Slippery uke necks

808boy

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Aloha all, Is it just me or does anyone else have the problem of your thumb loses grip at the back of neck due to the ultra smooth surface? It happens on both of my ukes, gloss and satin finish. Thinking of putting a finger cot on my thumb that they sell at office supply stores. It will look dorky but may help my grip when running up and down the neck.
 
No, I have never had that problem. Is your thumb squarely in the center of the neck?
 
Aloha Braddah Bobo,
I can't say I've ever had the issue too....could it be that there might be some oil from your fingers there...just clean the back of the neck and see if dat works....A hui Ho!! MM Stan..
 
What kind of uke? With our instruments, we hand finish, and so different parts of the instrument get different finishes. For the necks, we sand the wood very smooth, but the finish is very light. The result gives "glide without slide".

If you're at all inclined, a careful take down of the finish on your neck, followed by a thorough smoothing and then an oil based finish or wiping varnish.

You can build it up to just the feel you like, and when you wear it down, just wipe on another coat!
 
Aloha Bruddahs and Sistas, I play on a Kala FMC and KALA KA-C, same problem on both ukes. I really don't know the " correct" way to hold the uke at the neck as far as thumb placement. I think I hold it the same way from day one, ditto for the guitar. Maybe I'm just tripping, but I do lose grip sometimes. It must be ME thats slipping. MAHALO!!!! BOBO....
 
Are you putting a lot of pressure pushing down on the strings?

If so, it may help to lighten the pressure. The basic rule is to use only enough string pressure to play the note clean.

The thumb is just kinda there as a support, but if you are pushing the string down too hard, then the thumb has to counter that by pushing back, and I guess that could cause it to slip.

Just a thought.

John
 
Aloha John, I think you hit it right on the head. I'll try to find someone to adjust the action/ string height. MAHALO NUI LOA... Bobo
 
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