Intonation issue on KoAloha KSM-03 long neck pineapple

Just bought a new KoAloha KSM-03 long neck pineapple uke and have some intonation issues. Let me state up front that the dealer has been made aware of the problem and they have been extremely cooperative helping me with the problem so this is not a slam against anyone. OK that said here is what I got.

String height at 1st fret ==> 0.55mm
String height at 12th fret => 2.80mm

Open string vs 12th harmonic is great, no complaint there.
12th harmonic vs freted 12th is as much as 25 cents sharp.

g +15 C +15 E +25 A +7

The dealer is sending a new set of strings so we can try that first. If that doesn't work I have two options , return uke to dealer in exchange for another KoAloha, or return the KoAhola and buy a Kamaka long neck pineapple he has in stock. Actually there is a third option but that would involve me not getting a new instrument at all so we all know that is not gong to happen.

I really want to like this uke, but the intonation, as is just won't cut it.

Well this is weird! Just tried going up the neck one note at a time to see where the intonation falls out (around 7th/8th fret BTW). If I slide up the neck one note at a time the intonation is not that bad really. If I just fret a note above 7th without sliding it's terrible.

I've owned two KoAlohas and both came with what I consider a very high action at the bridge (your 2.8mm at the 12th fret is probably about typical for KoAloha but I think it's very high, my full-scale 5 string bass is only 2mm at the 12th fret). Of course, by shipping with a high saddle the uke can be customized easily - it's a lot less easy to increase the depth.

Also, I've never found strings that intonate really well up the neck on my KoAloha. After trying several I have gone back to the Worth CM that seem to be closest to the factory strings. Mine is nowhere near as far out as yours but it is out more than many of my less expensive ukes, and that after I filed the top of the saddle to compensate as much as possible within the thin width of the saddle (and that's where the high action came in nice, because the saddle was so tall I had enough material to do that compensation without buying a new saddle).

I will say that with all of your strings being sharp it sounds like maybe the bridge was mounted a fraction off of where it should be. Both of my KoAlohas (a concert and a longneck soprano) had the typical thing with the outside strings being a little flat and the inside being a little sharp - so no single string was more than ten cents off but relative to each other at the 12th there was about 15 cents difference until I compensated the saddle.

Oh, one other thing to mention, if this just came out of the factory or if the dealer put new strings on it, give them a few days before you measure intonation. I've seen intonation at the 12th change by as much as ten cents (maybe even a little more) after strings have fully stretched in and in most if not all cases they went from sharp to closer to normal.

John

One trick that has worked for me on some Koalohas a few years ago was to flip the saddle around. In my case it helped on both of them and it only takes seconds to try out.

Yes try out the strings is the first and easiest option...string height at the saddle is about right from the factory...as you cannot please everyone on preference....it is in the middle
however you may get another saddle and drop it to 2.60... actually you need a set up, ask the store or a luthier to do it for you..

OK, firstly I recommend that this thread needs to be moved to Uke Tech Support. You will get more answers there.

Secondly. If the action is high then the intonation WILL go sharp up the neck. Its actually GOOD that the intonation goes sharp if the action is high. Don't sweat it. Its a straightforward adjustment to lower the action that won't damage the ukulele. Your just working on the nut and saddle.

I recommend doing some measurements of the instrument to start with. Use a measure that's at least as long as the strings from nut to saddle. VERY precisely measure from the nut(fretting end) to the MIDDLE of the 12th fret. What's this distance? Then measure from the nut to the saddle(thin piece sitting in the bridge). The nut to saddle distance should be 2 x the nut to 12th fret distance + a couple of mm for compensation.

If this is the case then don't sweat it. It just needs the action lowered. It's not a biggie.

Anthony