Kala ukulele out of tune and bridge leaning foward

cunparis

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Hi,

I purchased a used Kala KA-CE ukulele and when I bought it I noticed it was a bit sharp but I thought a setup would fix it. At home I did more testing and I tune the open string then it's sharp on frets. At the 5th fret it's 20 cents sharp on each note. At the 12th fret it's more than 20 cents sharp. I noticed the bridge is tilting forward a little bit so I wonder if that's contributing to it. It's too late to get a refund so I'd like to get it set up to be in tune.

Here are a couple of photos:

PXL_20210120_195239762 (Medium).jpg

PXL_20210120_195219184 (Medium).jpg

A local shop that sells ukuleles told me they do a set up for 30 euros (about $36 USD). Would fixing this kind of problem be included in a setup? If so I think it's worth it. If it's going to be more expensive then that, then I wonder if it's something that I could do myself. I plan to take the ukulele to the store but I'm waiting for some strings to arrive. I ordered Aquila 31U CGDA strings and when the store does the setup I'd like it to be done with these strings so that it's in tune with these strings. I'm not sure if the strings make a difference for the intonation.

The ukulele is mainly for me to experiment with at home for when I can't play my violin or for when I want a plucked sound. If the intonation is off it bothers me, so I need it to be in tune.

Thanks for any information you can provide. I am a bit clueless about ukuleles. On the violin we have a whole other intonation problem. ;)
 
The first thing I would do is loosen the strings and slide out the bridge. Apparently Kala uses plastic shims sometimes (look like zip ties). Whether shimmed or not, you could then put the bridge back in and see if it sits straight. Reversing front and back may help. GL.
 
Does that leaning saddle matter? Since it is stationary although not perpendicular, wouldn't it affect all the strings the same way and therefore not be a factor? I honestly do not know and I'm just throwing that out there for someone who does know to answer it.
 
It looks as though the saddle is leaning because it is too narrow (front to back) for the slot in the bridge. Making it vertical (by shimming it so that it gives the maximum possible scale length) will improve matters but by how much?

I would advise you to try that and see how much difference it makes.

John Colter

ps. I see Ukecaster has covered this rather more explicitly than I managed. It may well be all that is necessary.
 
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I had a kala like that- a too narrow, leaning saddle shimmed underneath with a piece of ziptie. And it came straight from Kala new, as a warranty replacement. Not a cheap laminate either. Pretty sorry IMO, and obviously affected my view on kala brand and products. It wasn't badly out of tune/intonation nor did it change much when the zip tie was removed (as might be expected), but still...

I'd try the plastic or a cardboard shim in the slot first and see it that does anything.
 
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Concerning using credit cards for shims; their thicknesses can vary from .025" to as much as .035" and that it is quite thick. Another source is a plastic milk jug. My sample measured .018" and those may also vary. Blister packed items may be another source for making thinner "shims."

A caliper is handy for measuring the inside of the bridge slot, thickness of the saddle, width of a nut and nut slots, and the diameter of strings. They are also inexpensive.

-Wiggy
 
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Thank you everyone for all the advice. I loosened up the strings and cut a small piece of plastic out of an empty pack of ham. I put it in and tuned it up. It made a big improvement. Now the notes are just a little bit sharp. The bridge is still leaning forward slightly. I think if I cut one more piece it will be hard to get it into the saddle but it would fix the problem. I suspect maybe the space for the bridge was not cut properly.

I'm happy to know there is nothing seriously wrong with the ukulele. I'd like it to be perfectly in tune so I'm thinking maybe i'll still take it to the luthier at the shop. I think it'd be worth the money to get it perfectly in tune and have the frets checked, etc. I'm waiting for my CGDA strings to arrive.

I'm really impressed with this forum. Within an hour of my original post there were several helpful replies. It's a very nice community here.
 
If the uke is still very slightly sharp when the saddle is completely vertical, it would be worth making a new saddle of a different cross section. The original one has a rounded top (which is quite standard) but one which has a slanted top, moving the peak slightly away from the fret board, would probably fix it completely. It isn't difficult to do, if you are at all handy with basic tools.

