feedbacks on Aria ACU-250 soprano ukulele ?

I am a very new member of this ukulele world, I just bought my first ukulele yesterday, and just play with it a little bit. The string E and A buzz a little bit as the action is pretty low at fret #12, I will need to shim up the saddle to get rid of these strings buzz. I have setup almost 10 mandolins so far, and ukulele setup would not be that much different. Please let me know the "important setup" differences that are unique to ukulele.

My main topic is to get the infos (feedback) on the Aria ACU-250 ukulele. I could not find any review on the Web for this. I am looking for tonality, durability, quality judgement here.

All I know are: It has solid top, side and back (all mahogamy), and friction tupe tuners which are OK, stay in tune well so far. And each as a screw used to increase or decrease the friction. The strings are black in color.

I forgot one more detail: this ukulele has 18 frets and the scale length is about 15".

kkmm said:

I forgot one more detail: this ukulele has 18 frets and the scale length is about 15".

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I believe you have a concert uke.
Before you do a complete setup change the strings. Aria's usually come with black nylon strings.
Aria makes a nice instrument, welcome aboard and have fun.

Thanks for the info (and the welcome), I am still very new to ukulele and learning. I heard that Aquila strings are good for ukulele.
I was planning to build one myself (just completing one mandolin, about to stain and apply finish) but I got this one for only 40$, can't beat that price (listed for 120$ online). Maybe I will build one baritone ukulele someday.

They are outstanding instruments! And a great value...the have a street price of around $169 for a very well made solid mahogany instrument....a great buy!

A few mahogany ukes seem to sound good with Aquila's, but in general, I think you will find much feedback that solid mahogany ukes usually don't prefer Aquilas. Good luck with the set up.

I have done setup for 8 mandolins so far, my ukulele will need only very simple setup the way it is now.
The intonation at fret#12 is really good although string height is low due to a low saddle, I have to replace it and sand it to the proper height of my preference.
Nut action is also good as string height at fret#1 is low, easy on my fingers. I will check fret level and address any issue here with fret leveling tools.
The friction tuners have screws and I tighten the screws yesterday to increase the friction so it hold tune. I will order a set of "geared" tuners to replace them (the individual ones so I don't have to re-drill the holes).
The current friction tuners are kind of weird this way
to tune up the E and A strings, I have to turn counter clock wise
to tune up the g and C strings, I have to turn clock wise (GOT TO REMEMBER THIS)
It's just to have a "normal" string appearance at the head stock.
I don't have any other uke to compare with but it does sound like an uke to me when I tune it to pitch.
It won't be long before I buy a tenor uke and a baritone uke (UAS)
For the last 15 months, I went thru owning abo9ut 12 mandolins and still have 4 to play at this time (MAS)

During lunch break, I took my ukulele , loosen the strings then stick a round "tooth pick" under the saddle, then tune up to pitch again.
Of course the string action is higher at fret#12, strings buzz are now gone, the sound is crips and clear.
I will buy a new saddle and be done with it.

kkmm said:

During lunch break, I took my ukulele , loosen the strings then stick a round "tooth pick" under the saddle, then tune up to pitch again.
Of course the string action is higher at fret#12, strings buzz are now gone, the sound is crips and clear.
I will buy a new saddle and be done with it.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good place to store a toothpick.

It was a simple check and the tooth pick is the only thing I have at lunch to try out.
I have real shims at home (from other instruments).

I made a new saddle from hard plastic and replace the old one, the action at fret#12 is good now (0.90).
It is a little thicker to fit the saddle slot perfectly, it stands up straigth. The original one is a bit too thin and it leans toward the fretboard (not good), causing a bit of intonation issue and on the long run could break the bridge.
I am now ready to play my first ukelele.
Strumming is the easy part for me as I do play keyboard in a band (and guitar too), I just practice familiar chord sequences in various keys.
I am looking for finger picking songs. Please give me some advise here.
Uke and mandolins are great instruments, so portable.

Wow, what great buy for a solid wood uke! I have an ACU-120 (laminate body) that I bought about a year ago and I love it. The Aria's don't get enough attention. They are terrifically built in my experience. I put Martin Flourocarbon Strings on mine and it sounds great. I did start off with the black strings that were pretty dull, then Aquila's, but they were just not right, but to each his own on that. I find myself putting Martins on all my ukes now.
If you get a chance, post some pics, video or a sound sample.

Here are the photos of my uke (first one)


The second one is when I bought it with black strings (which sound too sharp for my ears).
The third photo shows it with D'Addario concert strings (sound good to my ears), I also decorate the cardboard box, making it look better. I also spray two coats of clear nitro lacquer on the instrument to get shiny look.
The first photo shows the blue washer I cut from a thin sheet of rubber to get the friction tuners to hold, and they do hold tunes really well (for many days so far, usually slip in less than one minute of playing).

This post is mainly to express my opinion on this ACU-250 that I played for a few months now.
Last weekend, I had a chance to test about 8 more ukulele in a local music store (not GC). All of them are either Lanikai or Makala (concert and tenor)
To my ears, the Aria ACU250 sounds much better (warmer and louder), a friend of mine was with me and said the same thing.
The best I found in the store is a tenor, this one does come fairly close to the AC250.
All that said, my AC250 has been upgraded with StewMac geared tuners that hold tune really well, and I have sold it to a happy buyer.
I love this one but the fretboard is a bit too small for my fingers. The tenor size fits me much better.
I saw on eBay an Aria Tenor and plan to buy it in the hope that it is just like the AC250 except tenor size.

Also, the Aria ACU-250 is a concert, not a soprano. That was due to my total ignorance on ukuleles the day I bought and start this thread.