Soprano (and Concert) Players - Poll About Geared and Friction Tuners

Soprano (and Concert) Players - Poll About Friction and Geared Tuners

I have never seen a ukulele with friction tuners up close and personal. The music stores on Long Island carry all the usual brands in all the usual sizes, which means I don't see any friction tuners, and not too many solid wood instruments or sopranos. I haven't been to every store in the area - that would be tough. If you know of a good store, I'd be glad to take a ride.

But generally, from what I've seen, the sopranos that are available are 70 bucks or less, the intonation is off (a little or a lot), and they all have geared tuners. I picked up a Makala Dolphin myself, which is a dream for $35 compared to even some of the more expensive ones in some of these stores. I switched the strings to Aquila and am happy to play it every day, even though the intonation is off.

What I am noticing: the headstock is heavy. I don't even know what a lighter headstock would feel like. So I'm going to post this as a poll for soprano enthusiasts who have tried both types of tuners. Concert players with friction tuner experience are also welcome to share. I figure many tenor users don't care one way or another, because the majority use geared, but if you have thoughts, experience, or even a tenor with friction tuners, go ahead and share. Tenors necks are really an awesome thing, but I'm digging the littler sizes right now for some reason.

When playing a soprano or concert ukulele, what is more important to you?

- the lightness/weight balance of well-functioning friction tuners
- the convenience and accuracy of well-functioning geared tuners
- no preference/both are fine once you get used to them

Assuming you have a preference, here are more questions...

Do friction tuners make the headstock of a soprano so light that it practically defies gravity compared to geared tuners?

Are friction tuners difficult to tune on the fly in public, even after a little practice?

Do you use friction tuners on a concert and love it? Is the size of the body on a concert big enough so that gears are just AOK?

Are geared tuners really more "accurate"?

And last, am I asking too many questions? Probably... but more important, am I missing anything? I know planetary tuners are a gift from heaven, but $$$.

I am going to get a good instrument most likely in the near future, either a soprano or a concert. Maybe down the road I'll collect the whole set of sizes. (Love picking up the baritones too; the mellow sound is cool.) Right now I'm just really curious about friction tuners, especially good ones, because as I say, they're just not mass market material around these parts... and neither are sopranos.

I voted no preference to be neutral, by the way...

I prefer friction tuners on the smaller size ukes mainly bacause I think geared tuners look a bit silly. But also the balance issue.

My old Kamaka soprano has old friction tuners that are quite difficult to use. My KoAloha concert has a really good quality set of friction tuners which are much better. But neither are as accurate as geared tuners. Even still, I prefer friction tuners.

Or even better Peghead geared tuners with the appearance and weight of friction tuners, but geared!

Friction tuners on my koaloha Soprano pineapple. Stays in tune just fine, easy to use if you tune up to the correct pitch.

What Flyke said, and a vote for old school wood pegs (for sopranos at least). Lightest simplest and nicest looking. They work better than you might think.

Some of the open geared tuners are light. Once you get used to the friction tuners it's not that dificult to tune.

I'm a total newbie. Just upgraded to a Mainland Mahogany Pineapple Soprano with friction tuners. I was nervous based on comments about the difficulty of tuning with them, but I haven't had any difficulty at all.

I was a happy to see that friction tuners were winning out in the survey since it seems so many people are vocal about them being difficult to use.

Do friction tuners make the headstock of a soprano so light that it practically defies gravity compared to geared tuners?
No friction tuners do not make the headstock so light that it defies gravity. But yes friction tuners make the headstock lighter and well balanced. I prefer friction for that very reason. A light well balanced ukulele is a joy to play.

Are friction tuners difficult to tune on the fly in public, even after a little practice?
Absolutely not!

Do you use friction tuners on a concert and love it? Yes
Is the size of the body on a concert big enough so that gears are just AOK? I prefer friction tuners on sopranos and concerts.

Are geared tuners really more "accurate"?
I don't think so. Friction tuners are accurate and stay in tune. I think the issues are that people used to cranking away at a geared tuner have trouble just tapping to adjust a friction tuner and maybe they have the screws too tight or not tight enough making it either hard to fine tune or not tight enough so they slip out of tune.

I know planetary tuners are a gift from heaven, but $$$.
I know nothing about planetary tuners but.... I have never had trouble with friction tuners but I have always had good quality tuners. Right now I have a failed tuner on my KoAloha so as I wait a replacement (free from KoAloha) I put on a tuners I had laying around that came with a uke I bought that had upgraded tuners and these were the original cheap tuners. Oh my what a difference. Normally tuners are smooth and like butter to adjust. These other tuners are like creaky, like they need to be oiled and not smooth and therefore harder to fine tune. I guess the moral of that story is make sure you have a good quality tuner no matter what type you decide on.

