What is a Set-Up?

What the heck is an ukulele set-up, and why does it matter?

Most affordably priced (under $400) ukes come straight from the factory to the shelf in a warehouse, or the stock room of a store, and then directly from there into the hands of the customer.  The price of any instrument is a usually a direct reflection of how much time human hands have spend crafting and adjusting it.  The more time spent, the higher the price ends up.  This also results in a better playing, better sounding, and better feeling instrument that really inspires the player!

Most ukes that we sell fall into the "affordably priced" range, which means that they typically have not had a whole lot of time dedicated to adjustments that really "dial in" the playability and feel of the instrument.  This kind of attention is considered a luxury item from the manufacturing perspective.  It simply falls outside the scope of the amount of time that can be dedicated to an instrument without it becoming un-realistically priced. (expensive!!!!!)

Many people have had the experience of unboxing an instrument for the first time, only to find the action and string height way too high, improperly cut nut slots, buzzing, bad intonation, and even in some cases a defective or disfunctional uke!

Most of these little problems, although very frustrating, are quite easily fixed by a professional luthier or repair person.  This is were we come in!  Every uke that we sell is properly and completely "set-up" and fully adjusted before it ships or walks out the door.  Yup, we take the time to fully quality control and dial in every single uke, no matter what the price. 

Here is a list of factors that we check and ajdust in a typical set-up:

• fit and finish
• neck angle
• bridge attachment
• bracing
• glue joints
• cosmetic factors
• action (string height)
• bridge saddle height
• nut slot width and depth
• intonation
• fretwork (levelness, fret ends, proper glue in, crowning, polishing)
• string winding and knots
• string quality
• string stretching and tuning stability
• tuning gear tightness
• fingerboard (lemon oil, cleaning)

That's a lot of stuff...............................for FREE! Again, this is standard procedure for every uke that we sell.  This is our opportunity to make sure that the instrument that you purchase from us is the best that it can be. 

We can guarantee that you will get a better playing, better sounding, better looking uke from us than from anyone else around because we take the extra time that adds so much value and playability to your ukulele. 

So what does a set-up mean to you? 

• It means that you get the best quality, best sounding, and most playable uke for your money! 

• It means that you won't have to take your newly purchased uke in to a tech and pay $30-$50 for it to be set up after you buy it!

• It means that you will get a better uke here than anywhere else on the net, for an affordable price! (set up = FREE)

• It means you will love the feel and sound of your uke, because it is properly adjusted and completely quality controlled!