Action and Neck Relief for a Baritone Ukulele

[GreatOz]

So a friend of mine asked me to see if it's reasonable to try to restore this old ukulele of hers. This ukulele is at least 60 years old and kind of family heirloom so I don't want to ruin it. I may just tell her that I don't think I can realistically set it up correctly, but that I would at least look at it first.

The attached pictures are what I am really concerned about as that neck relief seems waaaay off, but this could also be normal for ukuleles, I genuinely don't know.

For people with experience with this sort of thing, is that much neck relief normal for a nylon-string baritone ukulele?





If that neck relief is too high, the only thing I can think of to do to compensate for it is sand the entire bridge down. It does not have a truss rod, which I found out is normal for ukuleles.

Thanks,
GreatOz

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Action and Neck Relief for a Baritone Ukulele

That is NOT neck relief. Relief refers to the bow in the neck from the nut to the end of the neck, usually adjustable via the truss rod. Ukes usually don't have truss rods. What you are seeing is neck angle, the angle of the neck mounted to the body - and it's too high. This is usually fixed by a neck reset - an expensive and complex job usually done by a competent and experienced luthier. That leaves lowering the height of the bridge saddle by removing material from the bottom of the saddle after it is removed from the bridge. You do NOT sand the bridge down. I can see it's not going to go any lower, so your friend is stuck with no options. Try lighter strings, after all - uke strings are nylon and pretty soft.

 

[GreatOz]

Re: Action and Neck Relief for a Baritone Ukulele

That is what I was afraid of. A neck reset is beyond my capability.

Thank you,
GreatOz