Should the action on all strings be equal?

mikelz777

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I am familiarizing myself with a new uke and was checking out the action by pressing down on the 3rd fret and sliding a business card between the string and the first fret. I found that there is some friction or resistance on the 1st and 4th strings but there is no friction or resistance on either of the center strings. (The 2nd and 3rd, C and E). Is this normal? Shouldn't the distance between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret be equal for all of the strings?
 
My personal preference is to have the strings as close to the first fret as possible; just over a hair works for me, when fretted at the 2nd or 3rd fret. If you have the files, I'd lower the C and E if you feel they're too high. The only time I have different string heights is on my classical guitars, but only at the 12th fret.

The C and E strings might have been left higher to reduce the possibility of fret buzz, as they are the strings with a wider vibrating arc. Pluck them really hard, and if you don't get any buzzing, they're probably safe to lower....if that's what you want. However, I'd raise the action at the saddle if I were afraid of any fret buzz.
 
I am familiarizing myself with a new uke and was checking out the action by pressing down on the 3rd fret and sliding a business card between the string and the first fret. I found that there is some friction or resistance on the 1st and 4th strings but there is no friction or resistance on either of the center strings. (The 2nd and 3rd, C and E). Is this normal? Shouldn't the distance between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret be equal for all of the strings?

Theoretically it should be pretty close to equal but as long as the first-position intonation is good across all strings and chords like the Bb are easy and clear I wouldn't worry about it.

In fact, I never really measure the clearance at the first-position frets at all, let alone worry about whether they are all equal. I work the nut slots down until the first-fret intonation is good on all strings. If I get to that point and can still bang really hard on the strings without any buzzing and the bridge end isn't so high that the saddle needs lowering then I may bring the nut slots down a touch further as it makes the Bb, etc., easier.


John
 
Another indication of where the action is at now - when I put a business card between the strings and the 1st fret and hold the uke upright, the business card will fall out. Even the G and A strings which lie lower than the center two strings won't hold it in place. Not only can you see it but if you run your finger across the top edge of the nut, you can easily feel that the tops of the center two strings (C and E) lie above the top edge of the nut. When I first saw it, it looked like there was barely a groove cut into the nut, like there was just enough to hold the string in place. I haven't been able to play it much yet but the first finger on my fretting hand was what got me investigating the action further because it was noticeably harder to press down the center two strings. This uke is sounding like a candidate to get its action lowered. What are others thoughts?
 
Yeah...the business card falling out doesn't mean much IMHO but if the C and E strings are that noticeably higher you are probably going to have to do some work on it (or have the work done). My guess would be that it's a standard molded plastic nut and the slots are too narrow for the wider C and E strings. That's very often the case for the C string on inexpensive factory ukes but it's more unusual to see it on the E string, too. You might try some fluorocarbon strings as they tend to be thinner than nylon. The bottom line is that the first-position intonation will be terrible and it will be hard to fret things like the Bb if the action is that high at the nut.

John
 
For those who are buying ukes, buy from a reputable sell who will do a setup.

Another thing you can do is put a capo the 1st fret, if it's easier to press down on the first fret after the capo vs. without then your action is too high at the nut.
 
For those who are buying ukes, buy from a reputable sell who will do a setup.

Another thing you can do is put a capo the 1st fret, if it's easier to press down on the first fret after the capo vs. without then your action is too high at the nut.

I think you meant "if it's easier to press down at the second fret (being picky :) )" but, yeah, that's a really good idea. I never thought of checking it that way but that would be more consistent than, "yeah, feels okay." ;)

John
 
For those who are buying ukes, buy from a reputable sell who will do a setup.

Another thing you can do is put a capo the 1st fret, if it's easier to press down on the first fret after the capo vs. without then your action is too high at the nut.

That is a brilliant quick method to get the feel of the action at the nut. I been doing the capo third and looking under the 1st fret. Eyesight not too good nowadays and love this method.

To add to the OP observations, keep in mind that the C/E are thicker strings. My preference is not to have the strings buried in the nut slot as it just looks awful. Usually my nut slots are cut so part of the string is above the nut, say half for example. But before you go and lower the action don't do it because the top of the strings are above the nut. Go by playability when barring and as others said by intonation. It is not unusual for at least the C string to be a hair higher to allow for no buzzing.
 
Both the C and the E are noticeably harder to play just by feel alone. I'm way past the tender finger stage and my forefinger was starting to get sore when I had to press either string. They are what got me scrutinizing the action much closer because of the discomfort. At first I thought maybe it was the hardness and/or tension of the Aquila strings which I didn't like on my 1st uke and which I didn't care for the sound of on this uke. I put some Martins on it and like the sound much better and they feel like they have a lower tension than the Aquilas but the C and E continue to be more difficult to play than the G and A. The more I talk about it, the more I think the decision is being made for me. At the very least, I have to get the C and E lowered for ease of play. I'm pretty sure there's room to lower all the strings. The action right now isn't bad but I couldn't make a string buzz if I tried even if I were to use thunder strums. (I'm not a hard strummer.)
 
NO, as said, the lower strings need more room to vibrate, so should be ever so slightly higher, proportionally.

My pet peeve regarding this is, upon arrival the saddles on my ukes were sanded at an angle, so the bass end is higher than the treble. BUT the fourth string, re-entrant, is a treble string, and this way it has the highest action of all.

I do picking styles and want the action proportional for each string. So the first string is the lowest, fourth string higher, second string higher, and third string higher yet. So I sand down the saddle under the fourth string to be just above the first string and less than the second. Good thing I have a micrometer. Having said this, my actions are not that low; a low action sacrifices tone, although it is good for intonation.
 
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