Why is Ukulele set up so important?

Theresaamusic

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I am looking to buy my second ukulele for about 100 dollars or less. I was checking out the HMS site and I noticed that their prices are incredibly low and the ukes come with a special HMS set up. If I am going to buy from a ukulele store online, I only want HMS. Uke republic is a little high for me.

But Im wondering, why is a set up so important? How come I can't just buy a uke from my local music store? Sorry, Im a bit of a noob when it comes to ukes.

My first uke I bought was a Mahalo ULP 30vs. Its a pretty cheapo uke, but I use it a lot. I got it from a music store near my house and it didn't come with some special set up or whatever, I think it just came from the box.

A lot of people say that if you dont get it set up it will be hard to play, but I didnt really have a problem playing it. Playing really high notes was a little difficult though, and the fret things were kinda uneven. But I liked playing it.

If a set up is really important then Ill stick with HMS, but I dont like having to limit my options, ukes from them are going out of stock very quickly. Have any suggestions?
 
Have you seen this video from HMS? They talk about their setup.

 
It's about tuning accuracy, tone and pure playability. A badly set up uke will not sound great or feel great to play. If you get one of those as a beginner, as well as the effort required to learn the thing, you are also putting in effort fighting the instrument.

Totally unnecessary and a barrier to learning.
 
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