Question about saddle height/ neck angle of my super tenor.

gerardo1000

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I posted this thread on UkeTalk, but maybe the proper place is this section. Thanks. I am the owner of a beautiful new Kala all solid mahogany super tenor, i.e. with a tenor body (slightly large at the lower bout) and a 19 inches long neck, almost like a baritone. I admit that I am very picky with my instruments set up, and I would like to be reassured by competent forum members that the set up and the neck angle of my new Kala are correct.
The strings action at the 12th fret is currently 2.75 mm. The distance between the mahogany top and the bottom of the 4th string at the bridge is 10mm. The strings break angle at the bridge is between 15 and 20 degrees.The saddle height over the bridge (not the total saddle height, only the part that is outside the bridge) looks a bit low to me, it is 2mm. My other ukuleles, including another Kala, with similar string action have a saddle height over the bridge of at least 3mm, one even 3.5 mm. So, for example, if I decide to lower the action at the 12th fret from 2.75mm to a more comfortable 2.25 mm. I must lower the saddle by one millimeter, which will leave the saddle height over the bridge to ONLY 1 mm...I read somewhere that it is important to have enough saddle room over the bridge because if in the future the neck angle changes a bit due to strings tension, it is just a matter of sanding the saddle accordingly. I attach two photos for your reference. Any opinion will be welcome, thanks!1.jpg2.jpg
 
It's just the ukulele way. Details like this drive experienced guitar luthiers/techs BONKERS, but its just the ukulele way to not get uptight about such technicalities.

Call it the Aloha spirit.

Ukuleles usually have flat set necks and yes you do then end up with low saddle heights. Honestly it doesn't matter one iota on a soprano ukulele yet as the instrument gets bigger and bigger it becomes more of an issue. Still, I have a few Baritone ukuleles that are just the same.
If you understand the issue now and in the future decide to look for an instrument built differently, then by all means do, yet right here, right now on this instrument?
It's just the ukulele way.
 
As you've already done, it's possible to run the math on the existing saddle to see how much will be left after adjusting the action to what you want. At that point if there isn't much left proud of the bridge slot, an easy (though drastic) solution that I've done several times is to tape off the uke top and sand down the bridge a mm or two. In particular you would want to do that if there is so little saddle that the string contacts the back edge of the bridge on the way to the knot. If you really like the uke this isn't hard to do, so I would not let that put me off.
 
A saddle height of 1mm above the bridge resulting in a 2.25mm action doesn't seem really THAT low to me. IME some mass produced instruments have a bit of neck angle and/or really thick fretboards or other features that result in a pretty high saddle, but many finer factory instruments, handbuilt instruments, and desirable vintage instruments (i.e. older Martins) tend to be in the range of 1 - 2mm, so you're in the right ballpark.

It's not likely you'd ever want to go lower than 2.25mm action and if you did, you'd be able to shave the bridge if required to get string clearance. I wouldn't expect a Kala to move enough (either in terms of the neck creeping or the top moving) to make it a problem over time, they're not typically underbuilt to the point where that would be a likely problem. And it looks like you've got plenty of break angle. If you want the lower action, go ahead and set it up that way and enjoy the uke.
 
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