Favourite Ukulele shop experience

kwall

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Now we all have are best shops to go to and have some fantastic particular story as to why we want to continue to go there. I thought I would share mine and see what others have to say about different stores.

My favourite store is Folkaway Music in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.This store is this cute white house with the most knowledgable and friendly staff with great instruments.

When I first walked in I thought I was in over my head and they wouldn't let me touch a thing. They welcomed me in really well that made me feel at home. Their stock was outstanding with a tipett from the 20s a 30s soprano martin and a bunch of collings guitars and some vintage gibsons. They let you play whatever you liked.... within reason (the 10 grand gibson guitar was locked). This store carried brands or ukuleles I had not seen in Canada. Kiyawa, the magic fluke co firefly etc

I purchased my firefly there after a great conversation with the owner. I knew they sold the martin T1k so when it came time to purchasing it I went there (after going to three other stores an playing seven different T1Ks the one I loved was there).

This is the store I love and I highly recommend it if anyone is ever in that area. fantastic guitar selection too.

Sorry for the long rant if its TLDR, my question to you is what is your favourite shop or experience buying a ukulele?
 
If we are talking brick and mortar buildings I have actually stepped foot in then my fav is the 12th Fret in Toronto. Cosmo music has a larger selection but the staff at the Fret is super great and the building is old with mucho character. You are surronded by amazing top end guitars, banjos and mandolins hanging on the wall, you can just grab one and start playing.
 
Before I got into ukulele, the Old Time Pickin Parlor in Nashville was my fave. I bought my nicest fiddle there. Then I got a uke at Sam Ash Music here, and love the store. But my fave, of the ones I've been in, is Compass Music near the beach. The owner serenades us every time we go.
Of the ones I have yet to see, Mim's Ukes is the best, IMHO.
 
All dealers I've bought ukes and accessories from have been really lovely (HDM, JGW, Southern Ukulele Store, Uke Republic, Hawaii Music Supply, Omega Music, Elderly Instruments, Lori...), but my favourites are my local ones: Hound Dog Music in Whitley Bay outside Newcastle (best uke shop in the UK IMO and excellent set-up service), and JG Windows in Newcastle city centre (even though it's a chain store - because of Simon there who's a passionate uker and always very friendly, knowledgable and helpful). The only bad experiences I've ever had, have been at certain predominantly guitar-oriented shops. But let's not go there ;)

Special mention for Mim who helped me fix my Peanut Eleuke via Skype even though I hadn't bought it from her, just because she's a lovely person.
 
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If we are talking brick and mortar buildings I have actually stepped foot in then my fav is the 12th Fret in Toronto. Cosmo music has a larger selection but the staff at the Fret is super great and the building is old with mucho character. You are surronded by amazing top end guitars, banjos and mandolins hanging on the wall, you can just grab one and start playing.

I agree 12th fret is great, if you are ever in the waterloo area just go into folkaway, though smaller it has some sort of charm that the 12th did not
 
Thanks for all the replies, keep them coming! if I am ever in that area I will have to stop by
 
I'm fortunate to have experienced some of the best music shops in the world:

12th Fret in Toronto, for sure
Gruhn's in Nashville
Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island
Ukulele Source in San Jose
Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto
Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz
Vintage Instruments in Philadelphia
McCabe's in Los Angeles
Bernunzio's in Rochester

I hope it never stops!
 
My favorite brick and mortar is Victor Litz in Gaithersburg, Maryland. They have an interesting mix of ukuleles and I always have a nice conversation with someone when I visit.
 
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I like Music Folk in Webster Groves, MO (just outside of St. Louis)
The Blue Guitar in San Diego (owned by DeForest Thornburgh)
Mass Street Music in Lawrence, KS (owned by Jim Baggett, Martin expert and Antique Roadshow celebrity)
Gryphon (visiting this weekend for the first time in 12 years!)
Elderly (dreaming of visiting there)
Dusty Strings here in my hometown of Seattle
 
Local, has to be hogeye music in Evanston, IL. I came by as I read he did repairs, and one of my class ukes got a crack on top when I tried to glue a bridge back down and got a little zealous with the clamp. At first, he said he wasn't taking any more repairs as he was booked, but while I was perusing his store, he ended up taking my uke, fixing the crack, took care of my bridge, and didn't charge me for it! I ended up buying a whole bunch of books which was the least I could do.

Online, mainland mike has been awesome to me as he helped us with class ukes, and uke republic mike has also been very helpful and awesome to talk to.
 
I have had three shop buying experiences vis a vis ukulele. One on-line, two brick and mortar. The On-line experience is still unfolding. I may relate it when my replacement Ukulele arrives.

