What did you do to your Uke today?

I just got mine back from my luthier. She said I had been neglectful, and had worn the strings down to nothing. She also said I'm digging in too hard, the fretboard is showing too much wear for a 4 year old ukulele. She lowered the action, tinkered with it, her Dad tinkered with it, and corrected the intonation quite a bit. I've switched over to nylon strings, maybe they'll wear better.
 
Spieler said:
Larry,

[I'd PM you, but have heard the system is balky.]

Could you please share the name of your 'favorite' shop? I'm in the Lancaster area, and would love a good recommendation; Harrisburg is definitely within reach.
(I'd also love to see your Moon Bird and others someday, should restrictions/cautions ever ease! I have an AMM2, a couple Rebels, and an upcoming Beansprout you might enjoy seeing, in return. #someday)

Thanks!
~ S.
pertinux @ gmail.com
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No problem It's BCR Music & Sound in Lemoyne, PA. (bcrmusic dot com) It's just across the river from Harrisburg and should be an easy drive from Lancaster. As I said, they're guitar guys but they definitely know how to handle an ukulele.

I'm definitely up for comparing axes once things get back to whatever is going to pass for normal!
 
LowDownG said:
String change on my Outdoor Soprano - felt like the Martin M600s weren't high enough tension on this ukulele, for some strange reason, as I generally like them. Changed to Freemont Clear Flourocarbons, and the tension is noticeably higher, but still very playable, and sound great. Still tinkering, but early returns on the Freemonts are really good...
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I didn't care for Martin M600s on either of my non-wood ukuleles (Flight TUS-50, Outdoor Soprano)-- they felt and sounded way too thin, resulting in "plastic" as the overall impression (more than usual).
I now have Freemont Blacks (high tension) on the Flight, Aquila Sugars on the Outdoor. I like the Sugar strings very much, but they are already starting to show signs of wear/fray at specific fret points.

[Objectively, the Outdoor is the worst sounding of all my ukuleles-- the Flight does sound better-- but I prefer the Outdoor's quality feel to that of the Flight, which I find sorta icky.
I am currently playing the Outdoor more than all other comers, because humidity is way low here right now (even with room and in-case humidifiers) and I have no worries about keeping the Outdoor out, within ready reach-- even when I'm sitting directly in front of a space heater. :D]

Snargle said:
No problem It's BCR Music & Sound in Lemoyne, PA. (bcrmusic dot com) It's just across the river from Harrisburg and should be an easy drive from Lancaster. As I said, they're guitar guys but they definitely know how to handle an ukulele.

I'm definitely up for comparing axes once things get back to whatever is going to pass for normal!
Click to expand...

Thanks much! Here's to the day. :)

~ S.
 
Not today, but yesterday. I sawed the neck off a license plate uke I made. I wasn't satisfied with the angles, so I did some adjusting.
 
I finally cleaned my ukulele with vinegar cleaner and going to restrung it. But I have never done this before so looking for videos and guides about how to do this properly. If you can share some techniques or tips, I'll be glad.
 
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anniehann said:
I finally cleaned my ukulele with vinegar cleaner and going to restrung it. But I have never done this before so looking for videos and guides about how to do this properly. If you can share some techniques or tips, I'll be glad.
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Katie Denure from One Music School has a tutorial where she shows you how to restring different types of bridges and headstocks. You'll probably find your combination there:

 
anniehann said:
I finally cleaned my ukulele with vinegar cleaner and going to restrung it. But I have never done this before so looking for videos and guides about how to do this properly. If you can share some techniques or tips, I'll be glad.
Click to expand...

Why vinegar? I'd be very hesitant to use vinegar or any other strong chemical cleaner on my ukuleles in fear of damaging the finish. The most I would use would be a soft cloth dampened with warm water and maybe a drop of detergent if it was really filthy.
 
Snargle said:
Why vinegar? I'd be very hesitant to use vinegar or any other strong chemical cleaner on my ukuleles in fear of damaging the finish. The most I would use would be a soft cloth dampened with warm water and maybe a drop of detergent if it was really filthy.
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I used vinegar to clean my Keurig yesterday, but I wouldn't use it on a uke.
 
I too changed some strings! I've been experimenting with the B and E strings on an old Harmony Baritone. I had just about settled on Aquilla Nylgut as the best for it (even above some Worth's and other fluorocarbons) . . . that is until I tried some Aquilla Reds. I'm lovin' em. This uke was converted, by a previous owner, into an 8 stringer. I have downsized it to a 6 stringer. It has an octave pair for the D strings; then a low, low G string (a full octave lower than normal) paired with a Savarez G; and now the Reds - B & E. The reds do a great job of balancing out the double pairs. Plus they are considerable thinner than their nylgut cousins, which on the narrow Harmony, are a big plus.
 
Mike $ said:
I also strung the 1st and 2nd strings from the outside of the post so that all tuners tighten when I twist the tuners toward me and loosen when I twist them away. Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey...because I like it that way.
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When I end up winding too many turns on the post, I also pretend I meant to do it!
 
