I have a few minutes so I will now take the time to explain a little more about ukuleles. Like with guitars, ukuleles can come setup properly or improperly.  Many high end ukuleles have the proper setup all the time but lower end affordable ukuleles are often sold doright "Out of the box" as the dealer or seller gets them   Just what is proper setup?

Proper setup means that the ukulele is adjusted for optimum playing.  Simply it has the right string height above the frets...termed "action.  The "Intonation" or how accurately it plays in tune is correct. and the fretwork is level and smooth.  Adjusting action involves two areas the "nut or where the string sits in slots near the tuners of the ukulele and the saddle.  Both are often too high or too low when not properly adjusted.  Depending on personal preference...the average action is considered to be about 2.5mm to 2.75mm when measuring at the 12th fret..that is  from the top of the 12th fret to the underside of the string.  This offers an optimum height where it is easy to press down without too much finger pressure and yet high enough to allow you to fingerpick and the strings to ring and sustain.  Too low and it can start to buzz and hoo high intonation can go off and its just to hard to press.   Talking about buzzing this brings up the the second thing "Fret work.  Buzzes from strings when playing can be caused by many things.  The nut slots and angle of the slots can cause buzzing.  Uneven frets can cause buzzing.  Rarely but at times loose braces or pieces inside the body are the cause and if your ukulele has a pickup it can cause buzzing.   First lets discuss the nut.  The nut slot should be smooth and just slightly larger than the string diameter.  The slope of the slot should be slightly downward towards the top of the ukulele.  If the slope is reversed  The strings vibrations cause a buzz in the slot and intonation can also be affected.  Properly adjusted the strings depending on its diameter should be just barely clearing the top of the first fret.  Too low and it will buzz in the open position when just strumming.  There are ways of adjusting the nut but that is for a later discussion.  The saddle determines the height of the strings along the fretboard.  many times the saddles are too high when the ukulele is just taken out of the box.  Occasionally they are too low and the strings buzz and are deadened against the frets.  the reason many ukuleles come with high saddles is that manufacturers do not want their ukuleles to buzz so they overcompensate to make sure they clear all the frets.

 Speaking of frets  improperly leveled and "dressed" frets make it impossible to lower the ukulele to a decent playing action. The desired setup is for all the tops of the frets to be on a flat plane.  In other words..If you were able to take a perfectly straight edge to the fretboard it should touch all the frets without rocking or gaps beneath it. Secondly the frets need to have the proper "crown or curvature to the top.  Third the frets should be polished so when strings slide smoothly side to side when fretted. Lastly the frets ends should have a bevel or round over that is smooth and not pokey to the fingers and flush to the sides of the fingerboard.  Some necks are bound with a thin piece or wood or plastic which eliminates this problem   Sometimes the wood on the fingerboard contracts or expands,  Tthe contraction can lead to frets slightly sticking out on the sides of the neck and can be very irritating.  A fret end plane file is used to flush and bevel the ends to correct this.  After a special file is used to round ver each side egde slight to smooth any sharp ends caused the the bevel plane.  What happens when the frets are not even and "dressed" correctly?   Buzzes on individual notes can occur when there is a high fret in front of the fret being played.  Uneven frets also affect intonation.

Now we come to intonation or how well the ukulele plays in tune and stays in tune.  Many factors come into play here.  The most important is the nut to saddle distance.  Assuming the frets are all their correct position which is done with a mathematical formula as tpo the placements.  The distance from the nut to saddle should be twice that of the distance from the nut to the center of the twelfth fret.  Too short and the ukulele will play sharper as you go up the neck   Too far and the ukulele will play flat.  This double distance is often slightly longer due to compensation or adjustment added to the scale to account for string height and length of string since the frist and fourth strings of the ukulele are longer than the 2nd and third due to the angle they run to the saddle.  String diameter also affects this length.  Its not so important to understand all of this but a simple way to tell if it is correct is to hit the harmonic at the 12th fret and then listen to the twelfth fret  they should be at the same pitch.  To hit a harmonic you lightly touch the string right above the 12th fret  without pressing the string down and just as you hit the the string with your other hand let go with the finger touching the string.  This should produce a high bell like tone.  its tricky at first but practice will make it come easier.  another thing thats easy to check is to tune the ukulele as best you can with an electric tuner and then play octaves along the first and third and second and fourth strings.  they should sound in tune with each ither even when high up the neck. Another trick is to play the a note on the fourth fret which is the second fret held down and compare it with the open first string. These on a standard tuned ukulele should sound exactly alike at the same pitch.

Well i covered just some of what makes a ukulele setup and I am getting to tired to continue so again.  thanks for reading this and I hope you found some useful information i will continue more in depth and to more discussions on ukuleles when i find time  Aloha and mahalo from Da musicguymic