The Alida Uke story revisited: Where are they now?

Wagster

Wagster

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After all this time I'm curious....whatever became of all the Alida ukes? I know Mike ended up selling his but I kind of dropped off the scene shortly after.

As for mine, it has been sitting in the case all this time waiting for the ukulele fairy to come bless it. I'm starting to think the ukulele fairy is just a myth...

Pulled the uke out a few weeks ago and was determined to make it or break it. Worked the frets a little more. Installed the shorter bass tail like Mike had done. Filed the nut slots. Filed the nut slots some more. Filed the nut slots. Again. Then I bought a rosewood mandolin bridge that was vaguely close to the right dimensions. Cut, filed, sanded, cussed and hollered until it worked well enough to actually let me play this thing. Blew thru 4 or 5 sets of strings trying to find some that matched up well.

At this point, I actually have a glimmer of hope that with some more tinkering it may morph into an actual ukulele one day. Still has a ways to go, but its at least starting to stabilize....


So now, please tell use the story of your Alida. Im really curious to know what fates the ukulele fairy dished out to each one!
 
Interesting timing Wagster, yesterday I opened the FileMaker database I created for the group buy for nostalgic purposes. I sold mine not long after modifying it because I found I had no occasion to play it, and I preferred to play my acoustic ukes. I too am curious where everyone stands. I could actually email them all to look at this post and give their answer, and include that in the database.
 
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Hmmmmm...maybe a better question is what happened to the people that bought them? lol

A few months ago i started playing in a band again and thats what re-ignited my interest in a steel string. And I was actually close to just snatching up a Risa LP. Wanting one in a bad way. But I just couldnt justify laying out that kind of money until the Alida issue was resolved one way or another. I will probably end up getting a Risa down the road anyway, but I'm happy that the Alida has a pulse again. Still think it can become a great uke....if the ukulele fairy smiles down upon it....
 
A chunk of the story of mine is at Ukulele Corner What happened when it arrived and what I thought Since then it has largely been a wall hanger after all it does look pretty good from a distance. I sometimes think about at least getting the knobs on properly but I have never quite got around to it (partly my problem of being keener on the next Ukulele than the ones I've already got) At the moment I'm in the process of moving house so an old guitarist friend of mine is looking after it along with a few other of my ukuleles I though it interesting he did get it out and was initially very taken with it but after playing it for a bit he took came to the conclusion it looks better than it plays. I will hang on to it for a while and apart from one day sorting the knobs out I will leave it with all for the partly re purposed guitar metalwork it came with for, (for want of a better word), posterity.
 
I messed with mine a little when we got them but it just didn't come out of the case after that. I just didn't play plugged in enough to make it worthwhile to keep. So mine ended up in the hands of a gentleman who lives on an island off the coast of SC.
 
Still in the box the way I got it. I have been collecting tips and tricks that others have used and added a few ideas to consider that I came up with on my own. I am trying to keep in mind it's original cost in trying to determine how much I want to spend on it. Bridge a big obstacle. The new tailpiece is no problem. I have some Kluson style tuners for it and will essentially try and get it to look as much like a Gibson ES350 as I can, including gold tuning knobs and a Gibson style pick guard. Not sure how to access the inside to install new pots. Pickups may or may not stay. Have to be some out there that will fit that will sound better. Welcome all suggestions and offer to share what ideas I have saved up to this point. It's still on my "to do" list.
 
I have mine also. It looks like a Gibson ES330. I wanted mainly because it matched my Red ES330. Turns out their red is actually brown. The case is a checkered red and brown. I sold it once and got it back as part of a deal with his buying my Ubass.

I changed the tailpiece for the one like Mike suggested and took it down to my luthier for a setup. He leveled the frets, moved the bridge for proper intonation and had it pretty spot on. He thought it was really cool. He recommended changing out the pickups at a future date. It would entail cutting a door for access if he couldn't change thru the pickup slots. It was no big deal to do.


I have Slinky's on it. Any suggestions for a different set?

I'd been thinking of selling it for a while because I don't really play it then change my mind once I play it. It has a great neck and possibilities. I was originally looking for a Risa LP when this deal came along. Considering what i have in it, I saved money by not buying the Risa that would probably would be sitting on the stand, not played, like the Alida does. I have a new preamp and amp so I'll have to fire it up.
 
PhilUSAFRet said:
I am trying to keep in mind it's original cost in trying to determine how much I want to spend on it. Bridge a big obstacle.
Click to expand...

