New Ukulele Bows Forward

howiedoon

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I got a baritone Uke and had to do some adjustments on the action and securing the tuners to the headboard because the screws were stripped. After I had done all the modifications and had the uke for a while I noticed the neck bows forward. I lowered the action so it is playable, but I can't enjoy it as much now that I always see the bow. When I fret at the 12th the strings are dulled. I am seeing heat and clamps work and the best source I have for heat is either a space heater or blow dryer. Anyone have success or know how to correct this?
 
A very small amount of forwards bow, is a GOOD thing. Just a small amount, so it comes down to how much forwards bow you have, but don't automatically freak out about it.
Absolutely flat necks are good too but a back bow in the neck is BAD news and causes fret buzzing.
Given that all timber necks can move around with temperature and humidity changes, an absolutely flat neck is just as likely to bow back as it is to bow forward. A neck that starts with a tiny amount of forwards bow is extremely unlikely to bow backwards (which is a good thing).

It all comes down to just how much forwards bow is measurable but I wouldn't sweat it.

EDIT: In the guitar world, a tiny amount of controlled neck relief/forwards bow is always considered a good thing to have.
 
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If by "new" you mean brand new bought from a music store or vendor, you may want to reach out for any warranty work before you try to fix it yourself.

Can you walk through the setup process you're doing, and what measurements you're getting for the action and relief (curve/bow)?
 
There is no buzzing so thats good. I lowered the bridge as low as I could and am just living with it right now. It gets harder the higher up I go, and basically the worst of it is feeling a bit obsessed about the curve, but worse case I have a slide guitar. Good insight. Thanks.
 
There is no buzzing so thats good. I lowered the bridge as low as I could and am just living with it right now. It gets harder the higher up I go, and basically the worst of it is feeling a bit obsessed about the curve, but worse case I have a slide guitar. Good insight. Thanks.

Acoustic ukuleles and guitars were never intended to have super low actions as you may find on some electric guitars built for "shredding" (playing very fast). If you want to shred then yes you would want a dead flat neck to start with.
You can also asses the action height at the nut and lower it there if its high.
 
After the 12th fret it goes downhill a little and there is very minor buzzing but mostly the strings are deadened by the frets behind the 12th. I am considering just sanding some down. I took it to the shop for an opinion and they said it wouldn't be worth the trouble to fix because it would eventually go back because of the humidity here. They also said it wasn't that bad so I'll play it for a while and see how it goes. Since there is no truss rod it could have even bowed during transit.
 
One of the most important lessons I've learned when it comes to instrument repair is to make sure you're quantifying everything by measuring it. One person's "that's not so bad" might be another person's "wow that's terrible!" when it comes to something like looking at neck relief or action by eye. Even just trying to rely on "does it buzz?" isn't very helpful when talking about action, since buzzing can be influenced by a lot of factors, although it gets blamed on action often. Measuring action and relief takes out the subjectivity. Once you have numbers, you will know if your instrument is in an acceptable range or not. If you can get some measurements and post them here, we can tell you exactly what to do (or not do!) to get where you want to be.
 
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