• Registered: 2007-03-25
  • Posts: 42

Topic: Baritone uke won't stay in tune

Hey all,

I recently bought a baritone ukulele off of craigslist for $50.00, and the lowest string (D) will not stay in tune.  I can bring all 4 strings to tune, and if I let it sit for a while (or play it for a while) the D string ends up falling to about a Bb, which makes everything sound downright awful.  Any idea what's wrong and how I could fix it?  Preferably, I'd like to just make the tuning peg harder to turn so that it stays in tune, but I'm now sure how to do that or if it even can be done.  Thanks

  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
  • Unofficial king of Scotland
  • Offline
  • From: Balloch, Scotland, UK, Earth
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 3,290

Re: Baritone uke won't stay in tune

hiwormproof

I had the same problem with my newuke last year. I was retuning it constantly for a while.
I think after about two weeks the strings settled. I still have the same strings on it and if it does not get bashed about by my wife or kids it stays in tune quite good even when sitting for a week.

I am not sure but I think maybe it would be better to slightly over tune all strings and leave it for a day and then try retuning it again and see how that goes.


Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

3 Reply by Guitarpix (edited by Guitarpix 2008-04-21 18:43:23)

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: Baritone uke won't stay in tune

Some ukuleles come with peg tuners. Sometimes these can become loose and slip under full tension. There is a screw on the end of some that you can tighten to remedy this. If not a peg tuner is fairly common and inexpensive at most music stores. You may also want to check your string at the bridge. Make sure the strings are tied properly and not slipping. If it has a pinned bridge remove the pin and make sure the ball of the string is seated properly before you reinstall it. Just some thoughts...   Peace! -Pix

Nylon strings do take a while to stretch out...though. So make sure you give them plenty of time before you assume you have a problem. I've had to tune mine daily for a week or more before, depending on the brand string I was using at the time.

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website