Question: Strange experience at music store has me curious about what's...

Ziggy6894

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I brought one of my ukes today to the local music store to be restrung. They are generally condescending to uke players and have little to no uke selection. While looking through a pouch of string packs I have to find the ones I wanted him to put on he saw that I have a pair of Kala Flourocarbons, nothing special I just ordered a back up set when I For my Kala Koa 2 Tenor. He asked me why I had them...then offered me $25.00 for them. I told him, "They only cost 10 and he can order some online." He showed me all the different vendors online including Kala and even eBay and Amazon vendors and that everyone is completely sold out with no knowledge of when they will have more. He then upped his offer to $50.00. The more he offered, the more I wanted them (sad but true) and I would not part with them. When I got home I continued to research this but no where does it say Kala stopped making them, no where do I see people complaining they are not available, and no where is there a mention that are not available for sell anywhere (I did find a store, Elderly Music, with a few pack left but no one else has them.

Question: Does anyone know what's going on? Is the string so irrelevant that I shouldn't care? Any idea on a reason why this guy wanted them so badly?

Thank You
David
Ziggy6894
 
I brought one of my ukes today to the local music store to be restrung. They are generally condescending to uke players and have little to no uke selection. While looking through a pouch of string packs I have to find the ones I wanted him to put on he saw that I have a pair of Kala Flourocarbons, nothing special I just ordered a back up set when I For my Kala Koa 2 Tenor. He asked me why I had them...then offered me $25.00 for them. I told him, "They only cost 10 and he can order some online." He showed me all the different vendors online including Kala and even eBay and Amazon vendors and that everyone is completely sold out with no knowledge of when they will have more. He then upped his offer to $50.00. The more he offered, the more I wanted them (sad but true) and I would not part with them. When I got home I continued to research this but no where does it say Kala stopped making them, no where do I see people complaining they are not available, and no where is there a mention that are not available for sell anywhere (I did find a store, Elderly Music, with a few pack left but no one else has them.

Question: Does anyone know what's going on? Is the string so irrelevant that I shouldn't care? Any idea on a reason why this guy wanted them so badly?

Thank You
David
Ziggy6894

Go back! Take the money and buy a ukulele!
 
Lol. Someone was just telling me that on another thread about string advice. I just watched the videos and I am going to start by practicing on a laminate.
 

I just looked at these at I can almost guarantee you these are Oasis strings. Oasis is the ONLY string manufacture that states their strings can be used on soprano, concert and tenor sizes. Kala does not make their own strings. Everyone else has specific gauges. Run back to that music store and sell the man those Kala strings for $50.00. You can then buy Oasis strings from Elderly for $6.30, check it out on their site.....just sayin'.....and those are double length
 
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I just looked at these at I can almost guarantee you these are Oasis strings. Oasis is the ONLY string manufacture that states their strings can be used on soprano, concert and tenor sizes. Kala does not make their own strings. Everyone else has specific gauges. Run back to that music store and sell the man those Kala strings for $50.00. You can then buy Oasis strings from Elderly for $6.30, check it out on their site.....just sayin'.....and those are double length

I'm a big fan of Oasis strings, but I'm 99% certain they are just a brand; that is, they simply source them from one of the many companies in Asia that actually manufacture fluorocarbon line.
 
I'm a big fan of Oasis strings, but I'm 99% certain they are just a brand; that is, they simply source them from one of the many companies in Asia that actually manufacture fluorocarbon line.

Yes.....absolutely. We could start the debate about fishing line.......but I won't go there. See what I did there:p
 
Maybe he thought they were Kala U-bass strings... Those are priced a lot higher...
 
I don't see why you need to buy only Kala, I have fluorocarbons from a few companies and I don't find a difference between them. If he is thinking of U-bass strings, they're readily available from Sweetwater, Sam Ash and the guy who created the U-bass and licensed it to Kala, Owen Holt of Road Toad Music. I buy bass uke strings from there all the time. http://www.bassuke.com/string_store.html
 
I am completely stunned by entire experience! No disrespect meant here: just observations...

1) I am amazed that you have spare strings but do not restring your own ukuleles!
2) That the sales person was offering $50 for the set (you should have sold)
3) That the sales person was aware that Kala had a fluorocarbon set (regardless of who actually makes them)

I didn't know that Kala carried fluorocarbon--but to be honest, I'm pretty happy with my Martins and Living Waters (on the Baritone).

I don't know what the Kala elites come with, but it seems that all the other ukuleles come with Aquila Super Nylgut.
 
I take my ukuleles in to a music store be restrung. I have difficulty with fine motor skills, but even if I did not, it is not a big investment of my time or money. I equate it to other tasks I can also do myself, but don't, such as running my car through a car wash instead of using a bucket and a hose.
 
I take my ukuleles in to a music store be restrung. I have difficulty with fine motor skills, but even if I did not, it is not a big investment of my time or money. I equate it to other tasks I can also do myself, but don't, such as running my car through a car wash instead of using a bucket and a hose.

Fair enough. One year in, I have re-strung more ukuleles than many will ever do in a lifetime (when you have over 100 ukuleles in your middle school programs, the task is no longer daunting). By all means...some people do more (e.g. The Ukulele Site).

In the case that you bring a ukulele to a shop for a string change, I would expect that most users would also by the new strings from the store versus bringing them strings to put on.

This brings to mind the last time I changed tires on my motorcycle--I wanted a different brand than the shop offered, and thankfully the dealership had become as close to a friend as is possible, so they were okay with it. Not sure where I would go today, but heck, the entire brand is no more (Victory).
 
Man, I would have taken that $$$ in a heartbeat, but it would have never happened to me cause I am definitely too cheap to ever pay someone to restring any of my instruments.
 
Question: Does anyone know what's going on? Is the string so irrelevant that I shouldn't care? Any idea on a reason why this guy wanted them so badly?

He had counterfeit bills he was trying to launder?!? :confused:
Seriously I can think of no honest reason he would want to make that transaction. If it sounds too good to be true..
 
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