The benefits to riding high?

Icelander53

Icelander53

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This might be a silly question so I'm the guy to ask it. :p

Are there any positives to having a high action on your ukulele? Are there people who prefer a high action? Why would they prefer it if there are such people?

And what is it exactly that makes an action high? Is it a single thing or a combination of things or both?

What say you experienced players?

BTW I want to say how grateful I am that you are all here helping me and teaching me so many things in such a friendly way. I'm really impressed by all of you folk. For eight years I've belonged to a forum discussing philosophy, sociology and psychology and it's constant warfare and competition for the most part with some notable exceptions. It's so different here that it's hard to get used to. People actually behaving civilly, and helpfully almost every time. It really is impressive and relaxing and fun to be here. I'm so glad I found you all. I only have one friend who considers ukulele a worthwhile endeavor so it can be a little lonely over here. You all fill that hole nicely and make me feel part of a really lovely, interesting community. The more I'm here the more I like and appreciate this place. Thanks.
 
I think it's a good question and I look forward to hearing the experienced answers. I seem to need a pretty low action in order to play decently. I'm playing just over a year.

And kudos to your friend for thinking ukulele is a worthwhile endeavor. That friend needs to find a ukulele and start playing with you.
 
I don't think there is any "up side" to a high action at the nut - at least, none that outweighs the attendant poor first-position intonation.

There are a couple of reasons to appreciate a higher action at the bridge end, though. IMHO, and in no particular order, they are:

1) You can get the far more critical nut action really, really low without buzzing. This makes for very good first position intonation and very easy barre chords in first and second positions.

2) You can get great volume (and thus great dynamics) without buzzing. With action that is very low at the bridge end you can only pluck/strum so hard before something is going to buzz.

3) It leaves more room for strumming or picking finger rolls over the fret board without hitting the fret board itself. This was really the decider for me. I used to be a fan of "crazy-low" actions until I started doing a lot of finger rolls. I have actually put shims under the bridge saddles on a couple of my ukes to increase the action a little since I started using a lot of rolls.

BTW, you have to have an insanely high action at the bridge end before it starts having a serious impact on intonation up the neck. This is because up the neck you are approximately in the middle of the string whereas at the first position you are right next to the nut and thus the angle is very steep.

John
 
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Ukejenny said:
I think it's a good question and I look forward to hearing the experienced answers. I seem to need a pretty low action in order to play decently. I'm playing just over a year.

And kudos to your friend for thinking ukulele is a worthwhile endeavor. That friend needs to find a ukulele and start playing with you.
Click to expand...

She does play with me. I bought her one for Xmas and now we practice one or two hours together almost every day for the last two months. We have a lot of fun and since we are both about the same age and same experience level it's pretty nice. We laugh hysterically at ourselves constantly. Sometimes we laugh so hard we fall off our chairs. It's really saved me from a dark dark depression I fell into a couple of years ago. I saw no real reason to be on this planet anymore. Now I have a pretty great reason to get out of bed each day.
 
Follow John's advice: keep the action low at the nut and raise, if necessary, at the saddle. His recommendations have also been my experience as we'll. I set the action low on my electric guitar, but not on my soprano anymore. I recently raised the action at the 12th fret to be a little less than 1/8 of an inch, and finally gained more volume, because I can strum and pick with a harder attack without the strings fretting-out. I had already compensated the saddle for better intonation on the higher frets, and haven't noticed much of a change after raising the string height. However, after I cut nut slots down, intonation and playing comfort on the first few frets greatly improved.


Edit: I forgot to mention that after cutting the nut slots down, I used a feeler gauge and measured the string height from the bottom of the 4th string to the top of the 1st fret at about .024 inches.
 
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high action improves volume and punch, and tone is considered to be improved, especially playing in groups. I don't like it too high, and lowered mine, but had to raise them again after trying them low. Just didn't sparkle with the action too low.
 
I built a uke with no separate fretboard (frets directly into the neck) and did not get the neck angle exactly right. As built, it had good volume and a nice tone, but the strings were too high. In order to lower the action, I had to make the bridge and saddle appreciably lower. This reduced its volume noticeably. It is still a nice thing to play at home, but not loud enough for general use.

I put it down to reduced angular "pull" on the bridge, inducing less tension in the soundboard. That might be a load of claptrap, but I know what I mean - I think.

