Mr Tom great tip!

@@GotAUkulele Thanks.. I also do this with acoustic guitars as well. Have a great upcoming Sunday. :-)

YAY!!!!

Hope you enjoy it!

80 years!!! YOU GO!! I'm 65 and still trying to figure out what I want to do/be when I grow up! HA! Good for you! I hope my fingers are still working right by the time I am 80!!

My pleasure!

Malicious One thanks!

ME TOO!!!

Good tip!

Thank you 😊👍🏻

Sorry can you clarify? I'm a bit thick! Each card is 29mm thick?

@@leonmorgans4250 no, each card is 0.29mm thick so 3 cards are just short of 1 mm

Wow!! Cool idea! Of course, I won't remember it when I need it or I will wonder what the heck a deck of cards is doing in my ukulele case! HA HA!

AaronTheArcticCat my pleasure!

I'll look out for a Lohanu to review - not played one

Two credit cards at the first is far too high. I’d struggle to get one card between string and first fret. Should be about 0.4mm

My pleasure - thank you!

+tahitislim25 Glad they help!

Yeah - really friendly brand as well as a nice product

Crown of the 12th fret should be exactly half way between nut and saddle as a starting point. There can then be some adjustment through compensation to dial in intonation. Your measurements have a difference of 2mm (172mm versus half of 348 which is 174). It may need that much, but it seems to much compensation to me - and in fact not all strings need the same compensation!

@@GotAUkulele Thanks! I'll start as you suggest, exactly 50-50. In junior high school I played the slide trombone. But I wonder what you could do with a slide uke! A pedal steel ukulele? (Maybe sometimes there are bad ideas in a brainstorm.)

Fist Pump it’s about string clearance so it’s a measurement from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string

Great to hear!

If the ukulele is a high end one, then absolutely I would go to the trouble of buying a new saddle and re-shaping it. But my vids and site are mainly aimed at beginners. With 99.9% of beginner to intermediate ukuleles I would challenge anyone to tell me they could hear the difference if I had a shim of paper or card under my saddle or not! In fact, I'd challenge most people to spot the difference with any ukulele actually! Also bear in mind that some of the highest end ukuleles have under saddle pickups fitted to them - then the saddle is sitting on the pickup and not the wood. Same difference.

Of course - ideally - if you go carefully - taking the saddle down properly should never result in you needing to shim it anyway.

GotAUkulele Got it.

GotAUkulele and buying a replacement nut and bridge piece in advance isn't a terrible idea. it's ultra cheap and you can order strings at the same time. I'm pretty crappy at playing and have 3 caramel tenors which seem to be set up well enough... but I'm new. $52 Canadian and I haven't done a set up just a low G RED and high g RED changeover. I love the bright sound and the skinny strings. for $150 I have 3 ukulele... the 3rd is my experimental. it's getting an 8 string mod even if it ruins it. I will learn something.

No - same principle - you are dropping the flat base of the saddle NOT the curved top

Glad it was helpful!

Only did this one on fitting UPT pegs to a uke with friction pegs - but that would apply to swapping to other friction pegs too. For geared pegs, it's a case of making sure the post hole is right diameter and screwing the plate to the back of the headstock kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h5mef6So2smwo4k.html&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gotaukulele.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Happy to help

6/64 inch is about 2.4mm

GotAUkulele Cheers Barry. Now that string height guage you used, (Stewmacc?) is it specific to ukulele or is there just one type for all stringed instruments?

Nah - it wasn't from Stewmac - they are generic - any gauge will work - just requires a straight edge and measure. A metal ruler that has markings to the end will also do the job. I bought this on Amazon for about 3 quid

GotAUkulele cheers

This is really great Baz! You always teach me something.

Glad it was helpful!

No - exactly the same process!