Spieler said:
...the Flight does sound better-- but I prefer the Outdoor's quality feel to that of the Flight, which I find sorta icky...]
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The Flight's "ickyness" goes away after a few weeks. Keep a damp wash cloth handy and wipe it down as often as you want. You won't hurt it :) The only thing I worry about is possibly rubbing off the fret paint, but none of that has happened.

-Wiggy
 
Wiggy said:
The Flight's "ickyness" goes away after a few weeks. Keep a damp wash cloth handy and wipe it down as often as you want. You won't hurt it :) The only thing I worry about is possibly rubbing off the fret paint, but none of that has happened.

-Wiggy
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Hmmm... I just don't care for the tactile feel of the type of plastic used for the Flight's neck, made worse with its wide, faux 'wood grain.'

nukunuku said:
Added fret markers to the neck of my kid’s ukulele.
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This reminds me, i added side dots to my Outdoor Soprano early on-- a very helpful addition. :)

~ S.
 
UkerDanno said:
I cleaned and restrung my Kanile'a with Living Water high G strings. When I re-string, I always remove all the strings and give the whole instrument a wipe down with lemon oil, especially the fretboard. Wiping the excess off immediately from satin type finishes because it's probably not real good to let it soak in too much.

View attachment 106804View attachment 106803View attachment 106805View attachment 106806View attachment 106807
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That's a beauty! Are you going to play it at the jam today?
 
Spieler said:
I didn't care for Martin M600s on either of my non-wood ukuleles (Flight TUS-50, Outdoor Soprano)-- they felt and sounded way too thin, resulting in "plastic" as the overall impression (more than usual).
I now have Freemont Blacks (high tension) on the Flight, Aquila Sugars on the Outdoor. I like the Sugar strings very much, but they are already starting to show signs of wear/fray at specific fret points.

[Objectively, the Outdoor is the worst sounding of all my ukuleles-- the Flight does sound better-- but I prefer the Outdoor's quality feel to that of the Flight, which I find sorta icky.
I am currently playing the Outdoor more than all other comers, because humidity is way low here right now (even with room and in-case humidifiers) and I have no worries about keeping the Outdoor out, within ready reach-- even when I'm sitting directly in front of a space heater. :D]



Thanks much! Here's to the day. :)

~ S.
Click to expand...

All of this is so subjective, but I really LIKE the sound of both of my Outdoor Ukuleles - in fact, just ordered a third - the tenor, in carbon. There's no question that they don't sound like traditional wood ukuleles, and the only non wood ukulele I've played are the Fluke and the Flea, but I MUCH prefer the Outdoors to the Magic Flukes.

My non-carbon Outdoor tenor is strung low-g, and I'm hoping the additional brightness of the carbon tenor will punch it up just a little. The carbon Outdoor soprano definitely seems brighter than the tenor I have now, but soprano vs tenor isn't an apples to apples comparison...

Love the neck shape of the Outdoors as well, and obviously there's no variability with the action/intonation... they feel indestructible, and really fun to just pick up and play...
 
LowDownG said:
All of this is so subjective, but I really LIKE the sound of both of my Outdoor Ukuleles - in fact, just ordered a third - the tenor, in carbon. There's no question that they don't sound like traditional wood ukuleles, and the only non wood ukulele I've played are the Fluke and the Flea, but I MUCH prefer the Outdoors to the Magic Flukes.
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This is great, and I understand! :) I said "objectively" on purpose, because I am very fond of my Outdoor Soprano, and would replace it in a heartbeat. I enjoy bringing out its best (a worthy undertaking with any instrument), while also marveling at my 'more is less' outcomes -- how very slap-plastic I can make it sound, for fun.

It's just always an ear-opener when I move straight from my Outdoor to one of my all-wood ukuleles: "Oh."

Love the neck shape of the Outdoors as well, and obviously there's no variability with the action/intonation... they feel indestructible, and really fun to just pick up and play...
Click to expand...

Agreed on all fronts. Have fun out there. :eek:

Here's mine-- nothing like the light-through view-- including my two twee customizations:
Screen Shot 2021-02-20 at 12.40.28 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2021-02-20 at 12.39.16 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2021-02-20 at 12.40.54 PM.jpg

Cheers!
~ S.
 
When I last posted, I had just bought a 1920's Windsor banjo uke from a charity shop. Unfortunately I soon found it almost unplayable due to sharp ended frets that stuck out and it had stayed on a wall hanger for a number of years while I debated whether it was worth taking it to a repairer.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet and have a go at restoring it myself, despite having zero practical skills. I spent a couple of hours carefully filing the the fret ends, gave the fretboard a touch of lemon oil, replaced the bridge and re-strung it, only to find that the old tuners were slipping and beyond saving.

Finally managed to replace the tuners this evening, so it's ready to play at last. I have found all the restoration advice from this forum which gave me the confidence to do this, so if there's anyone else like myself who has trouble figuring out which end of a nail goes into a wall, take it steady and give it a go.
 

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