I have is much better as well.
 
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My wife has a Waterman, it has had many a good session at the beach, been left in the car on hot days, beat up and banged up. I like it for what it is, but the intonation is not the greatest, I still need to change the strings, but there are too many other ukes at the front of the line. For and outdoor/beater uke I much prefer my son's Bugsgear Aqulele, I think it has better tone, projection and intonation. Looking forward to hear how the new strings work out and which you choose.
 
It's difficult to correct 1st and 2nd fret intonation issues. Provided that the nut slots aren't cut too high, the best you can do is try different strings until you find something that mitigates it some. And don't press too hard!
 
My Bugsgear concert sounds better in tune than my first generation "clear" Outdoor Ukulele. So, my OU is for autographs, and hangs on my wall, and my Bugsgesar Aqualele lives in my van and gets played.
 
waterman comes with cheap strings.

They come with the pearly Aquila Super Nylgut strings, at least over here.

The intonation with my is pretty bad, too, though "only" starting in the third fret. I wasn't overly impressed with it after the strings had settled, and I'd probably not buy it again. Then again, I'm used to a proper soprano that has perfect intonation down the neck, so I probably had unrealistic expectations also. Overall, though, I was disappointed with the Kala Waterman.
 
My expectations of an injection moulded, mass produced ukulele is that the intonation should be SPOT ON. No excuses. If this was a cheap hand made instrument where a person had to take time to place things accurately then sure. My expectations aren't as high. It takes time to hand make things accurately and time is money.

Injection moulding is different. Injection mould tools are VERY expensive. You take the time to make them absolutely right in the first place and from then on the machine produces SPOT ON mouldings in the hundreds of thousands for you no trouble at all.

I wouldn't expect the best tone and resonance from a plastic ukulele. I most definitely WOULD expect the intonation of a plastic ukulele to be spot on.
In the world of mass production this is a half arsed effort where they should have rejigged the moulds at their own expense rather than selling a product that wasn't up to standard.

Its just evidence that the worlds largest ukulele company doesn't know what it takes to achieve good intonation and if it was me I wouldn't send the product to market because it would damage my reputation.

Anthony
 
My expectations of an injection moulded, mass produced ukulele is that the intonation should be SPOT ON. No excuses. If this was a cheap hand made instrument where a person had to take time to place things accurately then sure. My expectations aren't as high. It takes time to hand make things accurately and time is money.

Injection moulding is different. Injection mould tools are VERY expensive. You take the time to make them absolutely right in the first place and from then on the machine produces SPOT ON mouldings in the hundreds of thousands for you no trouble at all.

I wouldn't expect the best tone and resonance from a plastic ukulele. I most definitely WOULD expect the intonation of a plastic ukulele to be spot on.
In the world of mass production this is a half arsed effort where they should have rejigged the moulds at their own expense rather than selling a product that wasn't up to standard.

Its just evidence that the worlds largest ukulele company doesn't know what it takes to achieve good intonation and if it was me I wouldn't send the product to market because it would damage my reputation.

Anthony

Excellent point.
My sour Waterman has turned me off the brand, although many love their Kala. I am not interested.
 
My expectations of an injection moulded, mass produced ukulele is that the intonation should be SPOT ON. No excuses. If this was a cheap hand made instrument where a person had to take time to place things accurately then sure. My expectations aren't as high. It takes time to hand make things accurately and time is money.

Injection moulding is different. Injection mould tools are VERY expensive. You take the time to make them absolutely right in the first place and from then on the machine produces SPOT ON mouldings in the hundreds of thousands for you no trouble at all.

I wouldn't expect the best tone and resonance from a plastic ukulele. I most definitely WOULD expect the intonation of a plastic ukulele to be spot on.
In the world of mass production this is a half arsed effort where they should have rejigged the moulds at their own expense rather than selling a product that wasn't up to standard.

Its just evidence that the worlds largest ukulele company doesn't know what it takes to achieve good intonation and if it was me I wouldn't send the product to market because it would damage my reputation.

Anthony

You are absolutely right. I've played plastic recorders over many years and though there's a lot of snobbery round them (less so now), intonation in the reputable brands is spot on and they play well across the whole range which is what makes them such good beginners instruments.

Seems like no one has yet come up with a plastic ukulele that will match, say, a plastic Yamaha alto recorder. I have an Alic which is similar to a Flea but with a more traditional shape and less well finished but tone and intonation are pretty good. My Korala explore plastic concert seems OK too and is cheaper but a good quality competitively priced plastic soprano ukulele is still not yet on the market.
 
Excellent point.
My sour Waterman has turned me off the brand, although many love their Kala. I am not interested.

Ditto...whenever I play mine outside I'm always slightly annoyed. I don't understand why a company would want to sell a flawed product regardless of the price...and I have changed the strings to Martins.
 
To judge Kala by a single model seems harsh.
They have alot of decent and even some good/great models too.

But I agree that the waterman is a flop. I had alot of hope for it.
 
Yes, it's probably harsh, and in a way unfair also, but there is no shortage of manufacturers of ukuleles, so once you get burnt (or feel as if you did), you're much less likely to give a brand another chance.
 
Geez, people, it's a $50 plastic uke! I wonder if a lot of people who fret about intonation would even notice without their electronic tuner!
 
Geez, people, it's a $50 plastic uke! I wonder if a lot of people who fret about intonation would even notice without their electronic tuner!

Some of us? Yes, on most instruments.

Some instruments? Even my basically tone-deaf husband can tell the difference between the Makala MK-S that is not set up and my Ohana SK-10 that is when playing an F chord.
 
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