Need to Lower Action on Ohana TK35

I have an Ohana TK35 which I think the action is too high on. I found a good music store that says it can lower it for me. Do I have to tell them the height or do they just go by experience. I think I want it lowered, but it might be ok and I just need to build up the strength in my fingers when I play up the neck. How can I tell if it needs to be lowered.

Measure at the 12th fret...it should be about 1/8" from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. I actually have my Lanikai LU-21 at 3/32". Action is really a personal preference. You don't want to go too low, because then you can have string buzzes.

When it comes to setups, the shop tech will know what to do and how to do it. You won't have to tell him where to set the string height. Trust the luthier. He will most likely ask how low you want the action anyway.

When it comes to ukuleles I wouldn't trust a music shop repair guy to know where to set the action unless they are very familiar with ukuleles. Tell him you want it set at around .100" above the 12th, that's sufficient for the average player. He may have to do some fret work to get it that low if he is able to at all. Most imported ukes are set high for a reason; they allow for a higher margin of error. But most can be set up a bit lower without major work.

DON'T DO IT!!!

I asked a guitar shop dude to lower the action on my longneck soprano as a condition of buying it... BIG MISTAKE. I have a longneck with perfect action, but the nut is now 90% superglue! Just learn to do it yourself. Sandpaper and a pencil.

:cheers: