Soprano Uke Set Up for beginners?

Joe Bananas · Apr 10, 2012

Is there a guide on how to properly set up a soprano uke oriented to beginners?.I want to set up my uke by myself since where I live there's no reputed technician, shop or even player that can do it for me, so i'll have to get the d.i.y. shortcut.Tips, please!.

ZJE123 · Apr 11, 2012

Joe Bananas said:
Is there a guide on how to properly set up a soprano uke oriented to beginners?.I want to set up my uke by myself since where I live there's no reputed technician, shop or even player that can do it for me, so i'll have to get the d.i.y. shortcut.Tips, please!.

From what I have learned, for you, it would be best to order the ukulele from a website shop that sets it up for you before they ship it. Sure it may cost a little more, but it would still be cheaper than buying a non-set up ukulele then sending it somewhere else to get it set up. Uke Republic generally has a good reputation as a good shop to buy your first uke, or even more advanced uke. Be advised though, the shipping is a little more than expected. I was told on my own thread that shouldn't be a surprising number, but my bulky bass guitar didn't even cost half of that in shipping, that's why I was so surprised. Anyway, if you are absolutely sure that you want to set it up yourself, I suggest watching this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adeFF0nQyzM

Pukulele Pete · Apr 11, 2012

Do a search on this site for " action " and " set up " and you'll find alot of info. Frets.com has great info also.

grandpoobah · Apr 11, 2012

Is there an issue you are having with it? New ukes often dont need a setup. Players can often be neurotic and want everything to be perfect and will shell out for a setup when its not really needed. I found less than half of my ukes need any work when i got them.

OldePhart · Apr 11, 2012

grandpoobah said:
Is there an issue you are having with it? New ukes often dont need a setup. Players can often be neurotic and want everything to be perfect and will shell out for a setup when its not really needed. I found less than half of my ukes need any work when i got them.

Heh, heh...going by the list in your signature I"m surprised anywhere near half of them needed setups...

The OP has a pretty inexpensive uke...and in my experience most ukes in that category will need the nut lowered on at least one string, and often on all of them, just to get decent intonation at the first couple of frets. Of course it all depends on how much out-of-tuneness you're willing to accept but the better the intonation is the better the uke sounds and that actually helps you develop a more refined ear far more quickly.

I used to feel anything within 10 cents at the first fret was good enough for me even though a good friend of mine used to complain that my guitars were not intonated correctly. Then, I bought nut files and started setting them up for perfect intonation and now even a cent or two is noticeable on some chords.

EDIT: Ooops, I confused two threads...this OP didn't say what uke he had. I was thinking 'bout the other guy who is having problems with an inexpensive uke. So, yeah, OP if you've got a hawaiian or custom uke, or a Mainland, or a factory uke purchased from a uke dealer like Mim, MGM, HMS, or Ukulele Republic it probably doesn't need a setup. If you've got a "factory" uke purchased from a big retailer it may need to be set up.

John

Joe Bananas · Apr 11, 2012

My only uke is a Fender U'uku and i bought it in a shop where it was the only uke around.The guy at the shop had no idea about how to tune the thing so go figure about setting in up.
G is even and fine during the first 20 minutes of playing (not hard strumming), then i have to adjust it to get it in tune again.The first three frets from this string gives me a perfect G#, a perfect A and a perfect Bb, the same with the rest of frets here.
C is inconsistent as hell.I have to tune the damn thing every 5 minutes if I want a decent intonation and to get a perfect C i have to screw the tuner in and out a lot, i mean, it's pretty imprecise.Then, when i finally have it in tune the first three frets give me a slightly sharps C#, D and Eb.
E is pretty easy to tune, stays in tune for around half an hour and the tuner is sensible enough to find the perfect intonation fast and easily then the three first frets give me a perfect F, F# and G, so no big deals in this department.
A is also very easy to get in tune screwing the thing and also stay in tune for half an hour or so.The first three frets give me a perfect Bb, a perfect B and a way too sharp C.
In general isn't too bad but coming from the highly in tune demanding world of saxophone myself, the minimum out of tune notes are a kind of pain in the a**.
Well, i'm mostly worried about that wild C string.What can I do?.
Also, when I strum A without pushing any fret it gives me a kind of Banjo coloured sound, is that normal?.

grandpoobah · Apr 11, 2012

OldePhart said:
Heh, heh...going by the list in your signature I"m surprised anywhere near half of them needed setups...

Well, those are the ones i have now

lol

To the OP. Sounds like there are two problems here. First, you shouldn't have to tune up so much. Maybe your tuners are too loose? I can go days without tuning, even on my worst uke. As for the C string being sharp on the first fret. Yeah, that might need a setup. Basically the nut could be filed down a little bit to get that C string in order. If you have things going out of sync further up the neck, you would need to get a new saddle. They can raise or lower the current one, but if you want it perfect, it would need to be compensated. That would most likely require a new saddle

OldePhart · Apr 11, 2012

Joe Bananas said:
My only uke is a Fender U'uku and i bought it in a shop where it was the only uke around.The guy at the shop had no idea about how to tune the thing so go figure about setting in up.
G is even and fine during the first 20 minutes of playing (not hard strumming), then i have to adjust it to get it in tune again.The first three frets from this string gives me a perfect G#, a perfect A and a perfect Bb, the same with the rest of frets here.
C is inconsistent as hell.I have to tune the damn thing every 5 minutes if I want a decent intonation and to get a perfect C i have to screw the tuner in and out a lot, i mean, it's pretty imprecise.Then, when i finally have it in tune the first three frets give me a slightly sharps C#, D and Eb.
E is pretty easy to tune, stays in tune for around half an hour and the tuner is sensible enough to find the perfect intonation fast and easily then the three first frets give me a perfect F, F# and G, so no big deals in this department.
A is also very easy to get in tune screwing the thing and also stay in tune for half an hour or so.The first three frets give me a perfect Bb, a perfect B and a way too sharp C.
In general isn't too bad but coming from the highly in tune demanding world of saxophone myself, the minimum out of tune notes are a kind of pain in the a**.
Well, i'm mostly worried about that wild C string.What can I do?.
Also, when I strum A without pushing any fret it gives me a kind of Banjo coloured sound, is that normal?.

It takes nylon uke strings up to a couple of weeks to settle in and hold a tune. When they're really new they can go flat if five or ten minutes of playing. This should get better and better until they hold pretty well. If you have just one that isn't holding you may need to tighten the screw if it has friction tuners vs. geared (the screw holding the knob on adjusts the tension). Well, for that matter, some enclosed geared tuners work the same way.

The intonation out on the C string is pretty common on inexpensive ukes. This is the thickest string so if the slot isn't quite wide enough the string doesn't seat all the way down. Careful work with folded 400 grid wet'or'dry sandpaper in the slot can fix this if it's not too bad. Just make sure that you taper the slot down slightly towards the tuners - i.e. you want the string to "break" over the edge of the nut that is closest to the frets.

John

Soprano Uke Set Up for beginners?

Joe Bananas

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Pukulele Pete

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grandpoobah

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OldePhart

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Joe Bananas

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