Professional Ukulele Setup & Quality Control from The Island Bazaar
Professional Ukulele Setup & Quality Control from The Island Bazaar
It’s true that most ukulele manufacturers have their own quality control during manufacturing and final inspection.
But there are often minor adjustments that can be made to ensure your new uke is playing and sounding great.
We offer three services:
Basic QC (Free)
- Check for Cosmetic Defects
- Check that the Neck is Straight
- Check Bridge is Straight and Firmly Attached
Intermediate QC + Nut/Bridge Adjustment (+$75)
We believe the single most impactful adjust relates to string height; removing buzzing and making it easier to play. This service includes all the Basic QC plus we attend to the Nut and Bridge to ensure best playability. If the strings are too high, the instrument becomes uncomfortable to play, if the strings are too low, it can cause fret buzz. Typically, low and mid-price range ukes have actions really high to avoid fret buzz. This solves one problem but makes playing more difficult. We use feeler gauges to check that the strings are low enough to play comfortably but no fret buzz is occurring.- Check for Cosmetic Defects
- Check that the Neck is Straight
- Check Bridge is Straight and Firmly Attached
- Adjust Nut Slot
- Adjust Bridge
- Adjust String Height
Full Setup includes able plus Frets and Fretboard (+$125)
This service includes the Intermediate QC plus we attend to the heights, shape and finish of the frets and fretboard.
Unfortunately, a lot of new ukes have inconsistent fret shapes. At this service level, we level the tops of each frets to a proper pyramid shape, sand away any sharp edges and polish the frets to a shiny finish. Then, we redress the fretboard for a proper finish. The result is a more functional, better sounding and more beautiful instrument than almost any uke manufacture provides.
- Check for Cosmetic Defects
- Check that the Neck is Straight
- Check Bridge is Straight and Firmly Attached
- Adjust Nut Slot
- Adjust Bridge
- Adjust String Height
- Level Frets
- Remove Fret Sharp Edges
- Recrown Frets
- Sand, polish and Clean the Fretboard
