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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
 Posted - 10/13/2002 : 01:41:30 AM
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Hapakid mentioned on another thread that intonation can be a problem on a uke. I had problems the first few days with my Fluke. Either the strings settled in, I stopped bending, or I started ignoring intonation problems, but the Fluke seemed to be more in tune. I would expect, hope?, that the mold maker used very accurate spacing on the molded in frets. I just noticed there's a zero fret!
The frets are surprisingly low, less than a milimeter, so distorting the strings by pressing vertically shouldn't have much impact. Wrong, the tuner reads sharp when I mash down the string. (I'm experimenting as I type.) They do go sharp when bending.
Sometimes pressing just behind the fret as you're taught to do with a guitar is sharper than pressing just in front of the previous fret; where you plant your fretting finger makes a difference in intonation. The second time I try it, there is no difference. The third time, the difference is back. This is from watching the needle on the tuner, a Korg CA-20, a twitchy little thing, as I play the 1st string at the 7th fret.
The 12th fret is a problem, especially C which is 20 cents sharp. The higher pitched the string, the closer the intonation at 12.
Uke intonation seems to be a chancy thing and not just due to the uncompensated saddle, tho' that's no help.
What have you folks noticed?
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2002 : 1:39:53 PM
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My Ko`olau tenor, tuned low G, with Ko`olau strings is very well intonated, according to the Peterson VS-1 virtual strobe tuner.
Surprisingly, to me, a 10 year old Kamaka standard, Kamaka strings, tuned to high A to match the Bob Brosman video, also shows very good intonation.
Fran
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E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2002 : 10:33:51 PM
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aloha e pauline,
it could be that you're pressing too hard. some ukuleles are sensitive to too much pressure on the fingerboard; it bends the strings. try using less force on the left hand and see if that helps. if so, then you'll eventually learn to play it without bending the strings (and it will sound great).
flukes are quite forgiving in this aspect.
aloha,
keith
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2002 : 11:00:21 PM
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When I mentioned intonations problems earlier, I didn't touch on the other factors that could affect it. My Kamaka seems to have the most intonation problems on the 3rd and 2nd string (C&E) for some reason. When I tune the 2nd to the 3rd string, like many guitarists tend to do, they end up almost a half step out of tune. I think the C string is the worst because it's the lowest and most likely to sound sickly because of the slackness of the string. I have gone to all-nylon standard strings instead of tenor strings, which usually have a wound 3rd. It has helped. The slack 3rd string is also susceptible to harmonics that make it hard to hear the true pitch.
Another problem, not really intonation, is tuning such a short instrument with friction tuners. Since a tiny, even imperceptible movement of the tuner can throw the string so far off, it's hard to tune it accurately and hear it when it goes out. Since my uke is a family heirloom, I don't want to get geared tuners and change the original configuration.
Finally, strings get loose and can change pitch from fret to fret with no explanation. Both new and old strings can have strange problems.
But when you're mostly strumming chords, a slight intonation problem usually isn't that noticable. Until you start picking, especially slowly. It may sound fine going changalang, but if you try to play "White Sandy Beach" like Iz used to do, the shortcomings become apparent. Oh well.
You just have sing a little louder. Hana hou!
Jesse Tinsley |
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