Is my tenor not set up right?

I have a Makala Pineapple and a Makala Concert, both set up nicely by HMS and very easy to fret as a result. I just got a Tenor solid top acacia (GAT) from HMS and I find that the strings feel way more taught than on either the soprano or concert. I'm wondering if this is normal due to the tenor's slightly longer scale.

Are the strings on a soprano or concert inherently looser and easier to fret than on a tenor?

I've bought several soprano ukuleles from HMS for gifts and played each one before gift wrapping and they all appeared to be set up nicely and played very comfortably so there is no reason for me to think the tenor wouldn't isn't set up equally well.

Thanks for the insight

Hey O. I think it depends on the strings that are on there. I just changed my baritone strings today from a linear D Martin630 string to a set of rentrant d Living Water strings. I found the LWs have a much lower tension feel to them. It's because the Martins have the D and G wound strings which require a higher tenion; I think.

On my two tenors, I have South Coast strings. One has the 3 & 4 round wound strings and has a higher tension than the one without the wound strings.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will respond but that's what I find so far.

Yes, If a Tenor is tuned to gCEA just like a soprano or concert then the strings will be tighter than on the shorter scale instruments. I like detuning tenors.

Anthony

Yes, it's normal to have higher tension. The longer scale typically requires higher tension to reach the same notes as shorter scale instruments. Plus, with a larger body, it needs more "drive" to activate the soundboard.

You can get lower tension strings, but it will be naturally a bit quieter, and the looser strings might cause it to buzz if it's played hard enough for the strings to slap the frets.

Perfectly normal - and you'll be surprised how easy the concert/soprano instruments are to play after spending some time on the tenor. It's not that the tenor is really hard - anybody who started on steel-string guitar will tell you that even tenors are very lightly strung compared to a guitar. But, if your introduction to stringed instruments was on a soprano or concert then the tenor will take a little getting used.

John

It comes with Aquila strings unless you request different ones from HMS. That could be what you are noticing.

I kind of figured that the longer scale was part of the reason. I failed to mention the Aquila strings, clearly an important part of the equation but I'll let them settle in before I decide to change them out to lower tension strings. Any videos about changing strings, it looks a bit involved. Maybe more than meets the eye?



Well, I'm quite happy that I have the two smaller Makalas so I can move up and down through them as my fingers adjust. Feeling justified in my purchasing strategy in choosing to make the tenor Golden Acacia Solid Top the higher end uke of the lot (not by much but enough for now),

Thanks for the insight.

optofonik said:

Any videos about changing strings, it looks a bit involved. Maybe more than meets the eye?

Click to expand...

Changing strings can be a little intimidating the first time, but it's not hard and it gets easier every time you do it. Here's a UU video that gives a good overview of the process, and here's another video with a nice closeup of the bridge knot.

Thanks everyone. Cantsing, thanks for the link. It's been a couple of weeks now and the strings are indeed settling in and I'm getting used to the feel overall. As the strings have started settling they've also started sounding better to me.