stringing a uke

garyg

garyg

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Being new to ukes and all I am curious how folks let strings "settle". Do you retune frequently over the first day or do you tune and let the uke set for a day and subsequently retune? Which way settles the strings the quickest? Can you damage strings by retuning frequently over an hour or half a day? I have a set of Orca strings that took days to settle but my Fremont Black Lines settle pretty quickly. Of course I understand that environmental factors will influence settling but let's just assume that we have a good environment (stable and moderate humidity). TIA, g2
 
Pithiest answer that I've every had to a UU post, you go Ralf!
 
Ralf hit it! I always tell newbies to restring,stretch the strings
sideways as far as possible;retune,stretch again,retune etc.
After about five goes at that,play for half an hour,tuning as
required.They should more or less stay in tune then,and over
the next coupla days will stay there!
 
Some say stretch out the strings by pulling, but others say that might cause problems with the strings. I just retune like crazy for 2- 3 days. The more playing and retuning you do, the faster they will settle.

–Lori
 
Lori said:
Some say stretch out the strings by pulling, but others say that might cause problems with the strings. I just retune like crazy for 2- 3 days. The more playing and retuning you do, the faster they will settle.

–Lori
Click to expand...

x2...I just play a ton and re-string a ton...After a couple days it's all good!!!
 
I tune a half to a full step high and let it settle in overnight before bringing it down to pitch. After that, most of the serious stretching is over.
 
I tune up, and then pinch each string between my thumb and index finger and then stretch the string by twisting either clockwise or counter-clockwise. You don't want to stress the bridge by pulling the strings in a manner it's not designed to withstand. Tune up again. Stretch again. Then I leave my uke out where I know I'll pass it often and tune every time I walk by. The same technique was suggested by Gordon Mayer of Mya- Moe during a workshop at the Wine Country Ukulele Festival. It only takes a full day to get a good stretch on them.
 
Last edited:
gyosh said:
I tune up, and then pinch each string between my thumb and index finger and then stretch the string by twisting either clockwise or counter-clockwise. You don't want to stress the bridge by pulling the strings in a manner it's not designed to withstand. Tune up again. Stretch again. Then I leave my uke out where I know I'll pass it often and tune every time I walk by. The same technique was suggested by Gordon Mayer of Mya- Moe during a workshop at the Wine Country Ukulele Festival. It only takes a full day to get a good stretch on them.
Click to expand...

Here's a video from Gordon Mayer in which he describes and demonstrates, at 3:22, the stretching technique Gary mentioned.

 
garyg said:
Pithiest answer that I've every had to a UU post, you go Ralf!
Click to expand...

Pithy, yes. But also true. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.
 
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