Wood violin pegs.... Have you had them on a uke?
- Thread starter Doc_J
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RyanMFT
Guest
Go on then. Why?
To save enough money to buy pegheads?
peewee
Well-known member
Go on then. Why?
“Do anything, but let it produce joy.”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
OP
OP
Doc_J
Well-known member
I have wood pegs on three of my ukuleles. They work great and I like them better than any other tuner. Pegheads are great, but to me they are like building a modern Model T. Looks the same on the outside but without the charm and simplicity of the original.
Like most discussions, this comes down to personal preference. I just like old things, always have. Therefore, I like the look and function of wood pegs and for a ukulele which originally had them, I don't want anything else on it. I like the idea of not having any metal on a wood ukulele, and the look of four carved wood tuners appeals to me.
A couple years ago I found a very early (1890's or so) ukulele which had the headstock holes reamed out and modern friction tuners installed. I spent a bunch of extra money to have the holes plugged then re-drilled, tapered, and wood pegs fit. For me, it was just a matter of bringing it back to it's original look and function. More recently I found a 20's/30's Kamaka pineapple which was sans tuners. The holes were tapered and originally had pegs....Kamaka told me they don't have a source to buy wood pegs, and that wood pegs don't work anyway so they just put in modern tuners. Thus, my ukulele did not go to Kamaka for repairs. You know what, it stays in tune extremely well and the wood pegs I had installed look beautiful!
Here's a picture of the early ukulele with the holes plugged and new pegs fit. The photo shows the plugs much more than one can see in person.
This is one time is was best not to have Kamaka restore it.
The luthier did very nice work. The pegs do look good on it.
I'd love to see more of that 1890's Kamaka.
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RyanMFT
Guest
Above is a photo of my early mystery ukulele, not my Kamaka....sorry about that. I believe Kamaka didn't come into existence until 1916. No modifications were necessary to my Kamaka, new wood pegs fit right in. Here it is......
Pondoro
Well-known member
I have home made wooden pegs on my cigar box uke. I love them.
One exception - If I take them out of my air conditioned house on a hot summer day they get out of tune and embarrass me in front of my friends. I mean they really embarrass me as in uke gets out of tune and I cannot get it back in tune. In the fall/winter/spring the uke can travel. But from now on it stays home on hot summer days.
Oh yeah, they were cheaper than pegheads, unless you count my labor. If you count my labor they cost a lot more than pegheads!
One exception - If I take them out of my air conditioned house on a hot summer day they get out of tune and embarrass me in front of my friends. I mean they really embarrass me as in uke gets out of tune and I cannot get it back in tune. In the fall/winter/spring the uke can travel. But from now on it stays home on hot summer days.
Oh yeah, they were cheaper than pegheads, unless you count my labor. If you count my labor they cost a lot more than pegheads!
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Pondoro
Well-known member
Some day I buy an Ohana and remove the friction tuners and headstock decals and replace the tuners with ebony pegs. I will leave the Ohana stickers on the inside, I am not trying to counterfeit and antique uke, only to get the look.
Pondoro
Well-known member
Ukeval Here are the ones on my vintage soprano...[/QUOTE said:
I have a vintage Yamaha soprano, with wood pegs, and I LOVE 'em! The uke is beat to death, but it's light as a feather, and a joy to play, and the pegs hold tune like nobody's business!
Not sure how long this was out there. But I just got a Model 150 Yamaha Uke while in LA! Which one do you have? Do enjoy it so far and learning about the tuners. (Model 150 60-63 from what I understand). Would love to converse more!
I don't know the model number of mine (I can't make it out on the label). I can take some pics, but as I said, it's got some mileage on it, and it shows. 8^)
Pete F
Well-known member
I have them on an Argapa. They work ok on a tiny soprano and fit with the whole instrument in this case. A little bit of a pain to tune, but nothing too much out of the way. I would want them on anything bigger than the soprano though.
Would love to see it! 50s or 60s vintage u think?
TopDog
Well-known member
I have them on my Rob Collins luthier made soprano. I once
compared my ukulele with another RC built one, but the other
had geared tuners (at the owners request)and mine was a lot
lighter! Easy to tune,easy to maintain,I would not hesitate to
get a uke with them fitted,anytime!
compared my ukulele with another RC built one, but the other
had geared tuners (at the owners request)and mine was a lot
lighter! Easy to tune,easy to maintain,I would not hesitate to
get a uke with them fitted,anytime!
Down Up Dick
Well-known member
My old, old Ka-Lai Pineapple came with 'em. It was made in Hawaii and has a Pineapple on the front. My Mom let the kids play with it, and they lost one or two pegs.
When I got it again, I put regular uke tuners on it, but they never really worked well. A while back, I put violin pegs on it, mostly for looks, and it tuned and played okay. Now it stays on a bookshelf in my music room.
I don't play it any more.ld:
When I got it again, I put regular uke tuners on it, but they never really worked well. A while back, I put violin pegs on it, mostly for looks, and it tuned and played okay. Now it stays on a bookshelf in my music room.
I don't play it any more.
ld:
