I my uke's bend upward?
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robinboyd
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Hi Ukutravel
A bit of bend in the neck is normal. It is called relief. It's hard to tell from the photos, but yours looks pretty normal to me.
Action height is another matter. I can't tell how high your action is from the photos, but it's worth measuring the action by holding a ruler against the strings at the 12th fret. The site I linked to below recommends between 2.5mm and 3mm between the fret and the string (that's the bottom of the string not the top). If your action is too high, loosen the strings and remove the bridge. Then sand the BOTTOM of the bridge, not the top. I would also recommend against using power tools because it will grind too much too quickly.
I have done this on a couple of my ukes and the action is now about 2.25mm on both.
https://www.ukulelemate.com.au/pages/ukulele-setup-and-quality-control
A bit of bend in the neck is normal. It is called relief. It's hard to tell from the photos, but yours looks pretty normal to me.
Action height is another matter. I can't tell how high your action is from the photos, but it's worth measuring the action by holding a ruler against the strings at the 12th fret. The site I linked to below recommends between 2.5mm and 3mm between the fret and the string (that's the bottom of the string not the top). If your action is too high, loosen the strings and remove the bridge. Then sand the BOTTOM of the bridge, not the top. I would also recommend against using power tools because it will grind too much too quickly.
I have done this on a couple of my ukes and the action is now about 2.25mm on both.
https://www.ukulelemate.com.au/pages/ukulele-setup-and-quality-control
Last edited:
70sSanO
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Can’t tell from pictures. I can think of only 2 things that could happen, but generally rare. The neck is pulling away from the uke body. I’ve seen this on some vintage instruments and usually there is a gap at the heel.
Or the neck has bent to where there is excessive relief. Also kinda rare, but I had it happen on one uke. Easy to test. Put a capo on the first fret, or have someone press the string, and press the string down on the last fret. There should be a slight gap around the 7th fret. I think it is around .004”/.1mm on a uke. If it is close to .5mm there is a problem. You can’t really fix it unless the uke is worth the $$$.
John
Or the neck has bent to where there is excessive relief. Also kinda rare, but I had it happen on one uke. Easy to test. Put a capo on the first fret, or have someone press the string, and press the string down on the last fret. There should be a slight gap around the 7th fret. I think it is around .004”/.1mm on a uke. If it is close to .5mm there is a problem. You can’t really fix it unless the uke is worth the $$$.
John
robinboyd
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Thank you for the reply.
The distance between string and fretboard is like:
1st fret: 1.2mm
3rd fret: 2.0mm
5th fret: 2.2mm
7th fret: 3.0mm
9th fret: 3.2mm
11th fret: 3.5mm
12th fret: 3.2mm
So guess it is okey
3.2mm at the 12th fret is a tiny bit on the high side. It really depends on whether you feel that it affects your playing, though. If you feel that it is hampering you, it can't hurt to sand the bottom of the bridge a bit next time you change strings. Not sure what is going on with the 11th fret. Perhaps you have some uneven frets.
Ukulele necks are intended to be flat. Take a steel rule and place it along the fret board on top of the frets. Ideally it should touch the top of each fret. If you find any bowing or curve, this can be acceptable, provided it is in the concave direction, and is very, very slight. If it adversely affects the way the ukulele plays, then it is not acceptable.
If there is any curve in the opposite(convex) direction, then you have something to worry about. It will be very obvious that the ukulele is not playing as it should.
It is not feasible to correct a bent neck. You either live with it, if you can, or get another uke.
John Colter.
If there is any curve in the opposite(convex) direction, then you have something to worry about. It will be very obvious that the ukulele is not playing as it should.
It is not feasible to correct a bent neck. You either live with it, if you can, or get another uke.
John Colter.
Fretboard itself is flat, but neck and body is jointed in very slight curved manner.
I'll first try to change string with lighter tension and live with it.
Thanks for the help
robinboyd
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No. The distance at the first fret is mostly dictated by the height of the nut.
"neck and body is jointed in very slight curved manner"
If you mean that the neck is at a slight downward angle from the plane of the soundboard, that is perfectly normal. If it were in the opposite direction,(i.e. so that the strings are raised, necessitating a very low bridge/saddle) that would be bad!
It sounds as though your uke is fine.
John Colter
If you mean that the neck is at a slight downward angle from the plane of the soundboard, that is perfectly normal. If it were in the opposite direction,(i.e. so that the strings are raised, necessitating a very low bridge/saddle) that would be bad!
It sounds as though your uke is fine.
John Colter
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You have to change the height of the saddle quite a bit before it is apparent at the first fret.
On a tenor scale, the string is 17" long. So the angle change is pretty small if you shave 0.5 mm off of the bottom of the saddle.
