What's considered decent intonation?

The first person I heard say ukulele shaped object was Baz.

I think it would be fun to take our ukulele shaped objects and decorate them, and have a decorating contest!

We did that both years for Uka Palooza, and the creativity was incredible.
 
Besides the interesting discussion of "ukulele shaped object" term; and, based on this thread, I take it that intonation is not a big concern for us (most players) because we generally don't play up the neck that high.
Now, for my next question, do you check intonation when buying?
 
Besides the interesting discussion of "ukulele shaped object" term; and, based on this thread, I take it that intonation is not a big concern for us (most players) because we generally don't play up the neck that high.
Now, for my next question, do you check intonation when buying?
A lot of my purchases are from luthiers, they generally come with excellent intonation till I change strings and then sometimes the uke does not have the same level of intonation. I often play classical music and the intonation up the neck on all strings matters to me. I cannot stand intonation off more than 5 cents and I can hear it it after a few minutes of playing. Though I don’t have perfect pitch. Sometimes the intonation issues come from quality issues with the string and sometimes with the setup.. there is at least one uke I own that sounds perfect but only with high tension strings..
 
How does one know what % error there is on a given fret. My tuner displays lines above or below the note to indicate sharp or flat. Does each line represent a percentage? How much?
Thanks
 
Now, for my next question, do you check intonation when buying?

Yes, I do. All of my purchases have been from online sellers and the first thing out of the box I tune it up, check intonation all the way up the neck, and then strum a few selected chords up the neck with my eyes closed and listen to them. If it doesn't do better than my above mentioned Makala, it goes back. I've not bought a lot of ukulele, four of them from reputable dealers who do setups, and all of them that I have bought none have gone back.
 
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If you are getting 35% error at fret 12, either your technique needs to improve or there is a problem with the ukulele. If you clip on a tuner and work on it, pressing harder or softer, watching the tuner dynamically, you should be able to get perfect intonation at fret 12. The string does not have to be rammed into the wood of the fretboard, it can be just sitting on the frets enough to ring. Obviously, if you have to work on it too hard, you will find it very hard to use the notes in a tune where you are playing lots of notes and need to be quick and accurate. So if it is hard to do, then you should carefully adjust the string height to suit your technique so it is not so hard. If you find it is not too hard, then you can just play the uke as it is and teach your fingers how to do it and practice to develop strength and accuracy.

That was similar to my gut reaction when I started reading the thread. Intonation is as much about the player and technique as it is about the instrument. A player who frets with a death grip (especially if it's done right behind the fret) will get a different result than one who frets very gently, barely holding the string down hard enough to let a note ring. I know a local musician who complained about a tenor guitar having poor intonation - he was used to playing electric bass and needed to re-learn his own finger strength in terms of applying it appropriately to such a small neck with soft, light strings. For him the guitar was more than 20 cents out at the 12th fret. For me it was near enough to dead on. If you're a newer player and/or not sure you're self-aware in terms of your fretting technique it can be helpful to have someone else check intonation if you think it's wrong.

How does one know what % error there is on a given fret. My tuner displays lines above or below the note to indicate sharp or flat. Does each line represent a percentage? How much?
Thanks

This will vary by tuner - some display the actual number of cents off, others display the actual frequency to a certain number of decimals (and you can do the math yourself), others have bars where each bar equals X cents, and still others are not built to display any specific quantifiable value, just relative high or low with ambiguous bars or arrows etc.
 
I've had it happen twice now with a string change. The A string would have terrible intonation up the fretboard. Usually, no problem though. I'm guessing if the intonation is consistently off across the strings, a string change to a different type might still help, but if it's off on one string, probably it's the strings unless it needs a compensated saddle.

Oh, and I think Ukulele Shaped Object is a term which fits just about any junk version of an object you love. I first heard it as Bicycle Shaped Object for poor quality department store bikes which were also assembled poorly by store staff.
 
I've had it happen twice now with a string change. The A string would have terrible intonation up the fretboard. Usually, no problem though. I'm guessing if the intonation is consistently off across the strings, a string change to a different type might still help, but if it's off on one string, probably it's the strings unless it needs a compensated saddle.

Oh, and I think Ukulele Shaped Object is a term which fits just about any junk version of an object you love. I first heard it as Bicycle Shaped Object for poor quality department store bikes which were also assembled poorly by store staff.

In similar threads some people suggested that if a single string has poor intonation after string change it should be installed the other way round i.e. the bridge end goes to the headstock. I haven't tried that myself and have no clue why this should fix it.
 
In similar threads some people suggested that if a single string has poor intonation after string change it should be installed the other way round i.e. the bridge end goes to the headstock. I haven't tried that myself and have no clue why this should fix it.

I've had bad luck with this. I tried it once, but because the stock string was cut so short and already mangled at the ends, the string slipped and dinged a new uke. But my guess is: if the string has deformities or other issues, it might be causing it to play wonky. Especially if you're pressing it to the fret where the deformation is. Possibly, reversing the string can help.
 
How does one know what % error there is on a given fret. My tuner displays lines above or below the note to indicate sharp or flat. Does each line represent a percentage? How much?
Thanks
TE tuner is a great app and gives a lot of details about the tone itself.
 
"In similar threads some people suggested that if a single string has poor intonation after string change it should be installed the other way round i.e. the bridge end goes to the headstock. I haven't tried that myself and have no clue why this should fix it."

Sometimes a string can be inconsistent in diameter. I have had strings that were measurably thinner towards one end. If the thinner part is located close to the bridge - i.e. in the vibrating section of the string - it will give bad results. If you reverse the string, and the thin part is wrapped around the tuning peg, it will not affect the sound.

John Colter
 
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