Knots & slots -- argh!

bellgamin

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Is it just me? I detest slot headed ukes. To me, slots are useless eye candy that make it a lot more difficult to string a uke. (No doubt, everyone else loves slot heads & finds them easy to use. sigh)

Is it just me? I love bridges that use pins (like a guitar) and also bridges that use pull through. I hate tying those dadgummed knots. I can do it, but I have to ask the grandkids to leave the room because I sometimes mutter foul words under my breath while I'm doing that job.

Is it just me? I like ukes with Fender Stratocaster-type heads, where the strings go perfectly straight from the nut up to the winding mechanism. Why? With regular uke heads, the strings are angled from the nut to the winder, especially the #1 & #4. So... suppose I have a string that's just a wee bit flat:
  • I start to VERY gradually tighten it, to get it in tune.
  • Slowly the tuner needle moves toward *perfect* until it's almost right there then -- RATS! the string suddenly jumps to being a wee bit sharp.
  • That happens because the angle from nut to winder doesn't let the string move through the nut smoothly. With a Fender-type head, that problem 99.99% disappears.

So dislike of slots & knots, plus love of Fender-type heads -- am I the only one? If not, why not?
 
I just realized, I've never done a string change on a slotted head uke.

I really dislike pins on ukuleles (guitars are fine). It could be aesthetics. I tend to associate pins with guitars, and seeing them on ukuleles is kind of like seeing a lift kit on a sedan. Maybe acceptable on vintage baritones, but in general, I'm not a fan. It could also be bad experiences. I've had pins fly out after restringing on admittedly very cheap ukuleles with shoddy bridges. Sometimes while stringing. Sometimes afterwards with no warning. I don't think my dislike is wholly rational, it's just a preference. The benefit is that's one less K brand burning holes in my pockets, since I don't think Kanile'a makes em any other way.

A while back, I got a Martin soprano with the quirky outside winding for g and A, and inside for C and E. Since then, I've switched my sopranos to that same outside inside winding pattern. I've also done it with a tenor where the 2nd and 3rd strings almost touch the 1st and 4th tuners, just so there's more space there. It takes a few tunings to get used to, and I've only done it with ukuleles that have back of the head tuners, friction or planetary (it feels like it would be wrong to do it with geared "ears"). Now all those outside wound strings go to the tuners with little or no angle from the nut.

I see how the Fender style head keeps them straight, but aesthetically, that kind of headstock is about as appealing to me as bridge pins. Clearly these preferences are not all utilitarian.
 
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yeah, you're the only one, but that's alright.

Slotted headstocks are a lot easier to string, but I don't like them because they're ugly. I prefer solid wood as a look. I have never had any problems with the tuners slipping as you've described it, but I am in sympathy with your fender headstock...but for aesthetic reasons. I am probably going to get one more uke before I die, a custom baritone, and it is going to have a stauffer headstock with planetary tuners behind the headstock. I've fished since I was a kid, so tying knots has never been an issue for me.
 
A slotted bridge and a pin bridge are both deal breakers for me. I've been attracted to several ukes and ended up automatically rejecting them because of the bridge. I would never buy a uke with either bridge.
 
.....Is it just me? I like ukes with Fender Stratocaster-type heads, where the strings go perfectly straight from the nut up to the winding mechanism. Why? With regular uke heads, the strings are angled from the nut to the winder, especially the #1 & #4. So... suppose I have a string that's just a wee bit flat:
  • I start to VERY gradually tighten it, to get it in tune.
  • Slowly the tuner needle moves toward *perfect* until it's almost right there then -- RATS! the string suddenly jumps to being a wee bit sharp.
  • That happens because the angle from nut to winder doesn't let the string move through the nut smoothly. With a Fender-type head, that problem 99.99% disappears.


  • Well that problem with the nut is true for most acoustic and electric guitars too. It can be a pain, but by properly opening up the string slot and lubricating the slot with graphite you can keep that from happening.
 
I like slot head but it is a chore to change strings. I just bought a bamboo uke that needed some design improvements, it has nice looking black and gold tuning machine, but the fret markers were white, as was the nut and saddle, the strap button chrome and the strings plain nylon. I knew when I first looked at it that the strings will be black, and I was going to add black beads to the end of the strings so I don't have to fight tying at the bridge. I also changed the strap button to black with a gold screw to match the tuners, and use black stick-on fret markers, plus change the nut and saddle to black. Looks real nice now.

Aklot black parts.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
... ...I was going to add black beads to the end of the strings so I don't have to fight tying at the bridge. ... ...
Great idea. Where did you get the black beads?

