Accoustic/Electric Tenor...

Last week I ordered an Oscar Schmidt OU8TLCE from Austin Bazaar. It arrived, one of the tuners was bad (I posted about it in the tech forum), I returned it. Decided I didn't like the "sealed" nameless tuners and asked to have it exchanged for an OU6LCE (very pretty, inlaid abalone, grover tunerse)... but now that the Ukulele has arrived back to them, they're sold out of the ou6lce, and won't have more until September.

I'm feeling slightly pathetic, because this is to be my 50th birthday present from my mother- birthday is in August, and I don't wannnnna wait until September.

So with all of that useless backstory...

What tenor should I get? I want a tenor because my teenaged daughter has a soprano and a concert, so a tenor kind of rounds us out. I was choosing an acoustic/electric cutout because 1- I like the cutout and 2- maybe I might want to plug into an amp someday.

Austin Bazaar customer service has been very responsive to me, and for ease and respect, I'd like to stay with them. I think they will do a straight-across trade if the uke I get is more expensive than the ou8 was, at least up to some reasonable amount (they were prepared to trade for the ou6lce, which was ~$30 more than the 8, for example), and mostly I'm not terribly worried about cost- I could kick in up to like $100 of my own money so my mother doesn't have to.

Anyone wanna go shopping for me?

Just looked through the AB website at their tenor inventory. IMHO there are two possible choices.

If the intention is to have an A/E, the Kala KA TE is there. It's a laminate, but if it's as good as the KA-BE (baritone) I got a couple months ago, it's a darned decent uke. if a straight acoustic is acceptable, then the Kala KA-ATP-CTG Solid Cedar Top should be a consideration.

It's always easy to spend other people's money....

Hello again,

I'm sorry to hear that Austin Bazaar does not have a replacement uke to send you.

If I were shopping for a tenor, I would look into a 5-string. This combines a re-entrant and linear tunings for a very rich sound. I may have overlooked it, but I didn't see one on Austin Bazaar's site just now. Elderly has one:
http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/OUWK100K.htm
Similar models are available from Ohana, and Kala, perhaps more.

Austin Bazaar inventory seems a bit lower than usual, so your choices are more limited if you choose to order from them. Asking for a refund would open more choices to you. I got my spalted maple Oscar Schmidt ukulele from Austin Bazaar, and am happy--so there is no anti-Austin Bazaar sentiment here. Mims, The Ukulele Site, Uke Republic, Elderly, and Mainland Ukuleles all have great reputations.

People here have been raving about the solid-cedar topped Kala model with Paduak binding.
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?89154-Review-of-Kala-KA-ATP-CTG-quot-the-La-Salle-quot-tenor-uke

Unfortunately, Austin Bazaar is out of the cedar-topped model at the moment. Alternately, they do have a couple of solid-spruce topped model:
http://www.austinbazaar.com/kala-ka-asov-t-solid-spruce-top-tenor-ukulele-kal-ka-asov-t.html

http://www.austinbazaar.com/kala-ka-fmtg-tenor-ukulele-with-solid-spruce-topkal-ka-fmtg.html

As another alternate, a member here has a baritone (with case) for a steal of a price. If you don't want to play baritone tuning you can easily find strings for GCEA tuning to fit a baritone. It's tempting to me, and I'm not in the market for a new uke right now.
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?108832-Kala-Cedar-Top-Baritone

Sorry, only that 5-string has a pickup. The Ukulele Site says very nice things about the Kala KA-TEME...

Would it be absurd to buy a cheap Tenor in the interim, like the Kala MK-T Makala, and let Austin Bazaar backorder the OU6LCE for me to get in (I'd hope) September? I could probably sell the cheap one at a slight loss pretty easily, I'd hope.

I'm just not seeing another I really love. The OU8TLCE was really appealing, but when the tuner was broken I lost trust in the model, and have gotten really attached to the 6... totally based on emotion and aesthetics (and reviews, to a certain extent). These are ridiculous reasons, huh?

You are getting some good recommendations. If you are willing to add even $50 extra, you can get an all solid mahogany Ohana acoustic electric cutaway, or one of the Kala's with either the solid spruce or solid cedar top. That Oscar is pretty, but unplugged, it will not stand out. While the tone isn't bad, it's very quiet and does not project as well as some of the others recommended. I'd suggest a refund and get one of them. The OS list price, what is it, $429?, is not a "real world" price for an all laminate uke and should be completely disregarded as an indication of the value you are getting for $200.

Oh you got ukefever bad.............thinking of a cheap fill in uke till the one you really want is in. Sorry I got no advice for that kinda condition, I suffer from "gotta have it now" myself.

Take two sopranos and call me in the morning..

Personally, I would buy the instrument from one of the often recommended mail order companies that perform a proper setup, e.g. HMS, Uke Republic, Mim's. A good setup, and having the instrument checked before it is sent to you, are both important. I underestimated this with my very first ukulele, and I regretted it later on. I understand wanting to support a place that's been good to you; perhaps you could buy something else from them? Ukulele books, strings, notes?

Eris said:

Would it be absurd to buy a cheap Tenor in the interim, like the Kala MK-T Makala, and let Austin Bazaar backorder the OU6LCE for me to get in (I'd hope) September? I could probably sell the cheap one at a slight loss pretty easily, I'd hope.

I'm just not seeing another I really love. The OU8TLCE was really appealing, but when the tuner was broken I lost trust in the model, and have gotten really attached to the 6... totally based on emotion and aesthetics (and reviews, to a certain extent). These are ridiculous reasons, huh?

Click to expand...

No, not absurd. If you like it, it's more likely you'll play it. One model that slipped through quality control with a broken gear is no reason to abandon the whole line.

Found this Kala cutaway on Uke Republic;
http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/kala-ka-atp-ctg-ce-cedar-acacia-slothead-cutaway-tenor-ukulele-w-eq

This Islander is a laminate and is not a cutaway, but it does have a pickup, and nice grain (it photographs well). If you decide on a cheaper uke for now, this one would probably be easy to re-sell later.
http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/islander-acacia-tenor-ukulele-w-eq

Uke Republic and The Ukulele Site do a great job of photographing the instruments they sell. Other vendors should take note. When you must buy online, you can't tell much about sound or playability, but eye-appeal is a motivator also.

I've got an Ohana laminate A/E tenor for sale. Sounds good, great Mim setup, looks great. $160 shipped OBO. PM me if you're interested.

Eris said:

Would it be absurd to buy a cheap Tenor in the interim, like the Kala MK-T Makala, and let Austin Bazaar backorder the OU6LCE for me to get in (I'd hope) September? I could probably sell the cheap one at a slight loss pretty easily, I'd hope.

I'm just not seeing another I really love. The OU8TLCE was really appealing, but when the tuner was broken I lost trust in the model, and have gotten really attached to the 6... totally based on emotion and aesthetics (and reviews, to a certain extent). These are ridiculous reasons, huh?

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'd do. So if it is absurd, you're not alone.

Well, for various reasons, I am limited to Amazon ordering- we'll just have to live with that.

I decided to get a Gretsch G9121. Wish me luck? I just want to get to the part where I'm playing MY ukulele and can give my kid back her Lanikai concert uke.