Problem with my new flea =(

Hey everybody


i just got my new pineapple flea about a week ago. i LOVE it..it was playing fine...keeping in tune an everything. i did change out the hilos though...

anyway...all of the sudden the tuning went to hell. they slip NOTICEABLY after strumming a couple measures after retuning. when i try to tune it back up the knobs turns a little before catching on the peg to tune up the string.

i tried tightening the screws up but there was no improvement.

im stumped =( any help?

Friction tuners depend on friction between the tuner and the headstock wood itself. See the metal rings between the plastic tuning button and the headstock? Those have a tendency to turn, slip, and gouge out some of the wood.

Check out this thread! It should solve your problem by eliminating some of the slippage. http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9901

thanks for the link haole i couldn't find it in my search....i'll give it a shot

Let us know how it works!

Same thing happened to me. Took a screwdriver, tightened the screws on the tuning pegs (not too much!!) and all is well. I have to do this like once a month.

Yep - just a slight turn of the screw on the peg-head will do it. Nothing major - it's presumably by design and easy to fix. Just keep a small screwdriver in the bag and you are good.

I need to do it to my Fluke from time to time...

GrumpyCoyote said:

Yep - just a slight turn of the screw on the peg-head will do it. Nothing major - it's presumably by design and easy to fix. Just keep a small screwdriver in the bag and you are good.

I need to do it to my Fluke from time to time...

Click to expand...

I had to do it after I changed strings for the first time on my Fluke. Maybe it's because normally you barely turn the tuning pegs, but to change strings you have to turn them around many times and they loosen up?

That's just a guess, but I had that problem right after I restrung my Fluke. Some quick work with a screwdriver solved the problem - now it holds its tuning extremely well.

well i fixed it!


thanks for the responses guys.
i think at first i was nervous that it wasnt getting an better because this is the first time i had to adjust a uke at all. also, all of the posts about only turning the screws slightly made me nervous to turn them too much! but i ended up turning them til they got pretty tight and it seems to be holding and also the moving/carving metal ring stopped moving too.

all is right in the world again

thanks!

Strings do take a while to stretch, and where you play (inside climate control house, inside house with windows always open, outside) can also affect tuning and how often you tune.

The stock tuners on my Flea slipped more than I liked, strings went out of tune more often than I liked, and I had a couple of the bushings that spun and gouged the head stock a little. I put notches in the bushings with a small file and that kept them in place, but the pegs still didn't hold as well as I wanted.

I ordered the Grover 4B tuners from the folks in Connecticut (about $16 including shipping) and they have been a huge improvement. Not sure why these are not the stock tuners. They are a direct drop in replacement - no need to enlarge the headstock holes. Once I installed them my strings stretched a bit more (because the pegs now stayed in place longer) and now hold their tuning very well.

The 4B tuners are larger and the bushing on the outside of the head stock are thicker and flat (compared to the OEM Grover Jr.'s stamped metal bushing) so there is nothing to gouge the headstock. You can tighten the 4B pegs a bit more than the stock Grover Jr.s and they seem to hold better.

When playing indoors I can go a couple days and not have to retune the uke. When playing outside changes in temps can cause you to retune during a playing session.

The Flea is a good and sturdy instrument - enjoy it!

hey spots thats some awesome information thank you