Sell my sinker redwood Ohana concert for a tenor uke?

Is the guitar worth selling if you still have it?

The guitar is nice but it's not "nice". It's not a starter guitar but it's nothing too many people are going to get excited about either. I had it listed on Craigslist as a package bundle including all my guitar related stuff. I only had one bite from someone who was really low balling me. So far the experience has taught me that used guitars are, in large part, a dime a dozen. I need to adjust my expectations and get realistic about what I'm likely to get for it. Instead of asking for what it's worth, I need to ask for what I'm more likely going to get and unfortunately, it's probably going to be a lot less. It's a dust collector now just taking up space so I think I just need to bite the bullet, move it for what I can get for it and take the hit.

If I continue my tenor uke pursuit, it's looking like I should sell the Lanikai and a bunch of my other stuff to finance it. If I continue to pursue the tenor then the next question is, "How much tenor should I buy?". I don't think I'd want just a starter tenor but I wouldn't get anything as nice as a Koaloha either. At the very least it would have to have a solid top.
 
Pono tenors are nice, like their Mahogany Deluxe or Acacia Deluxe models. I have a Pono ATD that just rings like a bell! Kala tenors are pretty sweet too, and a Mainland Tenor will get you an all solid wood uke for around $300 USD. Ah, so many ukes and so little time, and money! :)
 
A Pono would be my extravagant, "go wild" option, my upper limit and a bit of a stretch. I was looking at the AT, MT or MGT. From the HMS site, they sound wonderful. They have a simple charm to their looks but they're kind of plain. I wonder if HMS ever has blems in any of those models and what kind of discount they would offer for them.

I looked at Mainland ukes too. I wonder if Mainlands and my Ohana are basically the same uke with different brand names and slightly different features. If you look at them, they look very similar.

http://www.ohana-music.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=29887

I was looking at Mainland's red cedar, mahogany or mango. I think I'd be gravitating more toward a warm, mellow and woody sound rather than a loud, bright, or brash sound. (More middle to lower tones than middle to high tones.) How would you rank those woods in tone warmth from most to least?

I haven't really looked into Kalas yet. Any suggestions there?
 
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My experience - others' may vary - is that cedar is bright and loud. Mahogany I know as I have a tenor in hand, is warm and mellow. Mango I haven't played, but when I've heard it, it seemed brighter than mahogany, but not as loud as cedar. Depends on what you're looking for. But if as you said, you want lower, mellow, more resonant, then I would go mahogany.

On the 2 ukes... If a tenor fell into your lap and you didn't have to part with the others for either financial or peace-keeping reasons, would you keep them all?
 
My experience - others' may vary - is that cedar is bright and loud. Mahogany I know as I have a tenor in hand, is warm and mellow. Mango I haven't played, but when I've heard it, it seemed brighter than mahogany, but not as loud as cedar. Depends on what you're looking for. But if as you said, you want lower, mellow, more resonant, then I would go mahogany.

While people's ears and preferences do certainly differ, I think cedar being characterized as "bright" would be a less common view. Regardless, it really depends a lot on the build and the specific instrument.
 
When I floated the idea that I wanted ukulele 2 (the Ohana) I got a serious eye roll, a discouraging remark and a somewhat begrudging acceptance after I reasoned that I really enjoyed playing the uke (which she knew and could see) and that I wanted a quality, solid wood instrument. I know for CERTAIN that a 3rd uke would not fly. My wife would argue that the money would be much better spent on X,Y or Z.
Sounds like a relationship thang and I don't have a counselor's hat to don. But here's what helped when I went lens-crazy a few years ago: Anything that didn't touch the household budget was fine with my finance director. So, I became a lens dealer on eBay. I bought cameras and lenses, kept the keepers, and sold the rest for enough profit to continue. Cashflow through my PayPal account was my own affair. Seed money for that came from selling some old electronics. I now have more lenses I don't need, a couple instruments that don't really excite me, and more vintage electronics. Selling those will provide funds for yet more mandos and ukes, all totally separate from the household budget. Domestic tranquility is maintained. Whew.
 
On the 2 ukes... If a tenor fell into your lap and you didn't have to part with the others for either financial or peace-keeping reasons, would you keep them all?

That's an excellent question!

