Costs reset soprano neck

[Henning]

Hello, does anybody please know, how much is a reset of a soprano neck?
Approximately pls

 

[mm stan]

Hope its a sentimental or high end uke to make it worth it...good luck

 

[PhilUSAFRet]

$75 seems to be the average cost. Perhaps a UU'er can do it for less, but then there would be shipping. Check out these sites:

https://www.google.com/#q=how+to+reset+a+ukulele+neck

 

[Henning]

Added photos

Thanks Phil, very useful information indeed.

It´s a 1950s Gretsch mahogany soprano. When considering that the neck is, most likely glued with hide glue, it might be possible to correct it instead of taking it apart.
But then on the other hand the top plate is slightly coming loose at some points and there is a bracing in the bottom too that is loose and needs to be reglued.
If I could reglue the loose bottom rib as well as repairing the cracks without removing the top and neck, hm? :music:

 

[jwieties]

Jake Wildwood is a master with these old ukes.
It will take 3 or 4 months from the time you ship until you get it back, but the work will be top notch and extremely reasonably priced.
http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/p/faqs.html

 

[Vintageukes]

Well, this ukulele has a few issues which would need to be addressed, not just re-gluing the neck. The cracks on the soundboard need to be addressed as well. The cost to completely repair this ukulele where I live (California) would be in the $200 - $250 USD range, maybe more.

These are not uncommon ukuleles in the USA, but I bet they are hard to come by in Sweden. I love bringing these vintage ukuleles back to life. In the USA this ukulele in this condition may sell for $50 USD because of the need of repairs. Hey, bring it to my house and we can fix it together!

 

[Henning]

Well, this ukulele has a few issues which would need to be addressed, not just re-gluing the neck. The cracks on the soundboard need to be addressed as well. The cost to completely repair this ukulele where I live (California) would be in the $200 - $250 USD range, maybe more.

These are not uncommon ukuleles in the USA, but I bet they are hard to come by in Sweden. I love bringing these vintage ukuleles back to life. In the USA this ukulele in this condition may sell for $50 USD because of the need of repairs. Hey, bring it to my house and we can fix it together!

Thanks for both the reply and the offer too. I paid exactly US$ 165
on ebay for it, shipping and VAT to get it into Sweden.

What can I tell the seller to make a refund?

Yesterday I managed to get the top off. The small fretboard extension came off in three pieces.

I went to the violin repairer today in the city and bought some hideglue and also a mahogny bar, the missing one.

Do you think it would be a good idea to smother the rods for supports of the back and top?

The way they are now is so quadratic.
I have never seen a guitar built with supporting bars to look like that,

 

[spongeuke]

You've done the tricky part. I'd say make those braces elegant, tighten everything up, and put back in playing order.

 

[Tigershark]

Jake Wildwood is a master with these old ukes.
It will take 3 or 4 months from the time you ship until you get it back, but the work will be top notch and extremely reasonably priced.

I must disagree with you. I have seen his approach to repairs on his blog and I think his work is appropriate for low cost / player grade instruments or people who want a cheap and quick solution.

Look how low he shaved this bridge. Wow! That's not good, there is nothing left. And it's a rare ukulele, a Wurlitzer stamped Martin 2K. He also oversprayed it. Neither modification is desirable.

http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2015/08/workshop-another-way-to-skin-cat.html



You can look through the repair logs and see guitars with shaved bridges, oversized bridges, and all kinds of other "sins". I would think twice about sending a valuable instrument.

To answer the original question, I have had many guitar neck resets done but never a ukulele. For a guitar it costs about $400 to have it done properly. There are hours of labor involved. For a dovetail neck joint ukulele, the process would be the same, so the cost should be similar. There is nothing worse than a cheap neck reset. If it's a dowel neck joint then it would cost less.

But first be sure that is the only solution.

 

[Henning]

Look how low he shaved this bridge. Wow! That's not good, there is nothing left. And it's a rare ukulele, a Wurlitzer stamped Martin 2K. He also oversprayed it. Neither modification is desirable.

http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2015/08/workshop-another-way-to-skin-cat.html

View attachment 86699

You can look through the repair logs and see guitars with shaved bridges, oversized bridges, and all kinds of other "sins". I would think twice about sending a valuable instrument.

