Reasons for high frets being sharp?

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  • #38658
    effortless
    Member

    Hi everyone, sorry if this isn’t the best place to post my question.
    I have a Cordoba U1-M that I’ve been playing daily for months now. I’ve been trying different kinds of strings since I started to practice the uke more seriously. About 5 days ago I put D’addario low G nylon strings on my uke. they’ve stretched out and stayed in tune for a couple days now but this morning when I started to play I played a G on the E string and it sounded really bad so I put my tuner on to check it out. the open E was in tune but the G was showing as halfway in between a G and G#. I have noticed that the higher frets get a little sharp on my uke but never that dramatic. The C string was having a similar issue but G and A strings were fine. I’m worried that the neck is starting to warp but nothing looks wrong to my eye. So are there other reasons this might be happening?

    #38659
    kanae926
    Participant

    Bad intonation up the neck could be attributed to needing a setup. It’s possible that the action is too high. Or the issue could be specific to the type of strings – some sets are thicker than others and sit too high in the nut slots which could pull a string to go sharp when fretted.

    I just got a set of D’Addario titaniums and they are fat fluorocarbons that can be in tune in the open position but are immediately sharp when fretted (especially the C string, the fattest one). For reference, I’ve attached the D’Addario specs compared to Worth Browns.

    #38663
    effortless
    Member

    ah that makes sense. If I run my finger over the nut I can feel the E and C strings slightly raised. Thank you very much!

    #38675
    robinboyd
    Participant

    It might also help to try a few different strings. When I used a fluorocarbon low G, my that string went really sharp up the fretboard because it was too thick, but it’s fine with a wound string. Using different strings is much easier than filing the nut slot. It may or may not work, though.

    #38722
    miztaken
    Participant

    If you have a very fine file, you can gently and slowly file the nut to fit the string.
    Or take it for a set up and they will do it for you.

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