How to raise the action on A at 1st fret - Zero Fret uke

hualon

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I’ve found that the A is riding a wee bit low for my preference but I’m not sure how to adjust it. This instrument has a zero fret where the strings just go through the nut as a guide so raising or shimming that won’t help - right?

Does anyone have ideas on how this could be raised? The buzzing is really cramping my zen thing.

Pics attached but they’re kinda crappy. It’s hard to photograph this.

View attachment 118826

View attachment 118827
 
I’ve found that the A is riding a wee bit low for my preference but I’m not sure how to adjust it. This instrument has a zero fret where the strings just go through the nut as a guide so raising or shimming that won’t help - right?

Does anyone have ideas on how this could be raised? The buzzing is really cramping my zen thing.

Pics attached but they’re kinda crappy. It’s hard to photograph this.

View attachment 118826

View attachment 118827

The height is not adjustable, that's the plus (and minus) of a zero fret.

It could be that the first fret wasn't levelled properly, if it has always been this way.

If it used to be ok then either the A end of the fret has lifted, or the neck has changed shape slightly (wood does that).

For a loose fret it needs tapping down plus a little CA glue to fill gaps in the fret slot.

Otherwise I'd guess a fret level and recrowning would fix it, but only someone with the instrument in hand can diagnose the fix properly.
 
What's the uke? Has the buzzing started recently? How old is the string?
 
If your current zero fret is too low, you’ll need to replace the zero fret with a taller fret. Pulling 1 fret and replacing it shouldn’t be too expensive.
 
You could put a tapered shim under the saddle with the high side under the treble side. It is best to replace the 0 fret or get rid of it altogether and have a new nut made and modify the fret board.


I’ve found that the A is riding a wee bit low for my preference but I’m not sure how to adjust it. This instrument has a zero fret where the strings just go through the nut as a guide so raising or shimming that won’t help - right?

Does anyone have ideas on how this could be raised? The buzzing is really cramping my zen thing.

Pics attached but they’re kinda crappy. It’s hard to photograph this.


View attachment 118826

View attachment 118827
 
The height is not adjustable, that's the plus (and minus) of a zero fret.

It could be that the first fret wasn't leveled properly, if it has always been this way.

If it used to be ok then either the A end of the fret has lifted, or the neck has changed shape slightly (wood does that).

For a loose fret it needs tapping down plus a little CA glue to fill gaps in the fret slot.

Otherwise I'd guess a fret level and recrowning would fix it, but only someone with the instrument in hand can diagnose the fix properly.

Thanks for your reply! I have only owned this instrument for about a month and it always buzzed a little bit. I've put a straight edge to the fret board and found all of the frets to be dead-even from the top to the bottom.

For all I know it has done this since it was built in 2013. I think that as I've become more familiar with it I'm learning the limits of that string and how far I can push it. I don't think that it's so bad as to warrant surgery.
 
What's the uke? Has the buzzing started recently? How old is the string?

Hi, Jim. Thanks for the reply. This is my baby, my pride and joy, a 2013 LfDM tenor Maccaferri-style.
1_Amigo-XXXV-1.jpg


That's a really good idea about the strings. I've owned it just a month and it may have been always doing that. I'm using the strings that were on it when I bought it. I've been meaning to swap them out for my preferred strings (Worth CM) but I can't put the thing down long enough to do so!
 
Thanks. That's what I was thinking too. The fret is dead-level with the rest and the other strings are just dandy as-is with no buzz. I'm going to swap the strings first and see what happens.
 
Nice uke! I don’t even know how you would get the zero fret out with the bound fretboard.

Hopefully a string change fixes your issue. Do you know what strings originally came with it? Maybe a higher tension string?
 
You could put a tapered shim under the saddle with the high side under the treble side. It is best to replace the 0 fret or get rid of it altogether and have a new nut made and modify the fret board.

Thanks! I thought about tweaking the saddle but the action at the top frets is just where I like it. :-/ Replacing the 0 fret with a new nut seems like a pretty drastic modification to make...
 
That is a high end ukulele. You should check the string height at the first fret. This is pretty simple. Just fret a note at the third fret and then see how high the string sits above the first fret. I’ve heard a business card gap, but I’ve set up my ukes, and guitars, to either barely touch or have a minimal gap. If you have any gap between the first fret and the strings, your zero fret is probably not too low. Replacing it to raise the height to stop the buzzing may make it uncomfortable to fret the first, (not likely since you don’t like the way it is currently), but more importantly make the notes on the first fret out of tune. If there is a buzz and the zero fret height is correct, your buzz is coming from something else.

I’ve never heard anyone complain that the strings are too low at the “first” fret for a playing preference, which makes me think the overall action might be a bit too low for you. The reality may be that the saddle is too low and you are getting a first fret string buzz up the neck because that is the longest fretted scale length and the most string movement. I have a uke that has a tiny bit of tingle at the first fret on the C string if I play the string hard. It has nothing to do with the nut, it is the saddle, in connection with a much higher fret that might be very slightly off.

John
 
Nice uke! I don’t even know how you would get the zero fret out with the bound fretboard.

Hopefully a string change fixes your issue. Do you know what strings originally came with it? Maybe a higher tension string?

Thanks! I don't know what strings Luis originally shipped with or what strings are currently on it. My guess is that they're some flavor of FC since they're clear. I'm going to get some new strings and give it a whirl!
 
Thanks! I don't know what strings Luis originally shipped with or what strings are currently on it. My guess is that they're some flavor of FC since they're clear. I'm going to get some new strings and give it a whirl!

The other thing which is a *simple* fix would be when you change the strings, cut out a piece of an old credit card or two slices of an old business card (heavier cardstock), and stick it under the saddle. If I understand it correctly, in theory, whatever you raise the saddle, it will raise the string height by half that thickness at some fret (I think the 12th). That may be enough to correct the problem. If it works, you can either keep it as is, or you can take your time figuring out how to get a new saddle made. It may even make your uke a little louder!

Good luck! She looks gorgeous by the way. I like those big soundholes. I think they are kind of cool
 
Why don't you ask Luis? He is very knowledgeable and accommodating. From my experience he responds quickly to email inquiry (www.lfdmguitars.ca/contact )
My similar vintage LFDM was ordered with a conventional nut.

Plus 1,000,000!

If the string change doesn't clear it right up, you'd be way better off sending back to the builder for any adjustments needed. Yeah, you'll have to pay shipping both ways and maybe a nominal repair fee, but you'd be pretty much guaranteed a good result.
 
Thanks, everybody! I emailed Luis and I'm going to see what he suggests. In the meantime I've ordered a new set of strings and hopefully that does the job. I've enjoyed the strings that were on it (some sort of clear FC) and they don't appear terribly aged but nevertheless a new set will be a known quantity.
 
Hey everyone. I wanted to let you all know that a string change did fix things. I guess that A string was a little worn down. :) Thank you for all of your advice!
 
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