New Uke Day (HMS got me again!)

Bob-in-Alberta

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My wife and I are in Hawaii on Oahu and have rented a car for a few days for some general sightseeing and to take in a Hawaii Warriors football game. Yesterday we had plans to drive up to the north shore to visit a shrimp truck and perhaps drop in to Hawaii Music Supply to "just look around". Really, I was just planning on looking. I've already bought two ukes from HMS, a KoAloha pineapple that stays safely at home and a Kala travel soprano that gets lugged around on holidays. I checked my email just before we walked out the door and there it was, an email from HMS about a big sale they were having until November 1st. What's a man to do? They obviously knew that I was here and they obviously knew that I needed a new uke. So off we went. Saw some nice beaches, ate some delicious shrimp and showed up at HMS with a hankering for a tenor. We walked in and were greeted by Aaron and Kimo Hussey who was there visiting and apparently trying to convince Aaron to do a ukulele clinic in Canada as we Canadians are, as I believe Kimo said, very nice people and Canada is a nice place to visit. Thanks, I resemble that remark. OK, I'm starting to ramble again. I don't say much in person but get me on a forum and I ramble.
I ended up with an Islander tenor Uke AT-CUT. Great price and great service from Aaron. Kimo recommended that I try low g tuning on it which now leads me to a question. The non tuning peg end of the strings isn't the knot the string and thread it through the hole style that I've seen before. Can anyone give me some tips on restringing?
Thanks. Picture below since I've heard it didn't happen without pictures. Thanks to my wife for the use of her beach towel as a backdrop.
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Lucky you! Sounds like a perfect day on the North Shore! The tenor looks great.
 
Wow Kimo just randomly there. So cool! Nice uke!
 
That's a pin type bridge you have there Bob. After slacking the strings, you pull the pin out of the bridge, sometimes they stick a bit. Many string winders have a notch that helps pull sticking ones out. Then push the string a bit into the bridge to free the knot, it will then freely pull out of the pin hole. To install the new string you tie a knot close to the end and insert it into the bridge pin hole, then insert the pin which holds the knot either into a slot in the bridge or merely holds the knot under the top. It shouldn't be necessary to jam the pin in, just snug it down. Pull any slack out of the string at the bridge and then wind it onto the tuner as usual. An overhand knot is fine for the larger diameter strings, you may need a stopper knot on the smaller ones. Just google it if you aren't familiar with the knot. That's about all there is to it.
 
Thanks for that bigphil, I have both the other common types of bridge but had seen pictures of the pins and wondered how that system worked.
 
Thanks bigphil. You made it sound easy. I've got a string winder at home. I'm not sure if it has the bit to pull the pin with but I may just wait until I'm home to give it a try.
 
Nicely done Bob........way to represent Canada, Kimo Hussey anointed uke, can't go wrong.
 
Made my day Bob. I'm in Alberta too and have a really hard time resisting HMS offerings. If I was there in person.....well I would have bought too. I did buy an Islander concert from HMS with the bridge pins and the pins actually came out really easy - if you don't have a winder then a small pair of needle nose pliers works find (just don't cinch it down to tight). Bigphil really said it all- very well. I use the stopper knot on the narrower strings and a standard knot on the larger one (some people use small beads on the soundhole side of the knot as an alternate to tying a larger knot. I haven't found that necessary. There are lots of pics of the islander bridge pins floating around the net.
The new uke will forever remind of meeting the legends (Aaron and Kimmo).
 
Nice way to buy a uke ... advice from Kimo and Aaron ... nice looking uke as well.

Us other Canadians look forward to getting to Hawaii and HMS ...
 
Beautiful uke. And nice towel, too. ;-)

If you don't have a string winder or it doesn't have a pin puller, you can use a small teaspoon (like you would serve with tea or coffee) to gently lift them up.

Enjoy.
 
Beautiful instrument and wow about meeting Kimo Hussey. That would be a perfect day for me.
 
E komo mai to honolulu...Congrats on the new Islander...yes Kimo and Aaron are like uke ambassadors here as they are so nice and humble... plus HMS is a wonderful Uke store with
a great selection and vibe...no count out the shrimp trucks and kava kava... in haleiwa or kahuku
 
So I've changed out my high g for a low g and I like the change. Thanks to everyone who gave me tips in regards to how to remove bridge pins. I was going to wait until I got home to give it a try but I picked up a bridge pin remove references/bottle opener today and had a low g string as well so I thought I may as well take a shot at it. Poured myself my requisite dark rum and POG Honolulu drink and took my time and it turned out well. Definitely a nice thing to have the low g option in my stable of too often overlooked ukes. Work seems to get in the way of my ukulele passion every year until I get my ukes time while on holidays.
 
Beautiful uke, congrats. My wife has a step-brother who we have visited before who lives in Hilo. Perhaps it is time to visit him again. "Yes, honey, we are only going to look at ukuleles while we are here in Hawaii". My wife does play a u-bass so maybe it will be a two-fer.:shaka:
 
HMS is Ukulele Heaven. Great people and so knowledgeable. I'm on Oahu every July visiting my wife's family. We always head out to the North Shore looking for some food. After kau kau time we usually end up at HMS.
Bob, if you're looking for the best dessert you have ever eaten, try the Okinawan Sweet Potato Pie. Ani's Bakery in Aiea is the only place I know of that still makes it.
 
Congrat's on the new Islander! I had an MC-4, but sold it...kind of wish I still had it. I put Fremont blacklines on it and they really made that uke something...nice warm tone. The pin bridge is my favorite for changing strings!
 
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