Some Thoughts on Bruce Wei Ukes - Caveat Emptor

Status
Not open for further replies.

katysax

UU VIP
UU VIP
Joined
Jun 8, 2012
Messages
1,451
Reaction score
1
My apologies. Please close thread.
 
Last edited:
Based on the numerous prior posts, it's pretty clear that Bruce Wei is polarizing. Some appreciate and love what he does, while others loathe it. Since by your own admission you have no direct experience with one of his custom ukes -- and please forgive me for being forward -- what on earth is the point of posting this? All it's going to do is re-ignite the defenders vs. offenders useless discussion all over again.
 
I think caveat emptor applies in many uke purchases, particularly buying sight unseen. I like to buy from stores with good return policies, and I have no interest in bling on my ukes. So, personally I'm not interested in customs, but they seem to be the "thing" on UU. I'm not telling anyone what they should buy or how they should feel about it. There have been some posters recently dissatisfied with their new Mya-Moes' sound; others are over the moon. It seems to me that customs are a real crapshoot, no matter what builder you use.

But I'm not going to tell someone that I think a uke's brand is total crap, especially when I don't have one myself. The Bruce Wei that Bao just got didn't sound too bad to me, and you can't buy an all-koa Pono new anyway. What matters is that he likes it, and I'm pretty sure he knew his risks when he placed the order.
 
Last edited:
I used to have a business relationship with Bruce Wei. He is a really nice guy, and if things go wrong, he does make every effort to make it right. That said, his ukes are what they are. They aren't "high end" ukes, and they aren't trying to be. They are decent ukes. They tend to do a lot with what I call "lip stick". But, anyway, this isn't about that. I got rid of most my ukes due to not being able to play them anymore. But, the one I chose to keep was a concert that Bruce built for me. I choose it because it has hands down has more sustain than any other uke I have played, or heard. Awesome tone. It has so much resonance that even talking around it, you can actually hear the uke hum from the tone of your voice around it. I am not kidding about that. I love the uke, and have had it now for about 3 years, and it does nothing but get even better as time moves on. His Ebay ukes are basically his factory seconds, so most the comments are about those, and tend to not be really fair in regaurds to his customs, or one offs.
 
The reason for posting is I don't want to hijack someone elses thread.
 
Based on the numerous prior posts, it's pretty clear that Bruce Wei is polarizing. Some appreciate and love what he does, while others loathe it. Since by your own admission you have no direct experience with one of his custom ukes -- and please forgive me for being forward -- what on earth is the point of posting this? All it's going to do is re-ignite the defenders vs. offenders useless discussion all over again.

Agreed. It would be decent if those that choose to comment on a Ukulele manufacturer should at least have played the instrument before posting. Everything else is useless dribble.
 
You have never played one. You have put down his customer service in the face of numerous people whom have dealt with him personally and expressed great satisfaction with it, though you yourself have never dealt with him. Though you say you do not wish to hijack the above thread , in effect, that's exactly what you are doing, and sucking the joy out of this man's happiness in sharing his new uke with the community. Timing is everything. I am reminded of this quote: “Withhold a smile only when the smile can hurt someone. Otherwise, let it bloom forth in a riot.”

Eugene Ukulele, eloquently saying whats needs to be said since 2010. Great to see you still posting.

Also, you aren't going to find anyone else building custom koa tenors with custom fretboard inlays for anywhere close to $700 and i think that is a lot of the appeal. And FWIW, I thought Bao's sounded pretty damn good, particularly with him playing it.
 
You have never played one. You have put down his customer service in the face of numerous people whom have dealt with him personally and expressed great satisfaction with it, though you yourself have never dealt with him. Though you say you do not wish to hijack the above thread , in effect, that's exactly what you are doing, and sucking the joy out of this man's happiness in sharing his new uke with the community. Timing is everything. I am reminded of this quote: “Withhold a smile only when the smile can hurt someone. Otherwise, let it bloom forth in a riot.”
I agree with you.
 
I think that spouting forth on a uke you have never played, on a builder you have never dealt with, and commenting on customer service from a person you have had NO dealings with is crass, and unbelievably bad form.
Mods this thread should be deleted in fairness to the builder!
 
In Katy's defense, Moore Bettah owners saunter around here like they own the place. It's not her fault it irks her that someone would be happy with a lowly Bruce Wei :rolleyes:
 
katysax, I really don't have an opinion about what you've written. Maybe you're correct in your comments and maybe not. But I will say that your timing was horrible. Why did you need to rain all over his NUD? Can you imagine how bad he feels about what you've written? Couldn't you have written it next week?

Sometimes one wonders . . . :eek:ld:
 
I think that spouting forth on a uke you have never played, on a builder you have never dealt with, and commenting on customer service from a person you have had NO dealings with is crass, and unbelievably bad form.
Mods this thread should be deleted in fairness to the builder!

Agreed. This thread needs to be deleted.
 
I own a wei wei tenor that is slightly larger than normal. Its built very heavy and compared to my other ukes its pretty quiet. I recently posted about stringing it and tuning it as a baritone.

Setup: It really plays well the action is set correctly.

Build: Its thick with an added plate on the top soundboard. Its heavy and it cracked in my dry ass house.

Now Ive cracked the back a bit myself clamping the top crack with some glue. $700 where are you getting these numbers from hell my tenor was more like $70 shipped. Maybe $90ish lol.

I also own a highly decorated concert scale from Antonio Tsai that has some issues that was just over $200. It also cracked a bit due to my negligence but plays well and the action is pretty good.

Now kindly tell me whats wrong with my Kalas without being a gear snob.

~AL~
 
Technical question: Is the decorative pearl work on the Wei instruments inlaid or is it thin material that's glued to the surface and then finished over (a traditional technique in the mysterious Orient)? Pearl cutting in Viet Nam is quite an amazing thing. Take a look at this site:

http://www.luthiersupply.com/

This is all precut pearl and abalone that you have to inlay, but it's pretty cool stuff. I think it's the work of one extended family in Viet Nam, and Andy DePaule has set up the business. They do great work.
 
katysax, I really don't have an opinion about what you've written. Maybe you're correct in your comments and maybe not. But I will say that your timing was horrible. Why did you need to rain all over his NUD? Can you imagine how bad he feels about what you've written? Couldn't you have written it next week?

Sometimes one wonders . . . :eek:ld:

Well said mate, the timing of this post is absolutely terrible!
 
Well said mate, the timing of this post is absolutely terrible!

The timing is one thing, the fact that it's negative based on zero direct feedback, to me, is the main point. It's simple negativity, without cause. Why ever post something like this?
 
I agree with the comments above. I think it was very rude of the original poster to create this thread questioning the quality of a builder who's ukes they have not played especially just right after someone bought one (and is happy with it).
 
Last edited:
In Katy's defense, Moore Bettah owners saunter around here like they own the place. It's not her fault it irks her that someone would be happy with a lowly Bruce Wei :rolleyes:
Seriously?

Has this thread been started for the purpose of bashing everybody? Yep. I'm offended.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom