Just got a new Bruce Wei Tenor Uke in maple. Anyone else have a problem with the headstock? The profile sticks way too far out and hits your index finger knuckle when doing chords like E 7th. I'm thinking of grinding it down on both sides of the head to make it more comfortable.
I have to question your LH position. For optimal movement, your fingers should be arched over the fretboard. They should not be leaning back over the nut or angled in a way where they would even touch the headstock.
Pictures would be good. I have numerous Brucewei ukulele's yet I have an unorthodox techniques so I won't notice what you notice. Mind you. There is nothing about Bruce Wei headstocks that are in anyway irregular.
It is a little difficult to play many chords, but practice will take care of that. Just make sure you are fretting the chords correctly. Lots of players use slightly different techniques, depending on size of hands, fingers, flexibility, etc. etc. Good luck.
Some people here like their Bruce Weis, others have had issues with them.
They do a lot of inlay and fancy stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes the "bling" is more important to a buyer than the playing quality of the uke.
While there are occasional decent ones, Bruce Wei is known for being a better wall hanger than musical instrument... Turdorp used to work with Bruce to improve his instruments; you might want to PM him.
I agree with posts 6 and 8, and I've never owned one. I've just read the threads. Scarier than the boogeyman under the bed. You know, the one that grabs your ankles when you get up for a glass of water in the middle of the night.
That said, welcome to UU, DB. You'll learn so much about ukuleles here. We love to educate others, and to spend their money.
I have been using Bruce for my custom ukes for months now, two that I have (the gypsy and a mahogany mandolele I'm selling), two that are in progress (a gloss black mandolele and koa u-bass). The two I have are very well built and finished. Before I knew he did custom work, I bought a uke sold on his eBay store that was not well built, but I only paid $51 US for it. When I asked him about it, he told me those ukes are not his builds, but are from other builders he allows to sell through his store. He has since dropped those lower quality builders.
When I first started playing ukulele a little over a year ago, I did not hold the chords properly and had a hard time with some first fret chords, until I made myself keep my thumb on the back of the neck and hand as straight up as possible, made a big difference. I never have a problem with either of my Bruce Wei ukes.
Honestly, why does every thread mentioning a brucewei ukulele end up a slanging match by those who don't own them?
I've just received a baritone ukulele from Brucewei. Its very nice. The fret and nut placement is spot on. The neck is straight. The headstock is a little thinner than my older ones. The saddle needs a little adjustment but this is NORMAL for everything but expensive luthier made instruments. The action out of the box is medium. I'll lower it a little at some stage but at the moment I'm happy with a medium action on a brand new instrument until I see how it develops. Oh, and it sounds good too but to be honest its only been a rare one that didn't sound good.
All in all a nice pickup in quality. What ANY of this has to do with the OP's issue with the headstock, which is in fact just a normal ukulele headstock is beyond me.
It's more to do with the positioning of your hand really! But old habits die hard so if you really want to sand down the headstock sides then that's totally up to you. Be careful though, you might come to regret wrecking the uniform finish as I have (that's assuming you don't know how to fix up finishes).
On a side note, I love the my hand made ukes by Taisamlu and I'm sure Bruce Wei's quality is just as good. Matter of fact, I'm having a custom made by bruce as we speak.
Thanks for the welcome and some good advice.I think I'll work on my LH positioning before I pick up a rasp! The uke is by the way,beautiful ,sweet sounding and surprisingly easy to play.Action is just right and intonation is right on.I guess I got lucky, especially with what I paid-$79 plus $60 shipping. Thanks again.
Can you post a photo of the uke, I'm very curious. Bruce has mentioned to me that he's making a great effort to sell better quality ukes from his eBay store.
Can you post a photo of the uke, I'm very curious. Bruce has mentioned to me that he's making a great effort to sell better quality ukes from his eBay store.
Agreed. You ought to post photos since in your initial post you stated the headstock profile stuck out too much. Many opinions have been offered about your alleged faulty hand position without examining the claim you made about the headstock on your specific instrument. I hate it when opinions surge forward despite unexamined details pertinent to the accuracy of those opinions.
Agreed. You ought to post photos since in your initial post you stated the headstock profile stuck out too much. Many opinions have been offered about your alleged faulty hand position without examining the claim you made about the headstock on your specific instrument. I hate it when opinions surge forward despite unexamined details pertinent to the accuracy of those opinions.
