New ukulele in the price range ~$400 and other stuff

Elegant,

Not to make your decision more complicated, especially since you've received some excellent advice, but I have and love a Hamano soprano. I can't speak for the concerts, although I imagine their tone would be similar. It's the one (so far anyway) I can't bear to sell even though I've since purchased more higher quality ukes.

Best of luck with your search.

Good to hear that before and not after I've purchased it. I still have plenty of time to make a decision, but it feels like Kala's going to be my first not cheapy ukulele. Though, I admit I couldn't drop the Hamano ukulele from my mind. :p
 
My friends, I've recently ordered the ukulele plus the beginner's package from HMS. Guess if I'm excited! :cool:
 
Congrats! The anticipation must be exquisite. Did HMS say how long it might take to get to Sweden? Of course it needs setup first. Keep us updated and share the joy when you finally get your hands on it. Browse the Uke Talk section and see some recent "New Uke Day" posts to see what I mean. I hope to post one later today if USPS cooperates. :music:
 
Congrats! The anticipation must be exquisite. Did HMS say how long it might take to get to Sweden? Of course it needs setup first. Keep us updated and share the joy when you finally get your hands on it. Browse the Uke Talk section and see some recent "New Uke Day" posts to see what I mean. I hope to post one later today if USPS cooperates. :music:

HMS didn't say anything about delivery time (I didn't ask about it), but I've ordered some other non-related stuff from America before and usually it takes all from one and a half week to three weeks, but I've learnt to not be in hurry, although I really want it here.

I've got a confirmation mail regarding my order, but there may be something wrong with the confirmation mail, see picture below:

orderhg.png


It's empty, but I've already paid for it (got confirmation from PayPal, checked my bank), although I'm pretty sure everything is fine. Anyway, I tend to worry a bit more since I'm not used to music stores and instruments overall. Just to be sure I've sent Andrew at HMS a mail to make sure everything is like it should be - I mean, my tracking id status says it's delivered. :p

However, right now I'm playing with my crappy ukulele and I can't wait for the real deal! :D
 
Last edited:
Got a mail from them today and they wanted me to send the information about what I've purchased from them. Probably there was some bug with the website - they've got the payment and the address, but not the actual order.

So, everything's fine. :)
 
Yeeeeeeaaah! My package is on the way - I can follow it at USPS! :)
 
Updating...

Current tracking info makes me a little suspicious:

Detailed Results:

Processed Through Sort Facility, January 05, 2012, 3:28 am, P&DC HONOLULU HI 968 (USPS)
Arrived at Sort Facility, January 05, 2012, 3:28 am, P&DC HONOLULU HI 968 (USPS)
Depart USPS Sort Facility, January 04, 2012, HONOLULU, HI 96820
Processed through USPS Sort Facility, January 03, 2012, 11:45 pm, HONOLULU, HI 96820
Dispatched to Sort Facility, January 03, 2012, 6:01 pm, WAHIAWA, HI 96786
Acceptance, January 03, 2012, 4:19 pm, WAHIAWA, HI 96786
Electronic Shipping Info Received, January 02, 2012


Has it arrived twice at Honolulu? Shouldn't it arrived at USA after the "Depart USPS Sort Facility" status?
 
Just a guess, but I'd be willing to bet the 2nd stop in Honolulu is customs related. Maybe others who tracked a USPS international shipment can confirm. Tracking info is both a blessing and a curse. I wouldn't worry.
 
Just a guess, but I'd be willing to bet the 2nd stop in Honolulu is customs related. Maybe others who tracked a USPS international shipment can confirm. Tracking info is both a blessing and a curse. I wouldn't worry.

What do you mean by customs related? Anyway, I'm pretty sure everything's fine, I'm just wondering how the process works. It's not every day I order something from United States. :)
 
"customs related" is probably the wrong phrase. I just meant that it went to a hub for international shipments. Like I said, too many details is sometimes a curse. I tracked a phone shipment not long ago that took a circuitous route in the U.S. Turned out FedEx has hubs they use that don't always result in the shortest distance, but they still get the package delivered on time. But my initial reaction was shock that it was going in the wrong direction.
 
It is little wonder USPS is always in the red. A friend ordered a car part from New York City. He lives in NE Maryland about an hour outside Baltimore. The package was sent from NYC to Baltimore. From there it went to Cumberland MD a few hours west of Baltimore, back to Linthicum (outside of DC) before coming back to Baltimore and then up to where he lives. I think they just wanted to give the package a tour of the state :)
 
Okay. It seems logical now, I think. But I really want the ukulele in my hand! :D
 
Woah! Current status:

Your item is being processed by customs in SWEDEN at 12:11 pm on January 09, 2012.

That was QUICK. The Swedish internal shipping company will probably bring me the ukulele in one or two days. :)
 
The Swedish internal shipping company will probably bring me the ukulele in one or two days. :)
Alright! Have you read some of the discussions about exposing ukes to sudden changes in temperature? I live in a very mild climate, so I didn't really pay close attention. Also note that all three ukes that have been shipped to me sounded better after a day or two. Strings settling in, wood adjusting to different climate...??
 
Alright! Have you read some of the discussions about exposing ukes to sudden changes in temperature? I live in a very mild climate, so I didn't really pay close attention. Also note that all three ukes that have been shipped to me sounded better after a day or two. Strings settling in, wood adjusting to different climate...??

Nope, I haven't. Maybe the strings has settled in perfectly during the shipping time? It's freezing in south Sweden, where I live. But at least the ukulele is in the hard case from the "Beginners Case & Accessory Package! Add On" from HMS.
 
The strings are loosened before shipping, so you'll have to tighten/tune them multiple times over the first few days. I don't know how well a case will insulate the uke. If the package has been exposed to 0º C over a number of days, the uke inside will be cold. You won't want to suddenly open everything up and put it into a room at 25º C.

Hopefully others will chime in who've actually done this, but at the very least I think you'd want to crack/unzip the case open just a bit inside a not-too-warm room and let the uke inside slowly adjust to the ambient air temps. Some have waited several hours, while others can barely stand to wait for 2 hrs.
 
The strings are loosened before shipping, so you'll have to tighten/tune them multiple times over the first few days. I don't know how well a case will insulate the uke. If the package has been exposed to 0º C over a number of days, the uke inside will be cold. You won't want to suddenly open everything up and put it into a room at 25º C.

Hopefully others will chime in who've actually done this, but at the very least I think you'd want to crack/unzip the case open just a bit inside a not-too-warm room and let the uke inside slowly adjust to the ambient air temps. Some have waited several hours, while others can barely stand to wait for 2 hrs.

Well, that's not a problem. :D I've waited one and a half week so some hours or a day won't be a problem. I will surely tune the ukulele over and over the first days. :)
 
Top Bottom