Changed strings and now have back bow in neck?

Sorry for the long post...

I recently changed the strings on my Mainland spruce tenor (which I keep in a humidified hard case) from Worth clears to the second set of Worth clears that came in the pack. From that point on, the C and E strings buzzed from around the 1st/2nd fret to about the 5th/7th fret, particularly when plucked or strummed hard. I played it and tried to let the strings settle, but it didn't improve. To be certain it wasn't a string issue, I changed the strings again to Aquila carbon black. The buzzing was still there.

A local luthier said there seemed to be a back bow in the neck. I don't understand how that could happen all of a sudden when I changed the strings from 1 set to an identical set (this luthier also expected a truss rod in the ukulele, so I'm not sure how many ukuleles he sees). He said the only thing he could think that might fix it is to put a set of strings with higher tension on there and hope the neck bends back.

I called the folks at Mainland who said it was a string issue (not back bow) and recommended I invert the strings (restring it so that the end in the bridge is now in the tuning peg), and they said they would send me a new set of strings (I'm guessing the Aquilas they were originally set up with, which I haven't received yet). I didn't understand how inverting the strings would help, but I tried it, and it seemed to improve the E string, though not entirely. The C string still buzzes. Maybe it needs more time to stretch?

Has anyone encountered something like this before or know how to fix it? The ukulele sounded great before, so I'm frustrated and saddened by this situation. TIA.

A back bow is a back bow and has nothing to do with strings. Back bows can happen over time and its just coincidence that it seems to happen when you change strings. If its a new instrument that's under warranty then insist that Mainland deal with it and don't let yourself be fobbed off.

Inverting strings doesn't make a lick of sense to me and I've never heard about it before. Even if the neck was left unstrung without tension I would expect that the neck would remain straight and then when the strings were fitted and tensioned I would expect a tiny bit of up bow to take place which is just fine.

Neck bows are mostly from building instruments with less than fully seasoned timber and it happens quite a bit with cheap instruments yet sometimes it happens to the best builders as well.

Thanks for your input, anthonyg. Unfortunately, the instrument is 1 month post-warranty . I'd like to take it to another luthier to see if there really is a back bow since the first one I took it to doesn't seem to see many ukuleles. This problem happened suddenly. Do you know if there's a way to fix a back bow?

ANYon said:

Thanks for your input, anthonyg. Unfortunately, the instrument is 1 month post-warranty . I'd like to take it to another luthier to see if there really is a back bow since the first one I took it to doesn't seem to see many ukuleles. This problem happened suddenly. Do you know if there's a way to fix a back bow?

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Has your local humidity suddenly changed? Changes in humidity will cause wood to warp and necks are particularly susceptible.
Sight down the neck from either end and see if you can see a warp in the neck yourself. A very slight up bow is fine but any back bow at all is a problem.
If a back bow is only slight and your sure that the wood has stopped moving then a luthier can perform a fret levelling job on the neck to fix things yet you would want to be sure that the neck isn't going to move anymore and there is only so much that can be corrected for.

anthonyg said:

Has your local humidity suddenly changed? Changes in humidity will cause wood to warp and necks are particularly susceptible.
Sight down the neck from either end and see if you can see a warp in the neck yourself. A very slight up bow is fine but any back bow at all is a problem.
If a back bow is only slight and your sure that the wood has stopped moving then a luthier can perform a fret levelling job on the neck to fix things yet you would want to be sure that the neck isn't going to move anymore and there is only so much that can be corrected for.

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I keep it in a humidified case, and I don't think the humidity outside has changed too drastically. I can't really see any warping of the neck. Maybe it's too slight for me to detect. Overall, it sounds like I'll need to look into getting a new ukulele. I just hope I can keep a new one from warping!

It may be out of warranty, but I think that's a manufacturing defect.

Turning the strings round sounds like the mainland folks are trying to fob you off.

I would direct them to this thread.

I had an Ohana uke that had a warped neck right after I bought it. The dealer denied it, but the luthier I took it to showed it to me. The thing was miserable to play. It of course, had very poor intonation and lots of fret buzzes. So off came the Aquila strings and on went a set of Worth Browns lo G. I hung it up on a wall near a window to dry, didn't play it for a whole year.
I finally took it down to play a song in lo G (I play hi g 99%) and the warping was all but gone, and so were the buzzes.
I chalked it up to the ukulele goddesses being nice to me, and the fact that Aquila strings are too fat for low action.

Thanks, Chris. I'll contact them again after I try the strings they are sending me. I don't have a lot of hope at this point that they will improve things...

Nickie said:

I had an Ohana uke that had a warped neck right after I bought it. The dealer denied it, but the luthier I took it to showed it to me. The thing was miserable to play. It of course, had very poor intonation and lots of fret buzzes. So off came the Aquila strings and on went a set of Worth Browns lo G. I hung it up on a wall near a window to dry, didn't play it for a whole year.
I finally took it down to play a song in lo G (I play hi g 99%) and the warping was all but gone, and so were the buzzes.
I chalked it up to the ukulele goddesses being nice to me, and the fact that Aquila strings are too fat for low action.

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Nice! I can only hope!

It seems unlikely that the neck suddenly bowed when you changed the strings. The person who suggested that seemed not to know much about ukuleles. You can settle the issue by placing a straight edge (a steel rule is ideal) on top of the frets. If it rests on the crown of each fret, it will show that the fret board is flat. Any significant bowing will be quite apparent.

When you changed the strings, did you remove the saddle from the bridge? If so, did you replace it exactly the same way?

A friend once asked me to check his tenor which had started to buzz. I could find nothing wrong with it, so, in desperation, I took out the saddle, turned it end for end, and replaced it. That cured it! I don't know why, but it worked.

