Vintage uke forum?

river_driver

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How about a separate board (or even a sub-forum under "Uke Talk") for vintage ukes?

Doesn't matter if we're talking pre-1920 Nunes, prewar Martins, classic Kamakas - or midcentury plastic fingerboard Harmonys and TV Pals. It'd be neat to start accumulating the vintage info in one place.

My 2 cents. Discuss.
 
Agree. Vintage ukuleles have some unique aspects and quirks.
 
I almost hesitate to say it, but - the word "vintage" is as problematic as the word "affordable" in a previous suggestion for a separate forum. (Ducks quickly. Don't hate me, and please don't throw things at me! :))

Having spent a good part of my life buying and selling "vintage" stuff at flea markets and such, I've seen firsthand how meaningless the word has become. Especially when it comes to clothing - nobody will ever, ever convince me that 1980s and newer is "vintage." But I digress...

The thing I can't quite grasp about new forum suggestions is this - I can't be the only one who goes straight for the New Posts button, skims the list to read what is of interest, and rarely pays any attention to which forum the posts are actually in... can I? And when I do notice, I see a lot of crossover - Uke Talk, vs. Uke Tips, vs. Ukulele Beginners, for example, or Uke Talk vs. Buying Tips. Heck, I didn't even know about Buying Tips until just now - I've always posted my string recommendation inquiries in Uke Talk, for example. Whoops.

Perhaps a Vintage Uke Group might be the way to go?
 
The thing I can't quite grasp about new forum suggestions is this - I can't be the only one who goes straight for the New Posts button, skims the list to read what is of interest, and rarely pays any attention to which forum the posts are actually in... can I?
Nope. That's my usual practice as well.
 
I almost hesitate to say it, but - the word "vintage" is as problematic as the word "affordable" in a previous suggestion for a separate forum.

Perhaps a Vintage Uke Group might be the way to go?

I really don't think this would be quite as divisive as 'affordable'. That thread started becoming a 'have' vs 'have not' thing. Kind of hard to do in the case of 'vintage'. However, I'm not so sure it would something that needed a board of it's own. The only thing I've seen that has absolutely demanded a new board was the seasons videos. That just became an absolute beast, and had to have it's own atmosphere to breath in.

My belief is vintage ukes can be self contained within the uke talk section. It's where I would look for threads about them anyway, if I were a first time browser of UU. It's just intuitive. However, I do think the vintage group thing is a great idea.
 
I really don't think this would be quite as divisive as 'affordable'. That thread started becoming a 'have' vs 'have not' thing. Kind of hard to do in the case of 'vintage'.

Good point. And to clarify, I wasn't thinking so much of the divisiveness as the subjectivity of it, e.g. someone considering their 2005 Kala to be "vintage" because it's an early example of the brand, that sort of thing.
 
Good point. And to clarify, I wasn't thinking so much of the divisiveness as the subjectivity of it, e.g. someone considering their 2005 Kala to be "vintage" because it's an early example of the brand, that sort of thing.

When you say that, words like 'goofy', 'silly', and 'delusional' come to mind for people who would think that. Don't get me wrong, I know they're most likely out there, but I think they would be brushed aside pretty quickly if that were to occur. And, to everybody's credit, I've never seen a thread that anyone has tried to boast an "older new" brand as being vintage. Good example: KoAloha--when they first started in '95, they had round sound holes as opposed to the musubi. I've only seen them called 'rare'.
 
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Just to add--I'm a 'What's New' type of guy too, when I come to the forum. I was already here when they first added that feature. Before that, I hung out almost exclusively in the 'Uke Talk' section.

I'm really glad they added that feature, because there are many things I probably would never have found if not for that.
 
The thing I can't quite grasp about new forum suggestions is this - I can't be the only one who goes straight for the New Posts button, skims the list to read what is of interest, and rarely pays any attention to which forum the posts are actually in... can I? And when I do notice, I see a lot of crossover - Uke Talk, vs. Uke Tips, vs. Ukulele Beginners, for example, or Uke Talk vs. Buying Tips. Heck, I didn't even know about Buying Tips until just now - I've always posted my string recommendation inquiries in Uke Talk, for example. Whoops.

Perhaps a Vintage Uke Group might be the way to go?

That's me too.
 
I'm a "What's New" kind of person, too. That said, if a lot of folks want to talk vintage, it'd be nice to have a space for that. A Vintage Uke Lovers group already exists. Perhaps that group could get more active?
 
Following up on myself ... just took another look at the groups. Vintage Uke Lovers hasn't seen any action since 2011. Most of our groups don't see much participation, for that matter.
 
I can't be the only one who goes straight for the New Posts button, skims the list to read what is of interest, and rarely pays any attention to which forum the posts are actually in... can I?

Nope, you described my behavior exactly.
 
I'm the same....New post button for me
 
(snip)

The thing I can't quite grasp about new forum suggestions is this - I can't be the only one who goes straight for the New Posts button, skims the list to read what is of interest, and rarely pays any attention to which forum the posts are actually in... can I? And when I do notice, I see a lot of crossover - Uke Talk, vs. Uke Tips, vs. Ukulele Beginners, for example, or Uke Talk vs. Buying Tips. Heck, I didn't even know about Buying Tips until just now - I've always posted my string recommendation inquiries in Uke Talk, for example. Whoops.

Perhaps a Vintage Uke Group might be the way to go?

Navigation may be an issue if all you want to do is view "vintage" posts. When you are in the "New Posts" page there is no way to go from the post you are viewing to the next or previous post on the "New Posts" page. From within a "Forum" you can go from the post you are viewing to the next or previous post within the forum with one button click.
 
Been there, done that. There have been numerous well intentioned attempts to elevate this fine ukulele forum up to a higher level by suggesting the addition of a dedicated vintage section, but inexplicably these efforts seem to be met with resistance by the powers that be. As the preeminent uke forum on the planet we ought to be the undisputed leader in this area, instead, we lead from behind on this one and interested parties must go elsewhere for vintage ukulele information. You can infer your own conclusions as to why, I will keep mine to myself. I have come to the conclusion that it just ain't going to happen and that, in my humble opinion, is a shame, for whether you think you have an interest only in new instruments, it is only through the years and years of ukulele construction, experimentation and refinement that we are able to have the wonderful instruments we enjoy today. You don't have live in the past to appreciate it's contribution to the present.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?79558-Any-interest-in-a-vintage-uke-section-on-the-forum&p=1242420#post1242420
 
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I think if there is resistance to establishing a Vintage Uke Forum on the part of management in the ukulele boards; they might be amenable to starting a Vintage Instrument Forum in the Musically Related Boards section. From what I've seen of in the "Groups" forums, they are tragically under-utilized.

I would not limit the forum to vintage ukuleles though. People who are interested in vintage instruments frequently are interested in many types of instrument. I think this would lead to a more vigorous discussion.

Such a forum should define acceptable standards for what vintage means. In general in order to be considered an antique or a folk song for that matter a minimum age is 25 years old. a vintage instrument should have the potential to appreciate in value or be a historical curiousity like the Oscar Schmidt Ukelin, (its a board zither not ukulele). I would also consider Tiny Tim's Ukulele as vintage regardless of its year of manufacture. The first thread should state the criteria and the rationale for the forum, be posted, stickied and locked.

In the short time i've been a UU member I've posted my vintage instrument concerns and issues on the Luthier's Corner Forum. Three times out of four you get useful information back
 
Vintage seems to be a judgement call to me, whereas the categories on UU Forums currently are not.


Just put vintage in the subject line and most will know to avoid the thread. (LOL)
 
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