So IMO, reducing the string height by lowering the saddle can lead to some loss of volume.
 
Amen to that. And Amen to having a reason to get out of bed each day. Depression is a very bad disease, still widely misunderstood. I'm thrilled that you have dug your way out of the hole and are feeling better again. Ukulele, I think, is a wonderful antidepressant. That, and friendship, a great combination for getting the chemicals in the brain regulated and stabilized.

Icelander53 said:
She does play with me. I bought her one for Xmas and now we practice one or two hours together almost every day for the last two months. We have a lot of fun and since we are both about the same age and same experience level it's pretty nice. We laugh hysterically at ourselves constantly. Sometimes we laugh so hard we fall off our chairs. It's really saved me from a dark dark depression I fell into a couple of years ago. I saw no real reason to be on this planet anymore. Now I have a pretty great reason to get out of bed each day.
Click to expand...
 
Definitely copy/pasting this information to my uke notes file. Thank you!

OldePhart said:
I don't think there is any "up side" to a high action at the nut - at least, none that outweighs the attendant poor first-position intonation.

There are a couple of reasons to appreciate a higher action at the bridge end, though. IMHO, and in no particular order, they are:

1) You can get the far more critical nut action really, really low without buzzing. This makes for very good first position intonation and very easy barre chords in first and second positions.

2) You can get great volume (and thus great dynamics) without buzzing. With action that is very low at the bridge end you can only pluck/strum so hard before something is going to buzz.

3) It leaves more room for strumming or picking finger rolls over the fret board without hitting the fret board itself. This was really the decider for me. I used to be a fan of "crazy-low" actions until I started doing a lot of finger rolls. I have actually put shims under the bridge saddles on a couple of my ukes to increase the action a little since I started using a lot of rolls.

BTW, you have to have an insanely high action at the bridge end before it starts having a serious impact on intonation up the neck. This is because up the neck you are approximately in the middle of the string whereas at the first position you are right next to the nut and thus the angle is very steep.

John
Click to expand...
 
Icelander53 said:
...We laugh hysterically at ourselves constantly. Sometimes we laugh so hard we fall off our chairs....
Click to expand...

You just described my very first day of playing the ukulele. I laughed so hard I cried. And yes, I fell off the chair laughing. Gads, what a great instrument.

Oh, sorry. Off topic.

I like a lower action. It just seems easier to play.
 
Icelander53 said:
This might be a silly question so I'm the guy to ask it. :p
Click to expand...

Glad you did, you saved this noob from having to ask herself!! :uhoh:

Icelander53 said:
Are there any positives to having a high action on your ukulele? Are there people who prefer a high action? Why would they prefer it if there are such people?

And what is it exactly that makes an action high? Is it a single thing or a combination of things or both?

What say you experienced players?

BTW I want to say how grateful I am that you are all here helping me and teaching me so many things in such a friendly way. I'm really impressed by all of you folk. For eight years I've belonged to a forum discussing philosophy, sociology and psychology and it's constant warfare and competition for the most part with some notable exceptions. It's so different here that it's hard to get used to. People actually behaving civilly, and helpfully almost every time. It really is impressive and relaxing and fun to be here. I'm so glad I found you all. I only have one friend who considers ukulele a worthwhile endeavor so it can be a little lonely over here. You all fill that hole nicely and make me feel part of a really lovely, interesting community. The more I'm here the more I like and appreciate this place. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Icelander, I think you and I joined within a few days of each other. And I've appreciated your intelligent questions - and the thoughtful responses that the community has provided. I too have been a member of another forum or two, and it's amazing how quickly such communities can descend into squabbling and one-upmanship. It's one reason why I lurked for so long before finally joining this forum. I really don't see that here.

I seem to learn something new here every day. I'm starting to follow the Seasons threads, I'm finding that I'm learning loads just watching other memebers' techniques.

And I'm delighted that ukulele has had the power to alleviate your depression. I find that it's hard to be really down when noodling on a uke. Rock on! :music:
 
Your avatar is small and my eyes are a little dim but that looks like lobster to me. It's been years since I've had some. It looks so yummy I'm putting it on my list. I hear lobster is good for depression also. :drool:
 
It is, it's a big stainless steel bowl of lobs that were just pulled out of the pot for a gathering we had last summer.