John Colter

ukantor said:

It seems unlikely that the neck suddenly bowed when you changed the strings. The person who suggested that seemed not to know much about ukuleles. You can settle the issue by placing a straight edge (a steel rule is ideal) on top of the frets. If it rests on the crown of each fret, it will show that the fret board is flat. Any significant bowing will be quite apparent.

When you changed the strings, did you remove the saddle from the bridge? If so, did you replace it exactly the same way?

A friend once asked me to check his tenor which had started to buzz. I could find nothing wrong with it, so, in desperation, I took out the saddle, turned it end for end, and replaced it. That cured it! I don't know why, but it worked.

John Colter

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Thanks, John. I used a credit card as a straight edge and didn't notice any difference in fret height. I think I will need to find a longer straight edge to be more certain. I'll definitely check the saddle. I remember it moving slightly when I removed the strings, but I thought I moved it back to the same spot. That makes much more sense than the neck suddenly bowing!

ANYon said:

Thanks, John. I used a credit card as a straight edge and didn't notice any difference in fret height. I think I will need to find a longer straight edge to be more certain. I'll definitely check the saddle. I remember it moving slightly when I removed the strings, but I thought I moved it back to the same spot. That makes much more sense than the neck suddenly bowing!

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Well after all this, maybe you don't have a warped neck. A credit card is a decent make do tool for checking frets and if you can't feel anything with a credit card and you can't see it either then maybe its not there.

Another reason I almost always buy Ponos -- they have a truss rod and, yes, when HMS does a set-up, it sometimes needs to include a truss rod adjustment. Relief can sometimes be very important in fine tuning intonation. See HERE.

I had a Ohana baritone that had a slightly bowed neck. I did what my tech guy suggested: I dropped some sandbags into the uke through the sound hole & hung it on the wall with a 2-pronged uke hanger. Several weeks later it was okay & still is. My tech guy's suggestion included the following words: "It couldn't hurt and might help." It helped. (Go figure. )

P.S. Also, many Kalas come with a truss rod.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I just joined this forum. What a great resource! I've been thinking I may need to get a new ukulele (I think that a lot, but now I have an excuse!). I'm now going to look into maybe getting one with a truss rod to avoid this sort of stress in the future! I'm about to loosen the strings yet again to see if moving the saddle a little bit might help...

We've recently had the truss rod discussion. To summarize:
-sometimes they help
-a few ukes have them
-most do not, including many very expensive brands and customs

I'm not saying a truss rod would (or wouldn't) help in your case or that you should (or shouldn't) get a uke with a truss rod. I'm just saying very knowledgeable people "agree to disagree" on the issue.

An update. Adjusting the saddle slightly didn't help. I woke this morning to find the C string broken on the ukulele. The new strings from Mainland arrived, so I replaced them, and that didn't help either. In the midst of stretching the strings and re-tuning the ukulele during the day, I notice a small crack on the bottom right of the neck, by the A string (photo attached). I've never noticed it before, and the luthier didn't mention it. Would this cause the C and E string to buzz when the frets at the top of the neck are played? I can't recall anything would have led to the crack, but as I was looking back at photos from when I first purchased the ukulele, I can notice a small flaw at that that place in the neck (photo attached). I'll reach out to Mainland about it though I'm not sure that would cause buzzing, it certainly can't help! Thanks again.

ANYon said:

An update. Adjusting the saddle slightly didn't help. I woke this morning to find the C string broken on the ukulele. The new strings from Mainland arrived, so I replaced them, and that didn't help either. In the midst of stretching the strings and re-tuning the ukulele during the day, I notice a small crack on the bottom right of the neck, by the A string (photo attached). I've never noticed it before, and the luthier didn't mention it. Would this cause the C and E string to buzz when the frets at the top of the neck are played? I can't recall anything would have led to the crack, but as I was looking back at photos from when I first purchased the ukulele, I can notice a small flaw at that that place in the neck (photo attached). I'll reach out to Mainland about it though I'm not sure that would cause buzzing, it certainly can't help! Thanks again.

View attachment 127259 View attachment 127260

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The crack in the fretboard isn't a major concern. Rosewood fretboards can be like that sometimes. Strings breaking usually means that there is a sharp edge on the nut or saddle. This also happens and is an easy fix for a tech or luthier.
When you say "top of the neck", do you mean near the tuning machines or do you mean near the sound hole?

To check the neck, lay it on a corner of a table, without the nut or bridge touching the table. Look for light under the frets or move a piece of paper under the frets.

You might try removing the strings, taking out the saddle (marking the underside with a pencil so you know the proper way it goes back in) and making a shim to put under the saddle. Something rigid and durable... lots of people cut strips from expired credit cards, for example... but give it a try. If raising the saddle that little bit cures the buzzing, and does not adversely affect the intonation, then you might just live with it that way if you love the uke otherwise.
If the thought of having a piece of credit card under your saddle bugs you, there are retailers online that offer shims made from ebony, rosewood, etc. I do this often to the second hand ukes I get when their action is too low for my taste, but I use shims cut from pieces of piano key ivory overlay that I salvaged from a discarded piano I found years ago set out on a curbside in the rain.

The crack in the neck is near the sound hole. It doesn't seem like it would lead to buzzing, but I'm clearly no expert in ukulele tech/fixes. I'm hesitant to do more than I already have on my own. I found another luthier about an hour away from me. If Mainland doesn't have any good suggestions, I'll likely end up taking it to that luthier. Fingers crossed!

If that doesn't work, I'll be checking out some ukulele reviews in this forum.