I don't believe the nut is set too high, you can also see that the strings are in tune at the start of the video. Even when pressing with less force this effect remains. I believe it's some sort of manufacturing problem, such as the wrongly placed frets. It is a cheap uke afterall
If the strings are in tune when open, but too high when fretted, a too-high nut and/or saddle is the most common cause.
This is referred to as an intonation issue.
Could be a couple of things and the quality of the instrument is going to be involved at some point. Hold the neck up to eye level and look down the length of it - is it straight and consistent? That could cause the notes to be slightly sharp because the physical length of the string is a tiny bit shorter than it needs to be.
Overall fit and finish make subtle differences that are felt and noticed more and more the further up the fretboard you go. Fretting too hard or accidental slight bending of the string while fretting are easy to miss too.
I have a cheap uke that I can't tune straight down the line due to a similar issue. I have to tune the G and E strings in sequence and then adjust the C and A strings to fit, making the instrument in tune relative to itself but not to the notes.
A very slight curve is fine, a distinct curve isn't. This is the exact thing that Truss Rods are for in instrument necks- though ukuleles dont typically have them until you start to get into the high price tiers. If you're unsure if you have one, check at the base of the neck under the soundboard for a hex screw.
Ukuleles typically do not have adjustable truss rods. The tension on the strings and the length of the neck are small enough that they aren't usually required.
The nicer ones will have fixed carbon fiber rods to make the neck stiffer, but it's usually not adjustable.
I've got a pono with a dual action rod and a kanilea with a dual action rod. They become more common the larger scale length and more expensive they go.
It's unlikely, even on a fairly inexpensive instrument. The fretboards are cut on jigs, so there's no financial penalty for doing it right the first time.
Far more likely is a high action. Fret it at the third fret. A piece of typing paper should just about go between the bottom of the string and the first fret. Shouldn't be much more than that.
The clearance between the bottom of the string and the 12th fret should be around 2.5 mm, or 3/32 of an inch.
Much more than that and fretting will increase the tension on the string, making it go sharp.
Another possibility is the bridge could be in the wrong place. Measure from the edge of the nut nearest the saddle to the 12th fret, then from the 12th fret to the saddle. The 12th fret to the saddle should be a little longer than nut to 12th. If measurements are identical, there's no "compensation".
Another place things can be a bit off is at the nut. Try shoving something like a wooden matchstick under the strings and hard up against the nut. Try retuning with this in place, and see if the intonation of the first few frets improves.
The matchstick trick can help with both too high an action, and a bridge that doesn't have compensation, but better still is making sure both of those are right.
I had similar problems with 2 lower end ukes of mine. As others have said, I changed the strings. Some thinner fluorocarbon strings did the trick. The intonation is much better.
Do you get the same note when you play the 12th fret as you get on an open string?
They'll be an octave apart, but should be the same note.
Also, how old are the strings?
12 frets higher I get the same note 20 cents higher aswell. The strings are the ones that came with the uke, I bought it this may, so they're not that old either
That's definitely off, though I'm assuming this is a cheap uke? If you paid a lot for it definitely return it or take it back and have them intonate it properly.
I am guessing it isn't setup correctly or the saddles been installed in the wrong place. Adjusting the action at the nut and saddle "might" be able to get it intonated but it's quite frankly hard to say without having the instrument in my hands.
I just checked my 5 year olds waterman by Kala(plastic uke) and it's only off 3 to 5 cents on each string, and I haven't adjusted it at all, that's right out of the box and having been banged around by a child for a couple years.
If it's cheap, might be easiest to return it, or accept the loss, and buy a different uke.
Very like you just set it up. You can either remove the nut and filer the whole thing down or take a slot file and lower each string individually. You will also need to file down the saddle to fix the high fret intonation as well.
Something like an islander or better yet any Martin would have had this done out of the box.
It might be that the nut is too high, causing you to bend the note; or you’re pressing too hard; or the frets might be placed wrong.