That's a nice looking bamboo uke and your fixings look splendid. By the way, what is that black material that is used for the nut & saddle?
 
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I don’t like the slotted heads either but not for the looks, only because it takes more string to wind around and sometimes I’m JUST short of having enough, haha.

Slotted bridges are nice because I have fun tying the knots and I feel they are easier to change strings than pin bridges (can be so frustrating if you don’t have/lost your pin puller). Also I just think it looks neat and tidy!

Recently I have come to like tie bridges too because they look deceptively difficult but actually aren’t that bad, maybe easier than a slotted bridge too :)
 
I don't mind a slotted headstock in a functional sense but aesthetically I would never want one on a smaller uke. Even a concert is a strectch so preferably only on tenors and baritones. Something like an Enya X1 soprano looks absolutely ridiculous with a slotted headstock.

Same thing with a pin bridge, only for larger ukes. The Kanile'a/Islander sopranos don't look good with a pin bridge imo. I massively prefer a slotted bridge on sopranos, aesthetically minimal and easy string changes. Pin and tie-bar bridges are ok on larger ukes, although I'd say a tie-bar bridge isn't a deal breaker for me on sopranos.
 
I like slot head but it is a chore to change strings. I just bought a bamboo uke that needed some design improvements, it has nice looking black and gold tuning machine, but the fret markers were white, as was the nut and saddle, the strap button chrome and the strings plain nylon. I knew when I first looked at it that the strings will be black, and I was going to add black beads to the end of the strings so I don't have to fight tying at the bridge. I also changed the strap button to black with a gold screw to match the tuners, and use black stick-on fret markers, plus change the nut and saddle to black. Looks real nice now.



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

I still haven't put the fret dots, nut, saddle, and black beads on my bamboo - maybe today.
 
Slotted Bridges

I dislike slotted bridges because the knot sometimes pulls through. Then I have to try to tie a larger knot. I got a bag of several hundred plastic beads, so I'll use them next time.
 
I'm mostly with Yuni here.

I like the look of a slotted headstock, but I'm not a fan of changing strings on one. I don't have this reservation for a solid headstock with geared tuners.

When it comes to the bridge I prefer slotted bridges because they are very simple and fast to change strings and they look very clean and tidy.
I don't mind tie bridges, but I hate to see all of the strings cut off individually and / or the ends sticking up so that they hurt your arm. For me they have to be tied in, starting with the 4th being tied in with the 3rd, then both 3rd and 4th tied in with the 2nd, and finally 4th, 3rd and 2nd being tied in with the 1st string before being cut the same length (or the other way around if you play a left-handed uke).
I like pin bridges the least. The pins can get stuck, then you can lose them, they may not be fastened deep enough, your knot might not be big or small enough, beads or string ends might cause a buzz etc.
 
I'm mostly with Yuni here.

I like the look of a slotted headstock, but I'm not a fan of changing strings on one. I don't have this reservation for a solid headstock with geared tuners.

When it comes to the bridge I prefer slotted bridges because they are very simple and fast to change strings and they look very clean and tidy.
I don't mind tie bridges, but I hate to see all of the strings cut off individually and / or the ends sticking up so that they hurt your arm. For me they have to be tied in, starting with the 4th being tied in with the 3rd, then both 3rd and 4th tied in with the 2nd, and finally 4th, 3rd and 2nd being tied in with the 1st string before being cut the same length (or the other way around if you play a left-handed uke).
I like pin bridges the least. The pins can get stuck, then you can lose them, they may not be fastened deep enough, your knot might not be big or small enough, beads or string ends might cause a buzz etc.

I like the way new ukes often come with the ends of the strings neatly held down under each other. I've done that a couple of times, but it takes some effort.
 
I dislike slotted bridges because the knot sometimes pulls through. Then I have to try to tie a larger knot. I got a bag of several hundred plastic beads, so I'll use them next time.

To be honest, this can be an issue sometimes with slotted bridges. The slot for the first string on my vintage Martin was so worn out I had to do a double knot for the string end.
 
Great idea. Where did you get the black beads? That's a nice looking bamboo uke and your fixings look splendid. By the way, what is that black material that is used for the nut & saddle?

Thanks very much, the moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I got the beads at my local Joann craft shop, and I know Michael's has them too. The Nut and bridge are ebony.
 
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Speaking of terminating strings at the bridge; the 8 hole bridges have to be the current bomb-diggity, imo.
No knots, just looped around and under the first loop, done.
Plus, the string hangs off the saddle perfectly, win-win!
 
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