I tend to be a practical person, perhaps at times, overly so. That's kind of what got this whole thing started. I started thinking, "If I only have two ukes, why do I own two of the same size?" I'm thinking that if I'm going to own two of something, one should offer a considerable and more defining difference than the other one. That's what got me thinking of substituting a tenor for one of my concerts.

Now if a tenor fell into my lap, would I keep all three? My initial reaction, if there were no other factors involved, is that it would be kind of cool to keep all three but then the practical me pipes up. When I think about it, I don't really want to own a bunch of ukes even if money weren't a factor. My ear isn't so refined that I need several ukes to cover the spectrum of small differences found in ukes of the same size. My skill certainly doesn't warrant even owning more than one uke. I really dig the look of a lot of ukes I've seen but I don't want to own a bunch because they look cool and I don't feel the need to play a variety of different tone woods. But this is all me. I know a lot of people out there feel differently and that's fine. The practical me could rationalize having a concert and a tenor because they are substantially different. If I had three ukes, I'd feel guilty or wasteful because there's most likely going to be one uke that rarely or barely gets played. Even now with only two, I switch to the other uke more out of guilt and duty to give it more or equal playing time than I do the need and/or desire to play that specific uke for what it has to offer. So if a tenor fell into my lap, I'd still probably let go of one of the concerts.
 
Sounds like a relationship thang and I don't have a counselor's hat to don. But here's what helped when I went lens-crazy a few years ago: Anything that didn't touch the household budget was fine with my finance director. So, I became a lens dealer on eBay. I bought cameras and lenses, kept the keepers, and sold the rest for enough profit to continue. Cashflow through my PayPal account was my own affair. Seed money for that came from selling some old electronics. I now have more lenses I don't need, a couple instruments that don't really excite me, and more vintage electronics. Selling those will provide funds for yet more mandos and ukes, all totally separate from the household budget. Domestic tranquility is maintained. Whew.

I'm probably painting my wife a bit unfairly with my description. I can totally understand where she's coming from. She's never been bitten by the ukulele bug so she doesn't "get it". She doesn't understand the fun and the joy of playing one. In addition to that, I'm in a transitional period and not as gainfully employed as I could be plus we have two daughters attending college so finances can be tight. Something as trivial and unnecessary as adding **additional** ukes to the ones I already have is a pretty hard sell so her reaction is actually pretty understandable and justified. I get it. :)

Your advice is good though, I do the same thing (buying/selling/PayPal) to finance stuff I want without denting the household budget. If I decide to go for the tenor, I'll be selling some stuff to finance it.
 
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I find string tension on a tenor not quite right for me when tuned GCEA. It's not the soreness on my fingers etc, I just find the instrument doesn't resonate as well, or perhaps looses the low-end. So I tune my tenors in Bb (FBbDG) (in fact I tune one of my concerts that way too). I find it more comfortable and I think it has a better sound for it. When I'm playing in a group if I really want to use that ukulele I just throw a capo on.

Trying out lower tunings really opened up a whole world to me. I thought I didn't like tenors but I really do now.

Trying out lower tunings was a brilliant suggestion! :cool: I was playing both ukes last night, switching back and forth as I described earlier when I remembered your post. For the fun of it, I gave it a go but I only tuned down a half-step. (Gb/B/Eb/Ab) While I really liked what it did to the sound of both ukes, I LOVED what it did to the sound of the Ohana! It gave the Ohana a richer, warmer and fuller sound. It was as if the sinker redwood top was giving off an aural smile! I think I actually prefer the sound of the alternate tuning over the conventional G/C/E/A tuning. I was also kind of surprised that even though I only tuned it down a half-step, that I could feel a slight difference in the feel of the strings as I was fretting chords. The alternate tuning also made it easier to sing a lot of the songs in my song book. When I add a song to my book I'll transpose it to better suit my (limited) vocal range. Even then, a good number of songs are a little high or have certain passages where I'm straining to hit the highs. The lower tunings made them much more comfortable to sing. I'm going to have to play around more with alternate tunings. Since I don't play with anyone right now (I'd like to some day) the alternate tuning isn't an issue.

This may be a dumb question but would you be able to alternate tune a concert to sound like a G/C/E/A tenor? I'm guessing that maybe trying to do so would probably make the strings too slack.
 
