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  #1  
Old 02-22-2017, 07:25 PM
icuker icuker is offline
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Default Uke intonation problem on one string

Restrung my uke but the high A string is out of tune from the 6th fret on up and by almost a 1/2 step It's a tenor uke. I hadn't played it much lately so not sure if this is new or not unfortunately. All other strings play fine all the way up to 12 -13 frets. It has a fairly thick saddle, but it has already been adjusted there once. I checked the frets and they seem fine. I get the impression from searching that a 1/2 step couldn't be made up by saddle adjustment alone anyway.
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Old 02-23-2017, 06:59 AM
karlitofingers karlitofingers is offline
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What you've described doesn't even sound possible tbh. If the other strings are fine there's no reason why the A should be out, unless it is greatly higher than the others for some reason.


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Old 02-23-2017, 10:48 AM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Most likely, you have a bad string. In order for the intonation to be true, the string must be uniform along its length. Nylon strings stretch a lot (especially new ones), and if the stretch is uneven, it will cause bad intonation.
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Old 02-23-2017, 11:04 AM
Sperry Sperry is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
Most likely, you have a bad string. In order for the intonation to be true, the string must be uniform along its length. Nylon strings stretch a lot (especially new ones), and if the stretch is uneven, it will cause bad intonation.
Wow, that is absolutely amazing to know. It never occurred to me. Thanks for the info!
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Old 02-23-2017, 11:14 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sperry View Post
Wow, that is absolutely amazing to know. It never occurred to me. Thanks for the info!
Hi Sperry
Whenever 'sudden' out-of-tuneness appears, I always start by suspecting the string, and it's pretty easy to change just a single string.

It makes more sense than assuming it's the saddle, and starting to alter the saddle and discovering it was just a string.



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Old 02-23-2017, 12:14 PM
icuker icuker is offline
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Ok, I'll check that out first. Thanks!
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Old 02-26-2017, 03:38 PM
icuker icuker is offline
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Just wanted to follow up.

I finally put on a new A string on per John's advice and now the intonation is true again. It definitely was a bad string. Now if I can just get it through the stretching phase.....

But thanks again for the great tip!
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