"Twitchy" Kanile'a Tuners? Or is it the strings?

Just purchased my third Kanile'a, a beautiful KPA Concert, a store demo uke for a year. I also have a premimium slothhead soprano, and a custom spruce top baritone. The baritone and soprano were originally setup by HMS. the Concert was a store demo model at a music store on Maui.

I love the sound of the new concert and it is a beauty to behold, but the tuners seem kind of "twitchy" (the baritone and soprano don''t seem to be so twitchy). What I mean is it is kind of hard to tune, particularly the E and A strings. I went back and forth tonight trying to get those strings in tune, I'd turn and it would be just a hair flat, tighten some more, still flat, tighten a hair more and suddently very sharp. It was quite a struggle to get it in tune.

Although I have fallen in love with ukes, and have assembled quite a collection, I am still very new to the nuances of the insturments and setup. Thoughts on the tuners? Could this just be because the strings are a year old? I was thinking about changing them anyway as I don't really care for Aquilla strings (I'm thinking about putting some Anuenue Black Water strings on it). This would be my first time changing strings on something with bridge pins, which has me a bit nervous. I would hate to damage such a beautiful ukulele!

Or could it be that I have spent so much time playing other ukes with UPT tuners (I LOVE those tuners) that I have gotten spoiled and am expecting too much from Grover tuners?

I would definitely change the strings instantly. Especially if it was a store demo. I think you probably know, living water/ black water/ worth strings should be on that beauty anyway. Those strings have probably seen their best days. Are the tuners smooth to turn like your other Kanile’a Ukes?

P.s. get a string changing tool that has a bridge pin remover.

Two things. 1. Assuming that the Grovers are open geared tuners, check to see if the screw holding the gears is not loose. If loose it could be slipping. Do not over tighten, just tighten gently . While your at it check to see if any of the gear teeth might be chipped or broken. Highly unlikely, but possible if it had been dropped or bumped into something. 2. Change the strings anyway.

I've actually got 3 different sets of strings I am considering:

• Anuenue Black Waters
• Living Waters
• South Coast Light Medium Guage Linear Set (no wound strings).

I actually wish the South Coast LMLs were a re-entrant set, but all I was able to find of these now rare strings were two sets of Linear LML-NWs and 2 sets of LU re-entrants which I think are a bit too much tension for me on a concert since the Soathcoast site recommended them for tenors and said the would have modereate tension. One of the reasons I like the Black Waters is the lower tension.

I'd love to hear thoughts from folks on these 3 string choices (they are the only concert ones I have on hand).

As far as how hard they are to turn, the e and a tuners are definitely harder than the other 2 tuners, and harder than the other Kanile's. I'll take a closer look at the tuners as suggested.

If the tuners are tight, it is easy to overshoot the tuning as you crank them to overcome the tightness and then it turns more than intended. You might try loosening them a bit if they feel tight instead of tightening them. I don't think the current strings should lead to the tuning issues you describe.

Yea I was wondering if the tuners were too tight. Black Water strings would probably be great. They sure would look cool.

I have found that when the battery in my electronic tuner gets low it causes the same sort of situation.

Always loosen the string so that it's low. Then push it with your finger to ensure that it isn't held slightly by the nut.

Then, tune up to the proper tone for the string. Letting the tuner go to zero between each of the final small adjustments. (If you don't let it go back to zero, with no color showing, you will not get an accurate reading if you pluck the string without letting it clear.) Tuning up to the note is better than trying to tune down because you can get finer adjustments.

Good luck.

The strings might also be sticking in the nut slots. Try lubing the slots with a bit of pencil graphite.

I’m with Swamp Yankee!

Sounds like the nut slots need some lubricating or they are just a tad too tight!!

I tried loosening the screws on the tuners just a hair. They were so tight they squeeked when I loosened them. I also put graphite in the nut slots. I then restrung with Anuenue Blackwater strings. The bridge pins were a lot easier to deal with than I expected. Tuned it up and it sounds AMAZING. However, the tuners do intermittently all seem sticky still. I can live with it, it just makes me appreciate the Kamaka and Moonbird UPTs all the more. At some point I may take it to a luthier to have a 5.0 pickup installed. At that point I might have him/her do a full setup.

For now I am enjoying the sound and look. With the black outline around the rosette and outer binding, the black strings look really nice.