NUD for me!

moetrout

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A Makala pineapple saprano. Nothing special, but that's what I was after. This one will be a traveler. Any suggestions on strings? Would this uke benefit from a bone nut and saddle upgrade? Being so cheap I would try it myself, don't have much to loose.
 
Makai seems to think that a bone nut and saddle makes a difference, I have one, and so do I. Aquila strings usually make an all laminate uke sound best, unless you want it to sound less bright, then there's lots of string choices.
 
Congrats, and Phil says, Aquila seem to generally be the best bet on a lot of laminated ukes. That doesn't seem to be as true as it once was since they changed the Nylgut strings to some new process, but it's still a good bet for a first cut at strings.

Bone saddle and nut will tend to make the uke a little brighter and louder...and that's almost always a good thing on a laminated uke.

John
 
Nice looking uke, but sounds horrible right now. I knew I should have picked up new strings but I was in a rush. Back to the store tomorrow. Intonation is pretty good. Overall I am happy, I bought it knowing what it is. Looking forward to breaking it in and playing the crap out of it this holiday weekend!
 
I have one for the same reason! Its a fun little one for camping, hotels, long car trips. I threw a set of Martin m600s on there and made a world of difference!
 
I went back to the store yesterday and bought some Aquila strings for it. I checked it out and found there was a high fret. So while the strings were off I leveled the frets and polished them. I was going to put a bone saddle in but the Lamb bones I had were not big enough to make one out of. I notice the plastic saddle had cast lines on the bottom where it mated with the bridge. So I lightly sanded that flat with 320 then 600 grit paper. After putting the new strings on it sounds EXCELLENT! I only started playing a few months ago so I have never done any work like this. I am very pleased with myself that I could take a cheap intrument like this and make it sound so great!
 
I went back to the store yesterday and bought some Aquila strings for it. I checked it out and found there was a high fret. So while the strings were off I leveled the frets and polished them. I was going to put a bone saddle in but the Lamb bones I had were not big enough to make one out of. I notice the plastic saddle had cast lines on the bottom where it mated with the bridge. So I lightly sanded that flat with 320 then 600 grit paper. After putting the new strings on it sounds EXCELLENT! I only started playing a few months ago so I have never done any work like this. I am very pleased with myself that I could take a cheap intrument like this and make it sound so great!

Congrats and kudos on your work! NOW it's special!
 
Congrats on you uke and congrats on setting it up yourself. Good catch on the saddle ridge, I bet that made a big difference.

Enjoy
 
Congrats! I'm in the camp that believes that any player should be able to do basic setups on their equipment - and that goes double if one doesn't have a shop nearby to take care of them. Buying an inexpensive uke or six is a great way to get a little experience doing some basic setup tasks.

While expensive top-notch ukes are wonderful, and we always recommend buying any uke from a reliable dealer who will set it up, there is also a lot to be said for the satisfaction of turning a bit of a sow's ear into a silk purse!

John
 
I still want to upgrade to a bone nut and saddle. The saddle slides out with a little friction (nice firm fit), but the nut would not come out. Tried scoring around it with an exacto knife. Any tricks to removing a nut that appears to be very well glued in? I think I read somewhere to cut it length wise down the middle with a dremel saw and then fold it in on itself. Only problem with that is i wanted to use the old one as a model to shape the new bone nut. When I first got the uke I thought maybe I had made a mistake. It plays soooo much better now that there are no regrets. Anyone have a good link for how to adjust the action? I think the action is still a little high, but I am not sure how to start that process.
 
While expensive top-notch ukes are wonderful, and we always recommend buying any uke from a reliable dealer who will set it up, there is also a lot to be said for the satisfaction of turning a bit of a sow's ear into a silk purse!

John

That's it right there John. This uke was 50 bucks, but it doubled in value to me now that it plays so sweet. I bought it to use as a travel uke and it's more than I had hoped for in that line of thinking.
 
Those last 2 videos are the ones I used to guide my work! so John = PortlyKnight = OldePhart? Ok....so to get that stubborn nut off use a hammer! Here I was trying to be so careful. Thanks for the links, especially the first one about setting the action. The last 2 I had seen before and are excellent if you want to try this work yourself. I think I will either buy or make a bone nut and saddle and then set the action when i install them. I love playing the uke, but tinkering like this just makes it that much more interesting. I've been playing this little uke more than my concert, even though side by side comparison has shown me that playing the concert is easier (for me). When I am done with this one I think my daughters cheap Cordoba is getting the same treatment.
 
so John = PortlyKnight = OldePhart?

Yep...dats me. The night I created that account I was playing some 50's and 60's stuff and feeling really Chubby Checkerish or Fats Dominoish...but chess was always my table game of choice... LOL

John
 
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