Update: There's been a very interesting development this last weekend! A totally unexpected windfall was tossed into my lap! Now if I decided to go ahead with the tenor I wouldn't have to scrimp, save or sell a bunch of my stuff, I'd be able to buy it outright! It wouldn't be anything in the realm of a Koaloha but it will allow me to get a better uke than what I was initially expecting to consider. I'm already getting ahead of myself and looking into a Cordoba 30T, Pono MT, Pono MTD, Pono AT or Pono ATD. I plan on getting to the music store tomorrow or Friday to test out tenors to see if a tenor size would be something I'd want and enjoy enough to warrant spending the funds. If I were a betting man I'd say that the odds are pretty good that a new tenor will be coming my way! :cool: :D

Re: the sinker redwood Ohana. I'm really digging the sound tuned a half-step down from GCEA. If you've never considered or tried alternate tunings you should give it a try. I've made up my mind that I can't give up this uke. It's a beauty to the eye and ear and I know I'd regret parting with it so I have to keep it. If I end up getting the tenor, the Lanikai would have to go...
 
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I went to the music store today armed with my song book and a tuner. I sampled various tenors for about an hour. I was actually surprised and impressed with the number of ukes they had there, easily 3-4 dozen or more. Anyway, the bottom line is:

-tenor yet to be named = in!
-my current Ohana = in!
-my current Lanikai = is going to need a new home

Anyone in the Mpls./St. Paul metro area looking for a nice deal on a Lanikai/case/tuner/cleaning cloth? :cool:
It has no issues, has low action and plays like a breeze! I've been playing it for 3 years and still love it. It would be great for a beginner too!

My journey continues here:
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?108669-Mahogany-tenors-Cordoba-30T-or-Pono-MT
 
Glad you kept the Ohana - I have the tenor version with the sinker redwood top and it is far better than it deserves to be. I keep trying to justify another tenor, but I can't quite bring myself to do it. Mind you, I'm notorious for buying/selling/buying, so I don't know what I'm going to tell my wife to justify another purchase.

The Ohana is a keeper.
 
I don't know what I'm going to tell my wife to justify another purchase.

My wife just raises her eyebrows and gives me that "What do you want another for?" expression. :)

I have my tenors tuned DGBE (high D) It makes a nice contrast to the brighter tone of the smaller instruments.
 
Glad you kept the Ohana - I have the tenor version with the sinker redwood top and it is far better than it deserves to be. I keep trying to justify another tenor, but I can't quite bring myself to do it. Mind you, I'm notorious for buying/selling/buying, so I don't know what I'm going to tell my wife to justify another purchase.

The Ohana is a keeper.

It is indeed! I think I was temporarily blinded by thoughts of a new tenor and the prospect of paying for all or most of it with what I could have potentially sold the Ohana for. I'm glad I came around, the Ohana has so much going for it. I'm fascinated by and really love the whole story of how sinker redwood came about and how it was salvaged. I also really liked the idea that the top of my uke was made out of old-growth wood, possibly harvested in the 1800's! Here are two interesting articles which hooked me and set me off in pursuit of a sinker redwood Ohana.

http://www.redwoodsalvagesales.com/the-salvage-story.htm
http://lichtyguitars.com/2010/06/26/what-is-sinker-redwood-2/

Besides that cool story is the story of what I had to go through to even acquire one. I was late into this model's game and since this was a limited edition, there wasn't one to be had anywhere. I was searching everywhere on the internet and even had a hopeful, long-term lead which never panned out. My last ditch effort finally paid off. I think from the time I started actively looking for the Ohana until the time I actually got it was almost a year. Even then, it only happened because I found someone with a special connection. A little mix up with the tuners lead to a situation that left me with a truly unique looking head. I bet I'm the only one who has one like it.

Of course it's a beautiful looking uke and it sounds great. I'm falling in love with it again after tuning it down a half-step. (Gb/B/Eb/Ab) When I hear it, it's almost like the Ohana is saying, "Yes! This is what I've been waiting for!" I'm loving how it resonates in response to the alternate tuning.
 
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Funny you should bring up how you found your Ohana. I found the tenor on Elderly's website. I was looking at the tenor guitars, and I saw the Ohana mixed in with the other "tenor" instruments instead of in the uke section and I snapped it up before anyone else would notice it. Good karma perhaps!
 
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