Friction tuner troubles....

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Knit-wit
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Just got my new soprano uke with friction tuners. I've never worked with this type before. I'm having big troubles tuning this thing....

1- I haven't yet got the "feel" for these friction tuners. How in the world do you do this? Just a touch....too high. Just a touch the other way....too low. I don't seem to have the knack. Any pointers you could offer?

2- The new uke's headstock is quite thin. So much so that my electonic tuner will not grip it snugly (actually, at all). Mine is the type with the spring loaded parallel jaws. The clamp fits over the headstock without compressing the spring. Can I put some sort of shim in there to take up some room? Or would that interfere with the reading?
 
i'm not too sure about the tuner. friction tuners are massively sensitive in comparison to geared but i suppose new strings probably aren't gonna help much at the moment either. i'll expect it'll get better in due time with practise and the settling of the strings. no doubt someone will offer some expertise on this very soon, i'm just getting in a post before they come along ;)
 
1) Turn the friction tuner until the string is in the ballpark of where you want it tuned. The squeeze as opposed to turn.

2) A shim will probably not affect the tuner.
 
I had to sell my concert with the friction tuners. I played it 20% of the time, 80% tuning. It's nice to be traditional but not if you can't keep the thing in tune. I bought some Grover Sta-Tite frictions thinking the OEM ones were too cheap. Same problem.

Hardly ever have to tune my ukes that have geared tuners. So I'd never buy a uke with friction tuners again. Just not worth the trouble to me although I can't speak for all brands.
 
I'm finding that once I think I have the thing in tune, I play a couple of chords and it sounds awful.....like something's way out of tune.

I'm not used to the soprano size...but it doesn't seem to be an issue. I never have this trouble with my Kala with geared tuners. If I tune it....the chords sound "right".

I'm hoping I'm not experiencing intonation problems. I wouldn't even know how to check for that....
 
Also forgot to mention that the strings are new (of course; the uke's new) and made by GHS. I'm unfamiliar with them. They're black....that's all I know about them. Could this be any part of the problem?
 
They are a pain until you get the hang of them. They help tune up quickly, though, once you adjust to tuning with them. You can get planetary gear friction-style tuners if you like the look but want finer control.
 
One problem is tuning each string, which just takes some getting used to. As jkevinwolfe said, thinking of it as squeezing instead of turning might help. I like friction tuners, now that I have the hang of them.

Another problem is getting each string to hold tune once you've tuned it -- if you're having that problem too, which it sounds like from your last post, you might try tightening the screw on each tuner. They shouldn't be overly tight, but if they're too loose, you'll find yourself slipping out of tune easily.

Oh yeah, and could be the strings -- might still be stretching and pulling out of tune if they're new.
 
Sounds like I need to spend more time trying to get used to them. If I can't get it after a while, I'll look into planetary tuners (wonder how much they go for?).

I wonder how to know whether or not to tighten the screws on the tuner pegs? When I tried to tune it tonight, after tuning it last night as well, each string was low by about 2 to 3 semitones. Does that sound like strings stretching? Or tuners slipping?

The most frustrating thing about this is not really knowing how this uke sounds. I've not been able to make it sound good, yet....
 
I just blazed thru the replies here but I don't think tightening the tuner screws was mentioned. I recently purchased a reso uke and had to tighten one of the tuners. It kept slipping. Also, (and these tuners are new to me, too) since it really is hard to micro tune, I got to where I tune it a little high and then stretch or bend the string until it comes down into tune, if that makes sense.

And the strings might just be bunk. Fresh (and well stretched) set never hurts.
 
We did mention tightening the screws, ukuleletim :p But that's a good point about tuning up, and it actually reminded me of an ingrained friction tuning habit of mine -- always make your last turn (or "squeeze") tighter/sharper rather than looser/flatter. In my experience, that helps the string hold a lot.
 
mailman said:
Also forgot to mention that the strings are new (of course; the uke's new) and made by GHS. I'm unfamiliar with them. They're black....that's all I know about them. Could this be any part of the problem?
Click to expand...

As the strings are new, it may be a combination of slightly loose pegs and the strings needing to settle down, all stings need a time to strech the the optimum length.
When I put new stings on, I give them a good strech, usually after about a week of playing they start to settle needing less tuning.
When I got my soprano with friction tuners, I thought they where rubbish, now I think they are brilliant, give them a chance, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.
 
I was told by the den mother of our uke group that my friction tuners were way loose. They didn't seem that way. I tightened the screws and they're very stiff, but they stay in tune well.

I have two with friction tuners, a Flea and a Risa Solid. (Not my choice but that's how they come.) The Risa holds it's tune the best of all my ukes, so I don't think friction tuners themselves are responsible for a uke coming out of tune quickly. I believe they both have Grover tuners, if that makes any difference.
 
ukeloui

:music: There is merit and value in all the comments on various adaptations and corrections for the basic faults of friction tuners. I have a guaranteed solution, to wit: at the recent Uke Fest in Hayward, I swapped my Kamaka concert straight across for a Pono tenor. Results: spot-on geared turners, rich, mellow sound from the all-mahogany construction, and five more notes with low-G tuning. Don't suffer any longer than you have to!
 
After playing 25 years with gear tuners of all sorts I love friction tuners!

I've even replaced a set of gear tuners on one of my ukes with those cheap Grover Sta-Tite 2B's (used a #8 finishing washer on the back for better support).

Those nylon strings take a while to settle no matter how you cut it, whether you have gear or friction tuners. So it's going to go out of tune for a bit.

The trick with friction tuners is to get the string in the neighborhood of being in tune and then tighten down on the screw on the top of the tuning key a little and tune it again, repeat until it's pretty tight but not too (you don't want to break the tuning key).
Once it's good and tight you barely need to turn the key to get the string in tune, just a pinch. I've found once the strings settle the uke will stay in tune as well if not better then any high priced gear tuner. Those Grover 2B's run like $10 shipped off ebay and a set of #8 finishing washers are $.98 at home depot.

:shaka:
 
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