It is hard to be depressed when wearing a lobster bib and lobster water & goop is running down your arms.

Oh BTW, my husband & kids roll their eyes when I retire to play my uke. The heck with 'em, I say! I'm starting to think that my uke is like therapy with four strings. And a heckuva lot cheaper than the real thing! (Hey, I think I've just landed on yet another justification for UAS . . . . )
 
I like the action as low as possible without buzzing.
 
ll
Icelander53 said:
She does play with me. I bought her one for Xmas and now we practice one or two hours together almost every day for the last two months. We have a lot of fun and since we are both about the same age and same experience level it's pretty nice. We laugh hysterically at ourselves constantly. Sometimes we laugh so hard we fall off our chairs. It's really saved me from a dark dark depression I fell into a couple of years ago. I saw no real reason to be on this planet anymore. Now I have a pretty great reason to get out of bed each day.
Click to expand...

Wow Ice....you don't mind if I call you Ice, do you? You're not the first person I've heard of being saved by the uke! I';m so glad you decided to stick around, and faound us! Stick with it, life withthe ukulele gets better!
 
Olde Phart said everything I was going to say! And each uke is different in what is ideal at the 12th fret. But yeah, a nice low nut is always easy to achieve.

I have had customers want incredibly low action. And I will do my best to accommodate, but sometimes it is sad to hear some of the volume and tone go away sometimes once the saddle is lowered to a very low level. But there is a sweet spot that makes a uke very comfortable to play without sacrificing too much tone.
 
.you don't mind if I call you Ice
Click to expand...

Absolutely not.

Music of one kind or another has been a life saver for me since I was a kid. Now playing it myself, even at a beginner level is a dream come true for me. Finding out that I can actually play something is pretty thrilling and playing by chords songs that have come to mean a lot to me over the years is a pretty fine thing. But I always gravitated to minor key sad songs of woe. I still do it but the uke is moving me into more fun songs that celebrate the absurdity of life with laughter just as much as tears. It's a perfect instrument for an old guy who needs to laugh a bit more. And singing just feels good. It's the best therapy I've ever come across.
 
Icelander53 said:
Absolutely not.

Music of one kind or another has been a life saver for me since I was a kid. Now playing it myself, even at a beginner level is a dream come true for me. Finding out that I can actually play something is pretty thrilling and playing by chords songs that have come to mean a lot to me over the years is a pretty fine thing. But I always gravitated to minor key sad songs of woe. I still do it but the uke is moving me into more fun songs that celebrate the absurdity of life with laughter just as much as tears. It's a perfect instrument for an old guy who needs to laugh a bit more. And singing just feels good. It's the best therapy I've ever come across.
Click to expand...

Me too. I usually run a constant low-grade depression even with medication. When I started playing 'ukulele I noticed that my mood lifted when I played. Now it is a constant part of my life. I even take an instrument with me when I travel to keep my mood straight. My travel 'uke has been to Australia and Haiti, Arizona and California. I'm planning for France and Spain soon.

The one liability I've found is that I am so thrilled about the 'ukulele effect that I am a little reckless about buying new instruments. I went from starters to some quality instruments in about 5 months. I bought 4 good 'ukes in 2013 and am lusting after 3 more.
 
PereBourik said:
Me too. I usually run a constant low-grade depression even with medication. When I started playing 'ukulele I noticed that my mood lifted when I played. Now it is a constant part of my life. I even take an instrument with me when I travel to keep my mood straight. My travel 'uke has been to Australia and Haiti, Arizona and California. I'm planning for France and Spain soon.

The one liability I've found is that I am so thrilled about the 'ukulele effect that I am a little reckless about buying new instruments. I went from starters to some quality instruments in about 5 months. I bought 4 good 'ukes in 2013 and am lusting after 3 more.
Click to expand...

Life is short. At my age at least. I'm buying every toy I want. I won't be able to take any of this with me so I'm enjoying it now. I started playing in ernest right after xmas. I now own six ukes. I play most of them. :D Just not very well yet.

I had a pretty tough childhood. I've been depressed every since I can remember but it got deadly in ernest a couple of years ago. There were a couple of nights I wasn't sure I'd see the morning.
 
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