Tuning issues on fretted notes

Tamkim

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Edit: sorry for the duplicate post


Hi

I have now purchased and returned two different, highly recommended ukuleles because of pitch issues. When the strings are perfectly in tune, fretted notes are not. Fretted A on the G string doesnt match open A, fretted G on E doesnt match open G, etc. And the pitchiness gets worse the higher the fret.

As someone with perfect pitch, this bothers me a lot. These are decent ukes.. Kala concert and Luna Tattoo concert. So I went to Sam Ash, the only nearby store I know of that sells ukes, and tried every one of theirs. Mostly Kalas and Cordonas with a few others. All selling for between $100 and $300. And they all have the same issue!

This is so discouraging to me. Chords sound bad when notes are out of tune and I have trouble believing this is an issue across the board, but I dont know what to try next. I dont want to order on amazon again because even the ones rated 5 out of 5 stars seem to have this problem.

Suggestions?? Thanks so much!
 
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Kiwayas that I have played have had very good intonation
 
Edit: sorry for the duplicate post


Hi

I have now purchased and returned two different, highly recommended ukuleles because of pitch issues. When the strings are perfectly in tune, fretted notes are not. Fretted A on the G string doesnt match open A, fretted G on E doesnt match open G, etc. And the pitchiness gets worse the higher the fret.

As someone with perfect pitch, this bothers me a lot. These are decent ukes.. Kala concert and Luna Tattoo concert. So I went to Sam Ash, the only nearby store I know of that sells ukes, and tried every one of theirs. Mostly Kalas and Cordonas with a few others. All selling for between $100 and $300. And they all have the same issue!

This is so discouraging to me. Chords sound bad when notes are out of tune and I have trouble believing this is an issue across the board, but I dont know what to try next. I dont want to order on amazon again because even the ones rated 5 out of 5 stars seem to have this problem.

Suggestions?? Thanks so much!

The issue you are complaining about is called, Intonation.
Yes its a common problem. Yes it's annoying. Yes it sounds bad.
Perfect pitch is not going to help.

To be honest. NO stringed and fretted instrument will ever have PERFECT intonation. Some can be very good but NONE are perfect.
If less than perfect intonation is going to completely annoy you then you will just have to buy an electronic keyboard. Piano's aren't perfect either.

On a well intonated ukulele there will be variations of a few cents here and there going either way. Your unlikely to be able to buy a really well intonated ukulele either as to get a ukulele really good you will have to fine tune it for ONE set of strings only. Change brand of strings and all bets are off.

Buying a really well intonated ukulele for $100 -$200 is HIGHLY unlikely to happen.

Don't bother buying online. Its not going to work out. Try them in person. If you can buy a ukulele that's no more than a few cents out up the neck to the 12th fret then its good and you can fine tune it later if you like.

Again. Ukuleles are not instruments renowned for really good intonation.
 
there are a number of things that will affect intonation on a ukulele besides fret location but when buying ukes off the rack even the expensive ones will often need a setup at the very least, to adjust the action.

The action (distance between the string and the top of the fret) should be low enough so that the note can be fretted easily and without pushing the string down too much...but high enough so that the string doesn't buzz against the frets higher up the scale when you're playing. If the action is too high, even the best made ukuleles will sound sharp notes when fretted because the string has to be moved too far to contact the frets.

Really sensitive ears will even notice intonation problems when they try new strings that are slightly larger or smaller in gauge even after their uke has been set up.
 
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Setup does make a difference. Try the Martin ukes with the Martin strings for out of the box correctness. I have had least issues with the Martin c1k and I don’t think there was any special setup done.
I have found GHS strings or other nylon string to be sensitive to setup, on ukes where flourocarbons intonate well, the nylon strings run sharp from middle to the bridge.
 
From what I understand, once the nut to bridge distance is perfect, the location of frets is correct and the strings are in tune when open, the intonation is a function of the forces in play when the string is pressed, some string can be more sensitive when pressed down and larger the distance travelled by the string when fretted the more likely a sensitive string will have intonation issues. I am guessing one of the reasons players prefer lower action is cause the fretting is easier and the string’s behavior is more predictable?
 
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