Isn't the research and shopping fun?

I just received an Ohana SK20s from MIM . It's a beautiful ukulele except for the geared tuners. I'm going to replace them with friction tuners. I've already ordered the new tuners and cant wait to put them on. The geared tuners work great , I just dont like the way they look on a soprano. A soprano should have friction tuners. I bought this uke on looks alone , It will look so much better with the new friction tuners. Friction tuners work fine and belong on sopranos. This new uke looks like the SK38 but with laminated sides and back. It is really a GREAT looking uke and I can leave it out on my coffee table all winter and not worry about it cracking from low humidity,( I hope ). I ordered this uke from MIM through Ebay , bought it on Friday and it was in my hands on Monday.

Hey, a Long Islander! :O Most of the local stores tend to have the same stuff (Kala being the best you'll find), so if you want to try out something out of the ordinary, you'll have to venture into the city. Mandolin Bros. on Staten Island has the full Kamaka line, Flukes/Fleas, and a few other strange things. East Village Music has Ko'olau, Mainland, Eleuke, etc.

I don't really have a preference. The friction tuners on my Kamaka and Flea work just fine and stay in tune well, so I can't complain. It depends more on the quality of the tuner/uke than whether or not it's friction.

I have one soprano (Boat Paddle M-style) with geared tuners and two (Ohana SK38 and Blue Frog) with friction. I also have a tenor gourd banjo uke with wooden pegs.

I find that all the options have their benefits and their detriments. The friction tuners make an instrument lighter, but my Boat Paddle is still well balanced and not particularly headstock-heavy. I am constantly having to tighten the screws on the Ohana and the Blue Frog. When the screws are tight enough, the Blue Frog is quite easy to tune; the Ohana has always been a struggle, especially considering that I have arthritis in my hands. By the time I finish tuning the Ohana, my fingers are burning. This is also the drawback with the wooden pegs, which must be jammed in tightly so that they don't simply let the strings go slack. Tuning the banjo uke can be exquisitely painful. Incidentally, tightening the screws on the Ohana and the Blue Frog also hurts. I know most people don't have this problem, but I would recommend geared tuners to players with joint pain. The "heavy headstock" issue is not, for me, enough to dissuade me, and nor is the "silly-looking on a soprano" issue (especially as the Boat Paddle has quite a long neck and already looks fairly unusual because of the atypical body shape).

I wish the questions were a bit different. I have a custom ukulele with friction tuners. It doesn't stay perfectly in tune from session to session, but is almost always a tiny bit flat. It takes under 30 seconds to get into tune usually.

And they're not too bad to use. I find it's like driving a car and using the clutch. You just get used to finer, more subtle movement.

I definitely prefer the look of friction, but there are times when they annoy me. Like when I went to South Dakota and it was so bone-dry everywhere that they just wouldn't hold well at all. Of course, the tuners are over 80 years old. I never had any tuning issues at all with the newer ones on my KoAloha.

Of course, for a soprano, there must be frictions!

I usually prefer geared tuners, but on sopranos, and probably concerts, I think rear-pointing tuner knobs look better, so most of my concert sized ukes have PegHeds or slotted headstocks and one out of my two sopranos have PegHeds. PegHeds are probably the best compromise available for ukes. They look like friction tuners yet function more or less like geared tuners, with the benefit of a smaller gear ratio (4:1 vs. the typical 18:1) so they string up quicker.

I don't find friction tuners to be terribly difficult to use, and they would not be a deal-breaker for me when considering a particular ukulele.

Response deleted. I drifted off-message.

Forget all those geared -vs - friction worries and just get pegheds.

As a person who sells ukuleles it seems it's all across the board. In general sopranos most want friction but many don't. With concerts it seems most want geared but then again friction is sometimes prefered. Some tenors are requested with friction too. Another happy alternative are Peghead tuners. They have the looks of a violin style tuner but have gears inside, very smooth.
Some makers offer both models in geared or friction - Big Island, Ohana, Kamoa and of course Mainland you get the choice of choosing as it's being set up. Sailor Brand you can choose as it's being made.

PegHeds are they way to go. Geared, but look like pegs, also very light.

I don't mind about the looks so much. I'm just looking at balance, function, practicality, and accuracy.

I'm glad to see so many thoughtful responses - thanks all! Roxhum, thanks for looking at those additional questions more closely. Haole, I'll check out East Village Music when I can.

I noticed Uke Republic, Ohana, and Makai have been offering more geared options... probably because the demand is pretty high overall. High-end uke buyers with a traditional perspective on things are only one part of the whole picture I bet!

I prefer decent frictions on sopranos and concerts, and gears on tenor and bari.

Is it me? or do pegheads seem too long? I like the concept, but the look like they stick a lot farther than normal frictions.