String height.

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First of all, I'm not real particular about it, unless it is so low that it is too touchy or so high that it takes and effort to play it, which for me is a wide range. I'm not real discriminating. But I bought a string height gauge and got it yesterday. Why did I buy a string height gauge? Because it was under ten dollars and I wanted to buy something I guess. I thought that it might be more accurate to read than a ruler. I don't think so. But I had to check it out.

So, Ohana concert Cedar top Myrtle sides from Elderly, just a string width under 3mm. Ohana solid spruce top soprano from Mim, 2.5mm. Mainland solid Mahogany concert, 2mm, and that's a tight 2mm. Makala MK-C no setup, a string width under 3mm, just the same as the Ohana Cedar. Interesting comparison. I've always thought that the Mainland was quick, but touchy. The Ohanas are both good working man ukuleles with a forgiving touch to them. The Makala is interesting because it is stock from the factory.
 
Those gauges are handy to have, just lay ir on rhe fretboard at the 12th fret, then view from the side to match up the graduated mm bars ro see your string height.

I was recently considering a vintage soprano on eBay. Not much of a description, but everything about it looked great, with a pristine logo on a clean headstock. I asked about condition, he said no cracks or separations. Then I asked about action at 12th. And he said 1/4", which is over 6mm. Maybe he measured wrong, but that scared me off! I prefer 2.5 to 3mm. I wish the guy had one of these gauges.

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I’ve used automotive feeler gauges on my guitars and ukuleles for years. Haven’t found anything as compact or as accurate to replace them. So simple to use. Just slide it along the fret under the string and tap the string; unless it visibly lifts the string.

John
 
I have a six inch machinists scale that has 32nd of an inch scribes on the ends so when laid length wise on the frets parallel to the strings, it shows the string height above the frets in 32nds of an inch.
 
The measurement is at the bottom of the string right? I've been propping the edge of a ruler on the 11th and 12th frets to assure it's level and measure my uke action that way. The bottom of the string just touches the upper edge of the 2mm mark on the lowest action uke and the top of the string just touches the bottom edge of the 3mm mark on the uke with the highest action. (so a likely range of 2.1/2.2 to 2.5/2.6?)
 
Yep, you measure from top of the fret to the bottom of the string.
 
I’ve used automotive feeler gauges on my guitars and ukuleles for years. Haven’t found anything as compact or as accurate to replace them. So simple to use. Just slide it along the fret under the string and tap the string; unless it visibly lifts the string.

John

I like the feeler gauges as well. Very accurate. Easy to check all 4 or more strings. Can bend to check radiused frets and strings.
 
From what I've read here and there, 2.5 mm seems to be the goal of many builders and sellers. For me, it doesn't matter unless it's extreme. Aside from ukes I've built, I've never adjusted string height. I'm such a great player that I can play with any string height. Either that, or I'm not good enough to realize the difference. :D
 
From what I've read here and there, 2.5 mm seems to be the goal of many builders and sellers. For me, it doesn't matter unless it's extreme. Aside from ukes I've built, I've never adjusted string height. I'm such a great player that I can play with any string height. Either that, or I'm not good enough to realize the difference. :D

I bought one of those gauges from Stew-Mac and then an identical one from eBay for a fraction of the cost.
 
Anything in the 2mm to 3mm range is fine with me, but my preference is for 2.5mm. 2mm feels great for the fretting hand, especially when playing way up the neck, but makes it hard for me to strum hard or finger pick over the fretboard. 3mm is fine but when playing way up the neck something closer to 2.5mm definitively makes accurate fretting easier. I have one of those little gauges too. I find it super useful as I do adjust or make my own saddles sometimes. I just made an ebony saddle for my Bruko yesterday to replace the plastic one that came on it, so my gauge definitely gets used.
 
My preference is 2mm or slightly lower on the 1st string.
Since I use low-G most times, slightly higher at the 4th string (like a hair above 2mm).

It also depends on the particular ukulele.
I use the measurement as a guideline of where I want to be, but then would fine-adjust the saddle height depending on how the instrument feels.
2mm action on two different instruments is not the same thing ! (also depends on strings too)
 
I read somewhere that 2.65mm at the 12th fret was the ideal "starting place" for most ukuleles. The funny thing is that the "quick" indicators on the string action rulers do not have 2.65mm...2.5mm and 2.75mm. And it is surprising how much a different .25mm makes!
 
Since getting my string height gauge the other day in beginning to think I was better off not knowing.
 
I bought the plastic one on Amazon so that I can carry it in my wallet. I figured the metal one might cause issues.

(Not a referral link) https://www.amazon.com/String-Actio...Action+ruler&qid=1563287665&s=gateway&sr=8-12

When I go somewhere and there are ukuleles, I'm always interested to know what is going on. You can also measure nut width with these things. I also bought a nut and saddle sanding tool the other day, and I'm pretty happy with that.

What I can't figure out is why some of the manufacturers can't do a better job with action. A couple of the super budget models, which cause some ukulele players to start calling for anarchy, seem to have action figured out. For example: Kmise/Aklot seems to be shipping with action at the "general" starting point for action. So does Enya. If they can do it, why can't some of the other companies (e.g. Kala, Ohana) which have much better name brand recognition.

