Snail ukuleles?

lason

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I saw a few of these today while I was out uke hunting. Does anyone have any experience with them? Apparently they are designed in Hawaii and made in China.

http://amatis.org/
 
Never heard of em but the webstie looks great! They seem to have to decent prices.
 
I wanted to love the Kala that I played today but there was something about the Snail that seemed more expressive.
 
I'm thinking about getting one of these

SNAILROUKT.png


It's $139 with free shipping.
 
Let me know what you think if you get one. They look pretty interesting.
 
I bought an Ebony model after reading Lardy's review on UU and his own site:

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?83448-Snail-Signature-Ebony-Concert
http://home.ukulelecorner.co.uk/home/in-the-corner/alto-or-concert/ebony-snail

It is a real beauty and the build and sounds are good. Since then I also acquired the walnut and koa (concert and tenor) models. I am from Hong Kong so I can get them at low prices from China.

Many people here and in China said that you should avoid ukuleles with 2 white dots on the bridge. It means that the bridge is attached to the body with 2 screws and the 2 dots are used to cover the screws. Only low quality, cheap ukuleles will do it this way, and this may affect sound quality.
 
I spent all day calling every music store I could find that carries the Snail brand ukes and they all speak highly of them and say they don't stay on the shelf for very long. I think I may pull the trigger on that rosewood tenor.
 
Many people here and in China said that you should avoid ukuleles with 2 white dots on the bridge. It means that the bridge is attached to the body with 2 screws and the 2 dots are used to cover the screws. Only low quality, cheap ukuleles will do it this way, and this may affect sound quality.

I was just going to post how pretty this ukulele looked. I did play some at a store a few weeks ago, and thought they sounded pretty good for the price. But now that you mention it, those dots do seem to be covering holes, which you can see clearly in the photo below. Yet, I would never have thought to look for this on my own.What other tips do you have, being so close there to the Chinese market, on what to look for or avoid?
 
I'm going to have to call and ask about the bridge if I do order it. I noticed on some of their higher priced ukes that they don't have the dots on the bridge.
 
Dots on the bridge tip is good to know.

They look nice. I liked the one with the snail sound hole - pretty neat!
 
I was just going to post how pretty this ukulele looked. I did play some at a store a few weeks ago, and thought they sounded pretty good for the price. But now that you mention it, those dots do seem to be covering holes, which you can see clearly in the photo below. Yet, I would never have thought to look for this on my own.What other tips do you have, being so close there to the Chinese market, on what to look for or avoid?

As so many ukuleles are mass-produced in China, being close to the market, I am able to try out many different brands and models. I am not a vendor myself. I have a studio teaching ukulele to kids. That means I always buy ukulele for my students and have built long-term relationship with vendors and factories.

Uke hunting in China is a different game from that in the USA. The biggest problem is always quality control. As traders always change factories, even same brand same model but different lot will perform very differently. I will not go after brand names but trust my gate-keeper, i.e., the vendors. If you buy it in USA, except for a handful of bands, you better try it out in person. What makes Snail one of my favorite low-end brand is that it mainly targets the foreign market, thus a more consistent quality control.
 
I like it too. Real thing looks more beautiful than picture. ;)
 
Many people here and in China said that you should avoid ukuleles with 2 white dots on the bridge. It means that the bridge is attached to the body with 2 screws and the 2 dots are used to cover the screws. Only low quality, cheap ukuleles will do it this way, and this may affect sound quality.

Just want to mention that it is not necessarily true that screws in a bridge equal a lower quality instrument. KoAloha screws bridges down, they just put in a nice wood strip over the screw head!
 
Just want to mention that it is not necessarily true that screws in a bridge equal a lower quality instrument. KoAloha screws bridges down, they just put in a nice wood strip over the screw head!


Thank you for pointing this out. Perhaps because the white dots are so common among most below $100 ukuleles so that people began to associate the screws with poor quality.

The effects of screws on sound is an interesting topic. Anyone here could offer an answer?
 
I called Amati today and they said they just got their shipment of tenor ukes in so I placed an order with Antonio Violin, their retail outlet. I ordered the rosewood tenor which came to $139 with free shipping. They said they let the ukes sit for 10 days so they can acclimate to the change in humidity and then have a tech dress the frets and adjust the action if necessary so they're playable out of the box when they arrive. Hopefully I'll get it in a few weeks and I'll post an update then.
 
Many people here and in China said that you should avoid ukuleles with 2 white dots on the bridge. It means that the bridge is attached to the body with 2 screws and the 2 dots are used to cover the screws. Only low quality, cheap ukuleles will do it this way, and this may affect sound quality.

This is wrong - Koaloha in Hawaii attach their bridges with screws I believe. I have no issue with it myself, and certainly not convinced it affects sound quality
 
Sorry - just seen that point had been made. Ignore me
 
I just bought a soprano Snail and love it more than my more expensive Kala! Full tone. nice forgiving action, long neck for a soprano, great!!!
 
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