[jljohn]

Hi Folks,

I primarily play guitar and banjo, but I just purchased a ukulele as a Christmas gift for a member of my immediate family. I chose a "step-up" from the basic models. This one was manufactured overseas, but final assembly and setup was done here in the US. When it arrived, I checked it out and quickly noticed that the intonation is off up the neck. If it were one string, I would have assumed it was the string, but all four are off. If they went sharp, I would have suspected that I was fretting too hard, but they are all flat. At the 12th fret, three of the strings run 20--25 cents flat and one is more like 25--40 cents flat. My ear identified the problem, and three tuners have verified it.

I contacted the mfg., and was given a bit of the "Well we checked it so there can't be a problem" routine. I was hoping they could send a properly intoned replacement and have me return this one once the replacement arrived (that way I could still give the gift), but it's hard to suggest such a course of action when the other party won't acknowledge an issue!

So, I'm trying to step back from the situation and figure out how bad this intonation really is. Is 20--25 cents flat to be expected from a ukulele in the $200--$250 price? I wouldn't blink at this if it were a $99 Cordoba, but it seems excessive at this price point.

I know the answer probably is, "We'll if you're unhappy with it, send it back," but I wanted to make sure I'm not expecting to much from this ukulele.