When is it appropriate to detune an

Hello, everyone! I thought perhaps this would the best place to post this question. I’m hoping to generate some feedback as to whether or not it’s ever appropriate to detune an ‘ukulele; under what circumstances, if so.

There was a bit of conversation generated regarding this topic over on ‘Uke Talk’ last week, but this occurred under a thread focusing on a different topic. I didn’t want to continue ‘hi-jacking’ that thread, so I thought I would start a new thread specific to this question.

I had the impression that it’s appropriate to detune when an instrument is either in long-term storage, or if the uke will be shipped. I would be grateful to have your advice and feedback as to when/if it’s ever appropriate to detune an ‘ukulele. I want to be sure that I have the best understanding possible so that I am doing what’s best for my instruments.

Additionally, I am also curious if the answer(s) to this question will make a difference depending upon what material strings are made from - nylon, steel, etc.

Thank you for your help!

I think I responded in the other thread and haven't checked to see if there was any more information from the author of the thread about the situation.

They had indicated that Ohana had told them that the ukulele should be dented and then tuned after and before every time it was played!

In light of this new thread, I don't think you *have* to detune in either situation when it comes to ukulele and the low tension of the strings (compared to metal string instruments). Most times the strings will detune themselves anyway. Someone had mentioned how the Ukulele Site detunes before shipping, and I stated that I wasn't so sure, because while they do set up the instruments in an amazing way, there's no way they play them enough that the strings are fully settled before they ship the ukulele. So...it makes perfect sense that they would set them up, check them, box them, and ship them, and by the time they arrived at your house would be lower than their standard tuning.

If you want to detune for long term storage and shipping, I think that would be okay, as long as you didn't remove all tension from the instrument. I would think that some tension would be desirable, and that the lack of tension would potentially cause other issues. I know that no one has suggested that...I'm just thinking out loud.

All instruments that I have bought online arrived with slacked strings. This seems to be accepted practice among people who sell many instruments. As for storage I have a guitar that resides at an overseas residence and I only play it when I visit there and I keep it detuned between visits with hopes that the wound strings will stay crisp sounding. On the other hand I also have a guitar that stayed at my ex wife's house for more than 10 years and when she finally shipped it along with the rest of my stuff it was still in tune as I had left it. With another guitar that I didn't play for a few months the bridge popped off, likely because I did not humidify it. So I guess it may not be necessary but can also be a good idea.

I used to own a poorly built 12 string acoustic guitar that was kept at a relative's house. I only played it a few times a year and detuned it in between. Steel strings are pretty stable and come back up to tune easily. Ukulele strings tend to need some time to settle and stabilize - I don't think I'd ever deliberately detune a uke on a regular basis, just because of the frustration of having to get the strings stable again each time. Shipping makes sense since it's a one time event.

But uke strings are soooo light in tension, there's only 4 of them, the necks are relatively short, and the structures are relatively sound compared to many larger stringed instruments. I just don't see the point in detuning a uke.

Although I live in Northern New England with wild annual temperature and humidity swings, I've never slacked the strings on my ukuleles. Of course now that I've said that my ukes will probably explode at the next opportunity.

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback! Much appreciated!

I wonder if frequent tightening and loosening has any effect on the longevity or tone of the strings? I know if I loosen a well-played, broken-in string (for example, if resetting the winding around the post), it takes several retunings before it holds tune again. My gut feeling is it's better to just leave it alone unless there's absolutely a concern with damage, like with shipping.