::Leader Board:: Ahnko Honu Takes The Lead Chapter 18!

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As in, your very own car? As in you can drive yourself to UWC now? As in Mandi is FREE AS A BIRD???

Yay!
Almost free. I have about a month left of living with my mom.

My own car that I am taking to UWC! :D
I am going to start packing and moving my stuff once I get back from the banjo trip next week.
 
I have taken some photos of my new Eastman concert uke, but I'm not sure how good they are. When I try to preview them on my computer, they are HUGE and require lots of scrolling in order to see them. I think some of them may be blurred, and not worth keeping.

I'm amazed at how difficult it is to photograph a uke with a glossy finish. It seems that no matter how I tried, I couldn't eliminate the reflections on the glossy surfaces. It made it difficult to capture the beautiful grain and figuring of the wood, and may have even masked the true color. The finish is quite red, which I love. The wood is solid mahogany, and the binding is rosewood.

RichM, notice the differences between my prototype and your production Eastman; the shape of the peghead, the binding, the length of the fretboard. I've noticed, also, that this uke has the neck/body joint at the 12th fret, while my Kala concert is joined at the 14th.

Such a beautiful uke, and I don't think the pictures will do it justice....

I love the traditional Martin-style fretboard end, and the binding is gorgeous. The bridge seems so much lighter in color than the rest of the uke-- is it maple? Or just lighter-colored mahogany?

It's very very pretty!

I imagine the longer, less ornate fretboard and simpler binding were compromises made to keep manufacturing costs down. I'm also thinking of Ken Timms' recent thread where he created a 16-fret fretboard to cover up a flaw on the top wood... I wonder if Eastman is doing that, too.

In any case, I love my Eastman, and I would recommend it to anyone buying in that price range. I sure hope you like yours!
 
Okay, the last of the photos. I wish these really showed how pretty this uke is. I'm going to have to chalk it up to my poor photography skills.

The uke is very well made. The fit and finish are wonderful, there are no noticeable imperfections, and it is very lightweight. It sounds as good as it looks, too! I'm sure the uke sounds better than my playing skill can demonstrate, which gives me something to work toward....

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You know what's funny? When I first started playing, I didn't like Martin ukes at all. Thought they were too basic and boring. Took me a little while to appreciate it's not the package, but what's inside it that matters.
 
I don't feel pressure to take the Speedway job now.
I'm going to look for something else.
 
Okay, the last of the photos. I wish these really showed how pretty this uke is. I'm going to have to chalk it up to my poor photography skills.

The uke is very well made. The fit and finish are wonderful, there are no noticeable imperfections, and it is very lightweight. It sounds as good as it looks, too! I'm sure the uke sounds better than my playing skill can demonstrate, which gives me something to work toward....

View attachment 65979View attachment 65980View attachment 65981View attachment 65982
Congrats on the new uke!
Now we need a sound sample!
:D
 
I have taken some photos of my new Eastman concert uke, but I'm not sure how good they are. When I try to preview them on my computer, they are HUGE and require lots of scrolling in order to see them. I think some of them may be blurred, and not worth keeping.

I'm amazed at how difficult it is to photograph a uke with a glossy finish. It seems that no matter how I tried, I couldn't eliminate the reflections on the glossy surfaces. It made it difficult to capture the beautiful grain and figuring of the wood, and may have even masked the true color. The finish is quite red, which I love. The wood is solid mahogany, and the binding is rosewood.

RichM, notice the differences between my prototype and your production Eastman; the shape of the peghead, the binding, the length of the fretboard. I've noticed, also, that this uke has the neck/body joint at the 12th fret, while my Kala concert is joined at the 14th.

Such a beautiful uke, and I don't think the pictures will do it justice....

View attachment 65971View attachment 65972View attachment 65973View attachment 65974

it looks horrible Don,...................feel free to send it to me.
 
I love the traditional Martin-style fretboard end, and the binding is gorgeous. The bridge seems so much lighter in color than the rest of the uke-- is it maple? Or just lighter-colored mahogany?

It's very very pretty!

I imagine the longer, less ornate fretboard and simpler binding were compromises made to keep manufacturing costs down. I'm also thinking of Ken Timms' recent thread where he created a 16-fret fretboard to cover up a flaw on the top wood... I wonder if Eastman is doing that, too.

In any case, I love my Eastman, and I would recommend it to anyone buying in that price range. I sure hope you like yours!

So far I love it! I think the changes in fretboard length and tuner type were decisions John at Bernunzio's made, based on input from folks in the store who examined the prototypes. Personally, I like them the way that they are, but I guess folks are getting used to geared tuners and extended fretboards.

I noticed the light colored bridge, as well. It appears to be unstained wood, either rosewood or mahogany, I'm not sure. It would look better if it matched the fretboard. The production models don't seem to be that way.

The bridge popped off recently, and the technicians at Bernunzio's repaired it. I sure wish they had stained the bridge to match the fretboard while it was off! Maybe someday, if I get really brave, I'll attempt to stain it.

Rich, is your Eastman also one that has a neck/body joint at the 12th fret? Or is it at the 14th?
 
Congrats on the new uke!
Now we need a sound sample!
:D

Maybe. I'm still getting to know this uke, and I'm still not quite comfortable with it, yet.

I have noticed quite a difference between playing my 8 string, which I love, and a 4 string uke. The 8 string has so much more going on, tonally, that it seems to be much more forgiving of playing errors. A 4 string is much less forgiving, and each little error stands out, especially improperly fretted strings. If one out of 8 strings "thuds", that's one thing. When one out of 4 strings "thuds", it sounds awful....:D
 
I don't feel pressure to take the Speedway job now.
I'm going to look for something else.

The mom in me is happy about that.

Why did you feel pressure at taking the job when you lived with mom? Will it be less expensive at your new place with a car?
 
Rich, is your Eastman also one that has a neck/body joint at the 12th fret? Or is it at the 14th?

Mine has a 12th-fret join, as appears to be the standard for this model. Mine is also one of apparently quite a few that were built with a fret marker at the 9th instead of the 10th fret. Since most uke players, don't even know there *is* a 10th fret, it really isn't that big a deal. :D
 
Beautiful new baby Don. I bet your sis got a kick outta seeing you so happy.
 
it looks horrible Don,...................feel free to send it to me.

This one's staying with me, YAM! :D I waited too long to get my hands on it to give it up.

They have production ukes available of this model, but no more prototypes. They have (or at least had) several very nice B stock examples. They were only considered B stock because the logo on the headstock (another difference between mine and the production models) was slightly out of place....
 
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