Yessir... you nailed the main cause for my procrastination. I had resigned myself to living with a trapeze tail, much as I dislike them, but that piece of scrap metal they called a bridge was a show stopper. I kept hoping a better option would surface but so far the mando bridge I modded is the best I could come up with. It does, at least, work fairly well and the intonation is surprisingly close! The last set of strings I put on (GHS Nickel Rockers if anyone cares) are starting to settle in and feel/sound pretty good. I actually made it thru a whole song today. Progress!
 
Thanks for the email Mike. I still have mine. Got it all dialed in by a guitar tech, bought a nice case, and lost interest in playing a steel string uke, so here it sits in the closet with the strings loosened. I'm keeping it though, and will eventually replace all the electronics with new Dimarzio pickups. Never bought the adjustable bridge since the guy wanted almost as much as the uke cost to make one.
 

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Mine is for sale now, so far i have changed the tail bridge and tried several brand of strings and for me i realized im a nylon man
 
Still have mine. Spent a few bucks on getting the frets done properly, a new bridge and a number of other things. I still play it on occasion when I need that wild electric sound, as you can see by the following YouTube clip. But that is only once a month or so. A steel string uke is fairly foreign to my fingers after playing acoustic most of the time, so it's the exception uke rather than the rule.

But it was a fun trip, and worth the money, in my mind.

 
I still have mine too, I did quite a bit of work on it myself that was all detailed back when we got them so I won't rehash that here. I have occasional songs that call for the steel string unit but it isn't played all that much. Especially since I got my MB.

Most uke players probably aren't looking for a screaming replacement for a guitar, but this is exactly how I use mine, like I said, some tunes just need steel, and the price of this uke was right. Especially if you can do the needed refinements yourself.
 
I hope you guys will be glad to hear that, whilst I don't play any of my ukes half as much as I used to, nor anywhere near as much as I want to, the Alida will never get sold! It will always remind me of the generosity of the people of this group!

:)
 
I gained 20 lbs from all the popcorn I had while following those Alida/East star threads.
 
ChaosToo said:
I hope you guys will be glad to hear that, whilst I don't play any of my ukes half as much as I used to, nor anywhere near as much as I want to, the Alida will never get sold! It will always remind me of the generosity of the people of this group!:)
Click to expand...

With thanks for your service.
 
Steel strings are and always will be a novelty uke. They will never become daily players outside the walls of a psychiatric ward. But I found the commentary on Lardy Fatboy's site very interesting....and very true. East-Start had an opportunity to flood the market with these ukes and blew it. What little money they made off our modest purchase is long gone, but their reputation from it will suffer a long, slow agonizing death....
 
These are the kinda posts above that makes people leave forums. Sad. In fact, it is odd that an instrument like the Uke with the spirit that follows it also has one of the most negative forums I have seen in many ways. (I say this as a mod on many "hard core" sites that make many more jokes, but rarely attack the love of another person so much as I have seen here as a new user.)

One person's novelty may be another's way to make a living. I doubt Risa thinks of their products as "novelties". I bet that is what people heard when the first electric guitars were coming out.
 
SailorUke! said:
These are the kinda posts above that makes people leave forums. Sad. In fact, it is odd that an instrument like the Uke with the spirit that follows it also has one of the most negative forums I have seen in many ways. (I say this as a mod on many "hard core" sites that make many more jokes, but rarely attack the love of another person so much as I have seen here as a new user.) One person's novelty may be another's way to make a living. I doubt Risa thinks of their products as "novelties." I bet that is what people heard when the first electric guitars were coming out.
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Please don't denigrate the entire thread/forum because you disagree with one post. Maybe Wagster could have been less absolute by saying steel string ukes have a limited customer base, but "makes people leave forums" is unnecessarily absolute as well. I've found far and away the people on this forum to be kind, receptive and informative, rarely "attacking" anyone.
 
Sorry to offend but " They will never become daily players outside the walls of a psychiatric ward. " seemed way out of bounds. I see that kind of comment on sites populated by kids arguing of video games. not so much on sites geared to adults. When I do see it on those sites, the regulars on the site are the ones that jump in and stop it, not the mods or a newbie.

I see posts on here that use the title itself to try to avoid posts of this type. I was just noting a tone that seemed odd for a site dedicated to music and this isn't the most active of forums out there. There may be a link. It only takes a few people to change the whole color of a forum if no one cares to stop it.

And back to the original purpose of the post, I myself have a steel string electric that I play almost daily and have worked it into some songs that I really like the sound. I also see how it could work great in a live setting. Seems the thread was about a specific group of instruments purchased and was very interesting. The comment just seemed a way to sneak in an attack on something for no real reason.
 
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