Give it a try - what could possibly go wrong?:D

John Colter
 
If the uke is still very slightly sharp when the saddle is completely vertical, it would be worth making a new saddle of a different cross section. The original one has a rounded top (which is quite standard) but one which has a slanted top, moving the peak slightly away from the fret board, would probably fix it completely. It isn't difficult to do, if you are at all handy with basic tools.

Give it a try - what could possibly go wrong?:D

John Colter

This is an interesting idea. Where can I buy a saddle to experiment with? I searched Thomann and I find them for guitar but not for ukulele.
 
This is an interesting idea. Where can I buy a saddle to experiment with? I searched Thomann and I find them for guitar but not for ukulele.

I get replacement bone saddle blanks off of eBay. Typically they come from China and take a few weeks to arrive. Be aware that sometimes the blanks are under width, perhaps it is a recent QA issue. Blanks need to be cut to length, filed to height and have a rounded crest shaped on their top.

IIRC yours is a second hand instrument so a previous owner might have done modifications. The saddle fitted looks standard manufacture to me so your bridge’s slot might be over width or you might have an older style narrow saddle installed instead of the current standard. Anyway, just be aware that what you have might need a special solution.

As a rule of thumb the distance from the twelfth fret to the saddle break point should be the same as the distance from the nut edge to the twelfth fret plus 2 mm. Get your ruler out and see where that saddle break point should be. If you want to get really clever than look up compensated saddles ... I find straight saddles (uncompensated) and in the right place meet my simple needs.
 
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In my limited experience lately installing under saddle pickups, I have run into stark variations in Kala's saddles and slots, including what seems to be your issue of too narrow of a saddle for the slot (or visa versa). There seems to be poor quality control in this area. Anybody else find this?

Additionally, one of your photos seem to indicate that the saddle is not bottoming out in the slot as the bottom looks rounded rather than flat. Is this true? If so, I would look at squaring up the bottom to receive the saddle, though the slot must remain flat to maintain full contact with the saddle.

As has been mentioned, a new saddle could be purchased that would fit your slot better. In this case, thicker is better than not thick enough, as the saddle can be sanded to the correct thickness.

Once the above is accomplished, the height of the saddle is adjusted to supply the appropriate action for that ukulele, and your playing.

Also, as stated, I would perform some careful measurements, comparing the distance from the nut to the middle of the 12th and from the 12th to the contact point of the saddle. The latter should be approx 1.5 to 2mm more than nut to 12th. If close but a bit shy, a slant could be cut on the top of the saddle to move the contact point a bit further away. I would do this before adjusting the height, though.

Nothing is too terribly complicated, but exactness and careful measuring matter. YouTube is an excellent resource for learning about each of the steps.

Good luck and happy tinkering!
 
Hello everyone,

I made another attempt at shimming the saddle this time with a piece of cardboard. The credit card strip I cut was too thick and I couldn't find plastic the right size. The cardboard worked ok and I did get the bridge straighter. It pretty much fixed the G, G, & E strings (GDAE tuning). But the A string is horribly off at the 5th fret. Almost a semi-tone higher. I couldn't figure out how this could be. I noticed the end of the saddle with the A & E strings was a bit too high, the saddle wasn't level. But if that was the cause then the E string should have been off too. I wonder if a bad string could be the reason?

Today I dropped it off at a ukulele shop that does setup & repair. The luthier wasn't there so I left it and they'll get back to me on Tuesday. After I left it, I was thinking I should have put the original 2nd string back on it as a test. If it was in tune then I could say it was the new string. and if it was out of tune then it was a setup issue. But I didn't think of that earlier.

I'll report back once I hear back. Hopefully it won't be anything major and they can get it adjusted for me.
 
I picked up my uke from the luthier. He changed the saddle, putting in a wider one so it wouldn't lean. He lowered the action. And he said the string that was out of tune was bad and he replaced it. I suspected the string might be bad but since it was new and there were other issues it was hard to narrow down. With the action lowered it's a dream to play now. I've been playing it all night.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think if this happens in the future I might be willing to give it a go myself. But for the first one it was good to let a pro do it. :)
 
Congratulations on a very satisfactory outcome, Cunparis! Great news.

John Colter
 
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