Hi there - it's very hard / impossibe for me to give you a specific recommendation for the scales - there are just too many and aside from price, looks have a big bearing on peoples choices (naturally). Best I can do is direct you to my full list of reviews (link below). They are all the instruments I have looked at in great detail, together with my scores. Basically anything with a score of 8 or above gets my vote. All that said, your budget is a good one, and I will say these things at the outset. 1. Dont necessarily be put off by laminate bodied instruments. I would always rather have a good quality laminate uke than a poor quality solid wood instrument. At this price, you start to see the ultra cheap, thick and heavy solid wood ukes coming in - many of them are solid for the sake of it, but aren't actually great ukuleles 2. Whilst I am not starstruck by brand names, at this price, you will find some common contenders from obvious names - they've been at it long enough to know. Look at brands like Kala and Ohana. Avoid brands that are really just guitar brands - you think they will know a thing or two but rarely do - put simply they are not really ukulele specialists. In other words, avoid Fender, Ibanez, Gretsch and Epiphone in my opinion. 3. Non 'star names' can be decent, but shop around. Baton Rouge and Snail are a couple that really do very well in my mind - both newish brands but excellent. 4. Make sure you buy from a ukulele specialist, and note that a ukulele specialist doesn't mean 'generic music store'. You want a store that will check it over / set it up before you take it - most dont do that, the good ones do. There is a list of stores I recommend on the website. You may spend a few small pounds more, but trust me, you will be thankful of doing so in long run Here's the list and good luck! www.gotaukulele.com/p/ukulele-reviews.html

ana // moonchild sounds like they are not tied on properly and are slipping

I'm afraid I don't - Vorson didn't publish anything. Suspect it's more a case of trial and error

It's not a precise figure, more a range - but yes - the same range would apply

Yep - me too.

Hmm - could be a one piece bridge. They do exist - but very tricky to adjust as there is no going back

My pleasure!

What they told you is incorrect

GotAUkulele thanks so much:))

Hi. As a uke player with no special technical expertise on the instrument, just 15 years experience, I find the unhelpful reaction you received from the store to be plain outrageous. The ukulele is no different to any good stringed instrument, and adjusting the set up for the action that suits your playing is critical to your enjoyment. This is what good music stores do and advise on. I should think you are finding 4.5mm at the 12th unplayable - I certainly would. Compare that with the 2.4mm or a bit above advised in this video. Good luck with it!

rosco1pug thanks you so so so much, I really appreciate it 💪👁👄👁💪 thanks 👍😇🙏

Doodz Piega if it’s slanted it can cause two issues. Either string buzzing or throw off the intonation. If it’s affecting either of those, buy a new saddle. If not - you’ll get away with it as is

Barry Maz Thanks for your fast reply. More power to you and God bless.

I’d be VERY careful with cheap baritones. They are similar in size really to guitars and since you play guitar would you expect good things from a guitar that price? Saying all that - this is the only Bari that impressed me at that money. It’s also very good! www.gotaukulele.com/2018/12/duke-dubvb-baritone-ukulele-review.html?m=0

Kind of - bit of pythagoras! But the better way to approach is take it off in small stages - ½ mm by 1/2mm until you get close - restring and checking along the way. Trust me - it's better than goint too far! You will find lots of saddle blanks on ebay though

@@GotAUkulele thank you

Something fine grained - it's about going slow and steady as you dont want to take too much off in one go

Not sure about baritones as don't play them. Either way though - very personal choice. 2.5mm to 3.0mm on a tenor for me. Some go higher.

@@GotAUkulele thank you!

My tip re saddle orientation - take a photo before you take old one out! Not sure on distances with what you have as dont have one of those to hand. Sorry

Doesn't sound like a problem with action so I wouldn't meddle with that. It really is just about practice and building up hand strength i'm afraid.

Man, exact same thing happens to me. Did you resolve this problem yet and if so how did you do it?

Yes you can - widely available - loads on eBay for example. Just will need sanding back to the same sort of dimensions as the original. To be honest though, if you find you go too low, easier thing to do is just put a wooden shim under the original.

I’ve not personally played a Córdoba I was totally happy with. All those I’ve come across feel heavy and a bit dead sounding. Some worse than others. Many people like them but I wonder what it is they are comparing them to. If it’s your first uke it will likely sound great. But I don’t think they stand up to many in their price point

GotAUkulele . I see. Good to know. Those are very common here in México, so is Kala. I will research a bit more before buying one. What comes first to your mind instead of a Córdoba? In that range of price. I'm thinking in a tenor for my first uke. (Sorry for my english by the way).