Of my two brick and mortar experiences one was more of a little grass shack experience at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. That story may be found here: How I Bought My Ukulele.

I purchased my second ukulele, A Lanikai 25CK at my local Guitar Center, in Harrisburg, PA. It took two trips and a fair amount of research Online to consummate.

"Once upon a time... I got UAS. Had a Tenor Mahogany, Wanted to try a Koa Concert. Went to the local GC. Nice place, reasonable selection of Ukes, MAPP dealer*. I was in no hurry. Visited Starbucks next door for coffee. I usually get my beans fresh roasted from St Thomas Roasters. Geof roasts 6 kinds of beans a day, six days a week! The staff at GC is large each salesperson is a specialist in their own instrument. No Uke experts though. The shop luthier, Sean something or other doesn't work Wednesdays. Guess what day I went shopping. A young woman, (guitarist), helped me try out a bunch of ukes. Mostly Concerts, A couple of Tenors, I don't remember seeing any sopranos though. Most ukes needed tuning. I had brought my tuner, My SP was helpful as she could be but didn't know the difference between a tenor and a concert, let alone solidor laminate construction. Sean knew but... I found a Lanikai and a Luna my ears liked. They were about the same price. I had found my Price Point. I talked to the Senior SP and verified GC was a MAPP* Dealer. Went Home. Throughout this time I engaged in or eavesdropped on many interesting conversations.

At Home I Hit the internet. *MAPP means Matches Any Posted Price. About a half a day of research spread over a couple of days.On Tuesday I paid another visit to GC. I arrived at ten AM. GC doesn't open til 10.30 on Tuesdays! Back to Starbucks - Chatted up the Barrista, manager and a mother and daughter, knitters who knew my wife from Ravelry "SpinKnitSusan is her username. BTW the Family Business is called Coughlins' Homespun Yarns - fibers to folk tales. You probably can guess my part of the business.
Had a cup of good but expensive coffee. Took a smoke break - I smoke a pipe. Two Penn State coeds were outside raising money for some kid like Raeden. I chatted them up and gave them some money. I arrived back at GC introduced myself to Sean, Got him to check the intonation on the Luna and Lanikai. Luna had better intonation I had been able to get a much lower MAPP price on the Lanakai. My ear still liked both ukes equally well. Lanikai won. My MAPP research saved me about $60. I did a little horse trading and knocked off another 5% of price. Deal Done. I have found I lke concert size better than Tenor. Can't tell the difference in tone woods.

And they all lived Happily ever after.... until Santa Claus had a Mainland red cedar soprano delivered from Uke Republic.... But that is another story".
 
Right on, Tommy. Never hesitate to bargain with Guitar Center. In the past I've always gotten a discount, or got them to throw in a free pack of strings, or something.

My best uke buying experience was at U-Space in Los Angeles. Jason Arimoto sold me my KoAloha. He welcomed me to play everything in the store, all their K brands etc, and when I tried the KoAloha, I couldn't believe its sound. Jason got his personal KoAloha, a custom tenor I think, out of its case to compare the sounds for me. He was super aloha and knowledgable. And they make great coffee there too. I definitely recommend them.
 
Before I got into ukulele, the Old Time Pickin Parlor in Nashville was my fave. I bought my nicest fiddle there. Then I got a uke at Sam Ash Music here, and love the store. But my fave, of the ones I've been in, is Compass Music near the beach. The owner serenades us every time we go.
Of the ones I have yet to see, Mim's Ukes is the best, IMHO.

+1 for Compass Music, if we're talking about brick and mortar stores I have visited. Yes, I live in St. Louis and Compass Music is in Madeira Beach, FL; a friend from college lives about a mile from the shop. The owner (Chris, I think?) spent a long time with me, describing various ukes, and then talked me out of the one I initially thought I wanted - and into a less expensive one he thought I would prefer. A few days later, when I was back in St. Louis, I called him (MasterCard in hand) to buy the one I originally wanted, and he talked me out of it again. I kept obsessing over it, ended up buying the same model from another dealer at a ukefest about three months later, and never play it. It sits in the closet. Chris was right.
 
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My favourite is Mainland Ukes. I know the owners!
 
It is a tie between Ukulele Source in San Jose, CA, and Magic Fluke in Sheffeild, MA. Both stores let me play anything I wanted, as long as I wanted, answered any questions, no pressure whatsoever, and when the time came to make a purchase treated me right.

On the phone, while I haven't bought anything from her (yet), I spent quote a bit of time with Mim to get info for a friend's wife to buy him a Uke for his birthday. My friends are thrilled, and Mim was a delight.
 
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