Too high nut or bridge (or both)

I got my ukulele for Christmas from my grandparents but haven't had time to play it because of school. I noticed in December tuning issues, where the open strings would be right on but the first fret notes would be 60-70 cents sharp. It didn't bother me until recently when I started playing more. Pressing down the strings at first - third fret is somewhat difficult. Here are some pictures of the distance from the fret board to the strings.

Height at nut:


Height at bridge:


Height at end of fret board:


Pressing first fret down:


How do I fix this? Should I take it in to a music shop (and how much would this cost)?

That looks pretty high at the nut. You need to do a little set-up work... check this thread for starters...

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?46613-Ukulele-setup&highlight=adjust+action

Far too high

Too high at the nut. The saddle doesn't look that tall, so try deepening the nut slots a bit, a little at a time and evenly. Measure from the fret, not the fretboard. You need to have enough distance for the strings to vibrate without buzzing.

It's very easy to set up yourself, key is to go slow and keep putting the strings back into position to check height. From my personal experience, even before you think you have it low enough, tune it back up and check playability and intonation. You should see on the tuner that the strings are becoming less sharp. I just set up my classical guitar at the saddle end. It's great now. On saddles, always look for the angle of the saddle slot and the saddle, and make sure you keep that angle to ensure full contact, saddle to bridge. I can't really play it yet, but at least I could make it playable, lol.

Way too high at nut. I would advise against filing nut slots deeper, or you are going to create a comb!! ( they need to come down quite a bit by look of it!)

Try to remove the nut carefully - sometimes they knock out by putting narrow dowel against one edge and tapping with hammer. Then sand the base of the nut slowly and very flat and perpendicular. Do too much, and you need a new nut! So it's time consuming trial and error, sand a bit, refit, try it, and so on

Looks like the original nut was replaced. It can be done but it's sometimes tricky. Depends on how it has been glued down. Might want to speak with a luthier.

I agree it's better to replace it than file very deep notches, which can cause string buzz.

ichadwick said:

Looks like the original nut was replaced. It can be done but it's sometimes tricky. Depends on how it has been glued down. Might want to speak with a luthier.

I agree it's better to replace it than file very deep notches, which can cause string buzz.

Click to expand...

Actually, the shape at the bottom of the slot is what matters. If the bottom is either round or a rounded V shape and the slot is wide enough then it can be very deep without a problem. The issue is that people often use something with a flat bottom to file the nut, and/or leave the slot too narrow.

However, there is no good reason to leave deep slots (even when they aren't a problem they look bad, IMHO). However, instead of removing the nut and sanding the bottom - get the grooves the correct depth for intonation and then sand the top of the nut down so the grooves are ~half a string thickness deep, give or take.

John