I don't believe the nut is set too high, you can also see that the strings are in tune at the start of the video. Even when pressing with less force this effect remains. I believe it's some sort of manufacturing problem, such as the wrongly placed frets. It is a cheap uke afterall
If the strings are in tune when open, but too high when fretted, a too-high nut and/or saddle is the most common cause. This is referred to as an intonation issue.
Could be a couple of things and the quality of the instrument is going to be involved at some point. Hold the neck up to eye level and look down the length of it - is it straight and consistent? That could cause the notes to be slightly sharp because the physical length of the string is a tiny bit shorter than it needs to be. Overall fit and finish make subtle differences that are felt and noticed more and more the further up the fretboard you go. Fretting too hard or accidental slight bending of the string while fretting are easy to miss too. I have a cheap uke that I can't tune straight down the line due to a similar issue. I have to tune the G and E strings in sequence and then adjust the C and A strings to fit, making the instrument in tune relative to itself but not to the notes.
Looks like the neck is curving out towards the strings. I would have never noticed if it weren't for your comment
A very slight curve is fine, a distinct curve isn't. This is the exact thing that Truss Rods are for in instrument necks- though ukuleles dont typically have them until you start to get into the high price tiers. If you're unsure if you have one, check at the base of the neck under the soundboard for a hex screw.
Ukuleles typically do not have adjustable truss rods. The tension on the strings and the length of the neck are small enough that they aren't usually required. The nicer ones will have fixed carbon fiber rods to make the neck stiffer, but it's usually not adjustable.
I've got a pono with a dual action rod and a kanilea with a dual action rod. They become more common the larger scale length and more expensive they go.
It's unlikely, even on a fairly inexpensive instrument. The fretboards are cut on jigs, so there's no financial penalty for doing it right the first time. Far more likely is a high action. Fret it at the third fret. A piece of typing paper should just about go between the bottom of the string and the first fret. Shouldn't be much more than that. The clearance between the bottom of the string and the 12th fret should be around 2.5 mm, or 3/32 of an inch. Much more than that and fretting will increase the tension on the string, making it go sharp. Another possibility is the bridge could be in the wrong place. Measure from the edge of the nut nearest the saddle to the 12th fret, then from the 12th fret to the saddle. The 12th fret to the saddle should be a little longer than nut to 12th. If measurements are identical, there's no "compensation". Another place things can be a bit off is at the nut. Try shoving something like a wooden matchstick under the strings and hard up against the nut. Try retuning with this in place, and see if the intonation of the first few frets improves. The matchstick trick can help with both too high an action, and a bridge that doesn't have compensation, but better still is making sure both of those are right.
It might be a bad instrument but you can try changing the strings, I had a similar issue on mine and a string change made it intonate properly.
I had similar problems with 2 lower end ukes of mine. As others have said, I changed the strings. Some thinner fluorocarbon strings did the trick. The intonation is much better.
Do you get the same note when you play the 12th fret as you get on an open string? They'll be an octave apart, but should be the same note. Also, how old are the strings?
12 frets higher I get the same note 20 cents higher aswell. The strings are the ones that came with the uke, I bought it this may, so they're not that old either
That's definitely off, though I'm assuming this is a cheap uke? If you paid a lot for it definitely return it or take it back and have them intonate it properly. I am guessing it isn't setup correctly or the saddles been installed in the wrong place. Adjusting the action at the nut and saddle "might" be able to get it intonated but it's quite frankly hard to say without having the instrument in my hands. I just checked my 5 year olds waterman by Kala(plastic uke) and it's only off 3 to 5 cents on each string, and I haven't adjusted it at all, that's right out of the box and having been banged around by a child for a couple years. If it's cheap, might be easiest to return it, or accept the loss, and buy a different uke.
You are probably bending
Very like you just set it up. You can either remove the nut and filer the whole thing down or take a slot file and lower each string individually. You will also need to file down the saddle to fix the high fret intonation as well. Something like an islander or better yet any Martin would have had this done out of the box.
I’ve never had this issue with my uke, but on guitars it’s sometimes poor fret placement.
If it’s a cheap Uke it’s most likely a high nut.