Annoying Twit Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Well, I've always wanted to build something. I've had a Thomann own brand ukulele kit sitting around at home for years. Today I finally got around to glueing it together. I've stuck the neck on, stuck the fingerboard on, attached the nut, and the tuning machines. Tomorrow once the currently glueing bits are thoroughly dry, I'm going to attach the bridge. I'm not doing much in the way of finishing it, I'm just going to give it some coats of danish oil or something like that. The back of the neck isn't smooth, but I think it's a bit small to sand smooth/fill the grain etc. if I finish this, I might consider doing a solid body bass build in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Good for you I have two cajon kits sitting about somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 I've just stuck the bridge on after careful measurement and pencilling in the location. I left 3mm for intonation. I'll put strings on in the morning, tune it up, and see what it sounds like. It's definitely looking like a ukulele now, not just a box of bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Pics please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Strings are on now. The tuners aren't geared, and it is freakishly hard to tune. Just a tiny turn on the tuners and the pitch goes from too low to too high. The action is high, both at the nut and the bridge, and the intonation is not good, sharp on the 12th fret. Since this is an experiment, I'll have a go at filing the nut and filing down the bridge. I'll see if I get anything playable out of it. However, geared tuners might be a must-have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 That's pretty Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Nice one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 I think you're being rather generous with your praise. It's just plain wood stuck together at the moment. The intonation is way off. If I tune the g string to pitch (really difficult with non-geared tuners) then fret the first fret, it's way sharp. I checked the nut height according to a website, and according to that the nut height is correct. The action is way high however. But, surely that wouldn't cause the excessive sharpness at the first fret ???? I'm not even thinking about finishing it at the moment until (if?) I can make it playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Can you still shim the neck AT ? The high action could be causing some of the intonation problem if it's shortening the length by a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I guess moving the bridge might be the way to go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 I thought about these. As it has an acoustic style neck, it would be a matter of sanding it to the correct radius but a different angle. And, the neck is now glued. on. I could probably hack the bridge off, sand the top down, and move the bridge, but that might be problematic. Also, I don't think that the high action is due to the neck angle, I think that filing the bridge and nut might fix it. Also, I don't think that the intonation problems are due to the bridge position, but are more likely to be due to the action itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Start off by sorting out the action, that'll give you a true reading on how far out the intonation actually is. In reality if the intonations ok up to about the seventh fret then that's going to be fine for the majority of uke based stuff. Have fun Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 There ain't many Uke players going past the third fret, never mind the seventh...!! Seriously, as the strings are not steel, they stretch much more than we are used to on bass or guitar. So if the action is high at the nut, you'll be stretching the string a lot by the time you hit the fretboard. Hence the sharp notes as soon as you go up the dusty end. The first fret will actually stretch the string more than if you are at the seventh fret. New Ukulele strings are notorious for going out of tune for the first few weeks. After that they settle down. I take mine out the case after a couple of weeks and it's spot on. If you're using the strings that came with the kit, you may be better off getting another set from Aquila. They will still take time to settle in, but it will save you a week of waiting. Friction tuners will also make accurate tuning difficult. But you've the satisfaction of having created something yourself, so don't be put off. I've seen players of very old intruments tuning up after every song. I'm pretty sure some of them purposely don't play songs that last more than 2 minutes...! On the plus side, you won't need to change them for a few years.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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