To answer the original question, I have had many guitar neck resets done but never a ukulele. For a guitar it costs about $400 to have it done properly. There are hours of labor involved. For a dovetail neck joint ukulele, the process would be the same, so the cost should be similar. There is nothing worse than a cheap neck reset. If it's a dowel neck joint then it would cost less.

But first be sure that is the only solution.

The neck is still on. I have to saw through to get it off. There is just one dowel pin.

Maybe Jake got this uke for repairs when the bridge was already off. Maybe he approached the problem of a neck tilted forwards and compensated that by shaving down the bridge. That might be a possibility.

What would a too far shaved bridge matter?
Esthetically or technically?
I´m curious.

You've done the tricky part. I'd say make those braces elegant, tighten everything up, and put back in playing order.

Yepp, I´d try to. I dont want to send it away. It would cost too much. I´ll fight with it and manage, somehow.

 

[Tigershark]

Maybe Jake got this uke for repairs when the bridge was already off. Maybe he approached the problem of a neck tilted forwards and compensated that by shaving down the bridge. That might be a possibility.

What would a too far shaved bridge matter?
Esthetically or technically?

Read the link and you will see he removed the bridge to lower the action. When the bridge is too low, there is not enough force to drive the top, and you lose tone and volume. It also looks bad and is not reversible.

 

[jwieties]

I must disagree with you. I have seen his approach to repairs on his blog and I think his work is appropriate for low cost / player grade instruments or people who want a cheap and quick solution.

Look how low he shaved this bridge. Wow! That's not good, there is nothing left. And it's a rare ukulele, a Wurlitzer stamped Martin 2K. He also oversprayed it. Neither modification is desirable.

http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2015/08/workshop-another-way-to-skin-cat.html

View attachment 86699

You can look through the repair logs and see guitars with shaved bridges, oversized bridges, and all kinds of other "sins". I would think twice about sending a valuable instrument.

To answer the original question, I have had many guitar neck resets done but never a ukulele. For a guitar it costs about $400 to have it done properly. There are hours of labor involved. For a dovetail neck joint ukulele, the process would be the same, so the cost should be similar. There is nothing worse than a cheap neck reset. If it's a dowel neck joint then it would cost less.

But first be sure that is the only solution.

I've had jake work on a uke and it is excellent. True, among his specialties is taking low valued instruments, which is what the uke in question is, and making them players. It is a huge misrepresentation to say he "over sprayed" this uke. Also, he doesn't just do whatever he wants. He presents the customer with various options, all at a reasonable cost, and together make a decision about the direction to go. In the case you linked, neck angle doesn't appear to be the issue. Tigershark might hesitate, but I would send Jake anything from my 20's Gibson2 to my Martin 00-18v.

Henning - you grabbed a cool uke. Have fun breathing life back into it. If more questions come up, I wouldn't hesitate to post in the luthiers section. Many of them are eager to help, but do not venture into the other forums too frequently.

Good luck.

 

[Henning]

Thanks jwieties

 

[Tigershark]

It is a huge misrepresentation to say he "over sprayed" this uke.

He says it himself - just read through his description of his work. And then the dealer that put it up for sale left all those details out

Anyone that is serious about having an old instrument restored to a high standard, feel free to contact me. I'll be glad to share my experiences with a lot of different well known and less known luthiers to help you make the right choice. I would hate to see more old instruments suffer the same fate as that Wurlitzer 2K.

 

[jwieties]

I did read it and he didn't say he overstayed it. In fact, he talked about preserving the original finish of the bridge as one of the reasons he went this direction. I'm guessing you are referring to this, which again, would not be considered an overspray.
"After I dab a bit of clearcoat around the freshly-glued edges of the bridge, I doubt anyone would expect the bridge had been modified at all... and as a bonus I get to keep that interesting original maple saddle!"

I know you know your vintage ukes and I'm not trying to defend Jake. I would agree that his primary purpose is often function over preservation. But he is far from incompetent and certainly not ruining these instruments. If talking restoration of a high valued vintage uke, there are certainly people to turn to. Jake has taken thousands of unplayable instruments and given them renued life. His very passionate about his work. He's also a hell of a player.