And I know there are people with more specific requests...higher action at the 12th for aggressive strumming, or even lower action because of arthritis. That said, those people know their own desires and either know how to set those action levels themselves (hard to add material to a saddle, although people do lift them up) or take them to luthiers to have it done (or order from a place that will set them up to their specifications).
 
I have a couple of 6" machinist's pocket rulers that I keep in my kit for action measurements, etc.

For nut widths I use a digital Vernier caliper micrometer that will give a readout in decimal inches or millimeters. I really ought to get at least one ruler in millimeters. But it's simple enough to convert fractions or decimal equivalents of inches to millimeters, online.

Feeler gauges I have, but my eyes are getting too old to notice the instant the gauge starts moving the string...so I don't use them all that often anymore.
 
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With all this talk about action and string height I thought I would add a point that most guitarist know well. And that is, when you find an instrument that really fits you well, whose playability is "just right", it's a good idea to take the time to measure it. That way if you ever order a custom uke, or have a technician set up a uke for you, you can give them the values. So measure and note down:

String height at the 12th fret (both G and A strings)
String height at the first fret (again for both G and A)
Nut width
String spacing at the nut
Fretboard radius (not much of an issue with ukes, but comes up with guitars a lot)
Neck relief
String spacing at the saddle (more important if you fingerpick)
String gauge and type

All of these together define the setup, and can be readily measured with a string action gauge (~$10), a digital micrometer (~$20), and a set of automotive feeler gauges. It sounds like a lot, but in practice most of them don't vary much from uke to uke, and once you own the uke you really only play with action at the nut and 12th fret
 
I bought the plastic one on Amazon so that I can carry it in my wallet. I figured the metal one might cause issues.

(Not a referral link) https://www.amazon.com/String-Actio...Action+ruler&qid=1563287665&s=gateway&sr=8-12

When I go somewhere and there are ukuleles, I'm always interested to know what is going on. You can also measure nut width with these things. I also bought a nut and saddle sanding tool the other day, and I'm pretty happy with that.

What I can't figure out is why some of the manufacturers can't do a better job with action. A couple of the super budget models, which cause some ukulele players to start calling for anarchy, seem to have action figured out. For example: Kmise/Aklot seems to be shipping with action at the "general" starting point for action. So does Enya. If they can do it, why can't some of the other companies (e.g. Kala, Ohana) which have much better name brand recognition.

And I know there are people with more specific requests...higher action at the 12th for aggressive strumming, or even lower action because of arthritis. That said, those people know their own desires and either know how to set those action levels themselves (hard to add material to a saddle, although people do lift them up) or take them to luthiers to have it done (or order from a place that will set them up to their specifications).

I've wondered the same thing about Kala and Ohana. And Kmise are much cheaper, too.

The guy I took one of my ukes to for a setup adjustment (usually I do this myself, but I paid enough for this particular uke that I was nervous) has a really cool tool. Well, he has many cool tools, but I never saw this before. It's sort of like a clamp that he puts the saddle in, them he literally dials in the amount he wants to sand off the bottom, which he can also angle so it's more or less on the G or A side. Then he sands till it's flush with the metal on the clamp. He said it's the best $200 he's ever spent. Specialist tools are not cheap.
 
I've wondered the same thing about Kala and Ohana. And Kmise are much cheaper, too.

The guy I took one of my ukes to for a setup adjustment (usually I do this myself, but I paid enough for this particular uke that I was nervous) has a really cool tool. Well, he has many cool tools, but I never saw this before. It's sort of like a clamp that he puts the saddle in, them he literally dials in the amount he wants to sand off the bottom, which he can also angle so it's more or less on the G or A side. Then he sands till it's flush with the metal on the clamp. He said it's the best $200 he's ever spent. Specialist tools are not cheap.

I bought a very cheap version of this, too...available on Amazon as well...and just used it for the first time. It works well...whatever you sand is going to be level...the challenge is setting this particular tool up so that the top is level, too. But compared to working on a flat surface with sandpaper alone, its a big improvement for not much money.
 
I totally agree with Besley's comment. Knowing what setup (i.e., string height (aka "action"), spacing) that feels good to you is important prior to setting up or purchasing a new or used instrument. Setups varying depending on the player. A fingerstylist make prefer wider spacing. A higher quality ukulele may not require one to strum as hard to produce a nice tone and therefore may allow for lower action resulting in better playability. Don't forget to check the neck relief and angle when purchasing a ukulele. Most steel string guitars have a truss rod to adjust neck relief however most ukuleles do not.

Also, make sure to perform your setup with new strings. Old strings may produce incorrect intonation or tunablity.
 
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These are mass produced instruments. It is actually pretty amazing at the quality for the price. Years ago the a lot of import ukuleles were horrible quality.

It is more important that the intonation and frets are level than string height. Sanding a saddle is a pretty rudimentary task. Strings by height has to accommodate mfg tolerances and personal preferences. Being too high can be fixed; but being too low needs to be replaced or shimmed. Nut slot height is another issue. It should be at an acceptable height to not play sharp or too difficult. Cutting nut slots needs more tools than a piece of sandpaper.

John
 
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