Kala, Ohana or Snail

Nice. Thanks a lot for the advice. And thank you for your time. I'll see you around.

Not a ukulele I have ever heard of!

wow :D It's mainly made out of Zebra wood with rosewood bridge and neck, I think it's pretty, sounds good, but the only review i could find is a sponsored one saying nothing bad about it.

Top of fret to bottom of string

Thanks. And that should be 16/73?

No it should be within a range, roughly 6/64 (2.2mm) to 8/64 (3mm).

OK. Thanks a lot.

That's the 2.25 mil height so absolutely fine. Low end and I tend to have mine a touch higher, but not much.,

@@GotAUkulele thanks I wasn't sure quiet far off fretboard but I put it on so 0.90 was on fret 12 it's a donner ukelele

@@RebeccaHindle You need to take the measurement from the crown of the fret to the base of the string

You will rarely come across a saddle that has been glued down. They are meant to come out of the bridge slot.

GotAUkulele oh, so how am i be able to know if its glued down? By the way mine ukulele is an andrew concert, thanks 😊

@@poppikwtie722 When the strings are off - just pull it. You might need small pliers if the slot is a bit tight, but it should easily come out. They need to in order to adjust action / fit pickups.

GotAUkulele thanks a lot:)

GotAUkulele thank you so so much!!! I just adjusted my ukulele and its reallyy confortable and easy to play now!!! Thanks so so much, have a great day!!!

Just medium to medium fine grit - you dont want to go too fast, but equally, too fine a paper will take forever!

Thank you for superfast response. I really like the fact that you've written it all down as well as shown it in a video. I don't have a lot of confidence about doing it so I'm going to try it out on my very cheap old uke before I touch my proper posh one! Presumably I don't need to take the strings totally OFF but can just loosen them and slide the saddle out?

You know what - that's exactly how I learned setups on guitars 20 plus years back - you practice on cheap old stuff and get more experience. you only need to loosen strings to slide saddle out really

If they arrive too low it's because they have not been setup correctly. If they arrive too high it's because the brand didnt want to risk a return because of buzzing. I didn't actually say there was a perfect sweet spot - there is an acceptable range. Too low and you buzz at worst or kill all volume. too high and you affect tuning. I dont say there is one precise measurement for all though.

​@@GotAUkulele Thanks! I should have said "sweet range" (that's what I meant). I guess with the same logic that the saddle might be too high/low, the nut can also have the same issue (too high/low), is that correct?

@@jya811 Oh there is a sweet range - but it's fairly broad in the scheme of things. Still - my reasons for brands failing still apply - either don't care or care too much!. And yes - the nut is important - in fact perhaps MORE important - just never want to make a nut adjustment video as it is much more technical and I can't bear the people getting it wrong and blaming me!!!

Very very few ukuleles have truss rods. If it has indeed bowed it could be fatal i'm afraid. A good luthier could try to reset the neck, but the bow will be there. Do you know what caused it to bow? The reason I ask (and the reason so few ukuleles have truss rods) is that the tension of the strings is just nowhere near enough to bow a well made neck.

i think it bowed a bit when i brought it home from the store. it was fine there but the action was a bit high. I'm was going to sand down the saddle a little and placed a humid pack in the box just to let it breathe a bit. its a Luna tenor tribal. so the thing was only $120 and i might just return it and opt for a Pono with a rod.

My point is - there really is no need to get a uke with a truss rod. Whilst it would certainly help in this case, it shouldn't have bowed in the first place. kamaka, Kanile'a, Koaloha, Martin - dont have truss rods. The reason this has happened is more likely to be quality control failing by Luna - not the first time i've heard that with that brand!

My pleasure!

Which measurement?

+jade browning this is an Omega Zedro uke

As the video says - an incorrect action here raises the strings too high - not only makes them harder to play but throws out the accuracy of fretted notes on the neck.

I've only ever worked in metric all my life..

Same as 6/64 - or about 2.4mm.