Action on vintage ukes

garyg

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Hi, I have a bunch of soprano vintage ukes including Martins, Favillas and Gretschs and they all have very high actions at the 12 fret, more than 1/4" for sure. Is there some reason for this trend and is it a trend indeed or have I just gotten an odd sample of vintage ukes. It occurred to me that if ukes were mostly picked pre-1950 then this would explain a standard high action. Inquiring minds want to know. TIA, g2
 
I've got about 1/8" + on my two Martins.
 
I used to do restoration work, and I found that the action on vintage ukes is almost always higher than what people prefer today. Remember that the ukulele was a strumming instrument, with chording primarily in the first few positions.

Still, that sounds kind of high. The other thing I found is that you often need to reset the neck.
 
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I used to do restoration work, and I found that the action on vintage ukes is almost always higher than what people prefer today. Remember that the ukulele was a strumming instrument, with chording primarily in the first few positions.

Still, that sounds kind of high. The other thing I found is that you often need to reset the neck.

I agree about the action and possible neck resets. Also if you look at the top you might see where the top has lifted some, raising the bridge and action.
 
Probably my biggest fear about vintage ukes is high action. I've only owned new ones, which I've had set up with low-as-possible action. I'm one of those guitar players with a uke, and tend to fingerpick as much as chord.
 
Interesting comments, there are no apparent condition problems on these ukes and they've all been to a highly trained luthier for action lowering. I wondered if this was a general trend. Thanks for the comments. cheers, g2
 
I've always wondered it may have been for more volume the higher action..he he all my martins have medium action and look from the factory or ooks like it's been done over 50 years ago..
 
But now that I look at them I see that it's more like 3/16th rather than a full 1/4 inch and maybe it's more like medium-high action (like a medium rare steak) <g>
 
Hi Gary: Most of my vintage ukes are at about 1/8" at the 12th fret. They tended to be set a bit higher than contemporary ukuleles, for the reasons people have been suggesting. Some early ukuleles, especially the Hawaiian ones, don't have raised fingerboards (the frets are in the neck), so that the action gets pretty high as you go up the neck. You may reduce the volume slightly by lowering the action, but not so much that it wouldn't be worth it should you achieve greater playability as a result.
 
Hmmm, the action on most of mine is excellent.....only a bit high on my Regal concert. My Favillas, Martin, and Kamaka are very similar to the height of a well set up modern ukulele.

However, I have played some modern customs on which the action was just crazy low (Pohaku and DaSilva).
 
I found this thread very interesting in that I've always thought my vintage ukes were a bit high but never actually measured them, and since the all have one piece bridges (no seperate saddle) never really thought about trying to lower them. Been out of town so I had to wait until I got back to check, the lowest of mine is a 50's Harmony with the plastic fretboard and it's just under 3mm at the 12th, I also have a 50's Roy Smeck (Harmony) with the plastic fretboard and it's about 3.5mm, my 40's Hanalei is the highest at almost 5mm, and my '27 Kumalae is just over 3mm. I don't play any of those very often so it hasn't bothered me much, but I got my early Gold Label Kamaka Pineapple back from a complete restoration at Kamaka a couple of months ago and it came set up at just over 4mm which seemed pretty high to me and the intonation goes a bit sharp as I play up the neck. It still has the Kamaka strings on it and I think they may be part of the problem since they seem very stretchy and it's very easy for me to push to hard and throw the notes off. I have some Worths, and Martin flurocarbons I plan to try on it and am hoping they will help.
 
40's Hanalei reference

Hi:
recently acquired a Hanalei Banjuke and was wondering if your reference was to one like it or a Ukulele. I'm trying to figure out where mine was made, its age and if it's common or rare. If you have any thoughts I'd appreciate it. I posted pictures under my original post in marketplace and the main forum (general I think)
 
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