Tuning problem

FatManInDevon · Apr 8, 2019

I was playing my Kala KA-BFS Bocote soprano and tuned it, using an electronic tuner attached to the head. The C string sounds ok open but when I tried playing the C scale the D note sounded off. The tuner says that it is very flat, while the C note (C string open) is still in tune.

Do you think this is a problem with my playing, the string or the uke?

Thanks,

Kevin

Croaky Keith · Apr 8, 2019

You'll have to allow for a bit of give & take with tuning, but it shouldn't be too far off what it should be.

(Maybe it hasn't been set up properly.)

FatManInDevon · Apr 8, 2019

Croaky Keith said:
You'll have to allow for a bit of give & take with tuning, but it shouldn't be too far off what it should be.

(Maybe it hasn't been set up properly.)

Thanks. A friend of mine, not a ukulele player but a violinist, said it might be because it’s a new instrument with new strings... I should give it time to settle. Maybe if it’s out after a couple of weeks I’ll take it back to be set up properly.

zztush · Apr 8, 2019

Is that flat? It looks sharp to me. If sharp, there might be two reasons. Too much finger pressure or nut is too high.

Graham Greenbag · Apr 8, 2019

FatManInDevon said:
I was playing my Kala KA-BFS Bocote soprano and tuned it, using an electronic tuner attached to the head. The C string sounds ok open but when I tried playing the C scale the D note sounded off. The tuner says that it is very flat, while the C note (C string open) is still in tune.

Do you think this is a problem with my playing, the string or the uke?

Thanks,

Kevin

View attachment 116803

One more vote hear for thinking that you might be mistaken in your reading of the display. I couldn’t find an online manual for your tuner (perhaps others might) but do check the paper one that should have come with it. If the nut has not been set up properly (which is normally the case) the C string might well be sharp when fretted.

bobhost · Apr 8, 2019

Intonations problems bother me greatly.

I am with zztush on this. It is not clear from your picture if the tuner is reporting sharp or flat.
If it is playing sharp, and if the action is high, then having it lowered can help with intonation where the lower frets play sharp.

Have you had any work done on the action - the height of the strings above the frets?

hoosierhiver · Apr 8, 2019

FatManInDevon said:
Thanks. A friend of mine, not a ukulele player but a violinist, said it might be because it’s a new instrument with new strings... I should give it time to settle. Maybe if it’s out after a couple of weeks I’ll take it back to be set up properly.

Quite possible, sometimes strings will stretch out unevenly and cause problems with dead spots and intonation.

FatManInDevon · Apr 8, 2019

bobhost said:
Intonations problems bother me greatly.

I am with zztush on this. It is not clear from your picture if the tuner is reporting sharp or flat.
If it is playing sharp, and if the action is high, then having it lowered can help with intonation where the lower frets play sharp.

Have you had any work done on the action - the height of the strings above the frets?

No, I’ve not had any work on the action of this uke. When I took my tenor uke in to have new strings the guy in the shop said the bridge looked high.

The tuner didn’t come with any instructions. On the back of the package there was just a list of features. The guy in the shop said that if there are coloured bars going left from the letter the note is sharp, going right means flat. Single blue bars left and right indicate in tune. So, I read this as D|||| flat but, of course, I could be wrong... this is my first time learning a stringed instrument (other than piano).

hoosierhiver · Apr 8, 2019

bobhost said:
Intonations problems bother me greatly.

I am with zztush on this. It is not clear from your picture if the tuner is reporting sharp or flat.
If it is playing sharp, and if the action is high, then having it lowered can help with intonation where the lower frets play sharp.

Have you had any work done on the action - the height of the strings above the frets?

If that were the problem, all the strings should be off.

rainbow21 · Apr 8, 2019

FatManInDevon said:
No, I’ve not had any work on the action of this uke. When I took my tenor uke in to have new strings the guy in the shop said the bridge looked high.

The tuner didn’t come with any instructions. On the back of the package there was just a list of features. The guy in the shop said that if there are coloured bars going left from the letter the note is sharp, going right means flat. Single blue bars left and right indicate in tune. So, I read this as D|||| flat but, of course, I could be wrong... this is my first time learning a stringed instrument (other than piano).

You can figure it out. Start at C string in tune. Loosen it. That is making it flat. Which way do the indicator lights go - that is the "flat side" of the note. OR start at C and tighten it. That is the sharp side of the note and the lights should be opposite what they were when you loosened it. (All my tuners are flat when lights are on left, sharp on right)

Swamp Yankee · Apr 8, 2019

Yeah - the tuner looks to me like it's reading the note as being sharp.

Maybe the person in the shop assumed you were going to install it with the display on the back side of your headstock? There's a "flip" button on those which will switch the display upside down when you install the tuner that way so as to be less noticeable by an audience.

Try to see if you can get it to read right on the note by pressing the string just hard enough to sound the note cleanly. It could be that you're pressing too hard and pushing it sharp. You need a set up to adjust the strong heights.

zztush · Apr 9, 2019

Set up problem?

FatManInDevon · Apr 11, 2019

Thanks for all the suggestions. You all were right (and I was wrong), it was showing the note as sharp, not flat. Next time I’m in the shop I’ll take it in to see if they can ‘set it up’ but for the moment it sounds better with a lighter touch. Thanks, again, everyone.

Tuning problem

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