Fashion or Function? Vintage Martin vs. Kiwaya

Trader Todd

Trader Todd

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I'm in the market for a new soprano. This will be the last soprano I will ever buy. (HA!) I mean I plan on keeping it and passing it along to the kids. Trying to create a family heirloom of sorts.

I'm torn between a vintage Martin, new Martin of some sort or one of the Kiwaya ukes.

Of course I love the mojo and sound of an old Martin. My concern with buying even a mint condition uke that is 50-90 years old is how will it age over the next 50 years? Visions of cracks and future repairs. I'm a low maintenance, plug and play kind of guy.

I recently dug up a old UU post where the poster had compared 5 Martin ukes from new, budget and vintage with sound samples from all and had the UU'ers try to guess which one was what. At the end of the day they all sounded good. Can't seem to find the original post.

New uke, plug and play. Last for another 125 years. Change the strings. Rinse and repeat. Martin or Kiwaya?

My heart says get the vintage Martin, old wood saves the day, but my wallet says get something new. What do you say?
 
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I hope I'm also done buying sopranos (I have three, a Lyon&Healy Washburn vintage, a KoAloha longneck, and now a Black Bear one), but if I were faced with your choices, I'd probably go for a new Kiwaya (KTS-5 or KTS-6 depending on whether you want 15 or 17 frets, and the KTS-7 if you really wanted the bling, which I wouldn't).

This is purely for the combination of quality/craftsmanship, price/availability, and convenience/maintenance, but without a romantic element. If I were to include sentimental aspects, I'd probably go for a vintage Martin that was built in the US (if I lived in the US). Then again, it may be more meaningful if you were the first player of a new instrument ("Great-great-great-grandfather bought and played this in 2016!!!!"), in which case perhaps an US-built newer Martin would be more ideal. (They still make a soprano line in the States, right?)
 
I'd get the vintage Martin. Don't be afraid.
 
Why not get a Timms if you are looking at a Martin but hesitant to buy a vintage one?
Lovely and stunning ukes, will be making a NUD about my one later on tonight!
 
Was hoping by now, more people would have responded with "get the vintage Martin", which is what I'm going to do. What do you recommend? Budget up to $750...
 
Isnt there a nice one in the marketplace atm? I might be remembering wrong though...
 
Trader Todd said:
Was hoping by now, more people would have responded with "get the vintage Martin", which is what I'm going to do. What do you recommend? Budget up to $750...
Click to expand...

good choice, I have a 30's vintage that has been well used/abused for 80+ years and it's still a great player!
style0.jpg
 
It's a tossup. Do your homework, though. If it were I, I'd be choosing between buying a Timms reproduction or a vintage Martin, and having it reconditioned.
 
You must follow your heart. It's different for everybody and on this forum at least, more people have experience with newer ukuleles.

For me, there is nothing like a ukulele from the very beginning of the Hawaiian music movement in the early 20th century. Martin is the gold standard for vintage ukuleles. It is hard to go wrong with a vintage Martin - they were designed and built for professional players. I have some that are 100 years old and still sounding great.

There is no great difference in maintenance between new and vintage. They can both crack if stored or handled improperly. They both need occasional attention to setup details but once dialed in you won't spend too much time on that.

In terms of cost, you might pay more initially for a vintage ukulele, but they retain their value and may even increase. New stuff generally drops in value. And vintage is definitely more inspiring, for me at least.

boston-trio-01-1030x687.jpg
 
ive never played a martin but can attest to the ridiculously high quality of Kiwaya. look, sound and feel great.

i dont think you can go wrong here, tho. i'd be happy with either!
 
Those yours Tigershark? Damn nice collection, they look like new!
 
Thanks for all the insight. Tigershark, that is one nice collection (and some great photography) of ukes! Agreed, vintage is more inspiring.
 
cml said:
Those yours Tigershark? Damn nice collection, they look like new!
Click to expand...

That's a photo I took a while back of the Ditsons I had that were made for the Boston store between 1922-26, the ones with the standard Martin shape & the Ditson stamp. From left to right a Style 0, Style 1, and Style 2. All three have really excellent tone, with slight differences that made it fun to explore and compare. Boston Ditsons are pretty rare, they actually made less of them than the dreadnought models for New York.

My collection is always changing, some have been added and some are in new homes :)
 
OP's budget is $750, which is way too low to find an "heirloom" vintage Martin. In that price range you're going to be looking at Style 0's with a repaired crack or three. UU'ers who bought their Martin stockpiles 10 years ago for peanuts should take a peek at current prices before they chime in.

And the idea that a 90+ year-old instrument will have the same maintenance concerns as a brand new one is absurd.

Kiwaya makes beautiful, great playing and sounding ukes for a fair price, unlike the current Martin company (IMO). My KTS-7 is all I was hoping for and more.
 
Soundbored said:
OP's budget is $750, which is way too low to find an "heirloom" vintage Martin. In that price range you're going to be looking at Style 0's with a repaired crack or three. UU'ers who bought their Martin stockpiles 10 years ago for peanuts should take a peek at current prices before they chime in.

And the idea that a 90+ year-old instrument will have the same maintenance concerns as a brand new one is absurd.

Kiwaya makes beautiful, great playing and sounding ukes for a fair price, unlike the current Martin company (IMO). My KTS-7 is all I was hoping for and more.
Click to expand...

Am I missing something here? The Style 0 in the marketplace has no cracks and seems to be in good condition. It's priced at 650. Where are you getting your numbers from, eBay perhaps? I did a check and there are many resellers and auction houses that try to get premium prices out of beat up ukes.
That doesn't necessarily reflect the value imo...
 
Soundbored said:
And the idea that a 90+ year-old instrument will have the same maintenance concerns as a brand new one is absurd.
Click to expand...

Absurd ? ? I have new and old Martins and they all are treated the
same. I must be doing something wrong? :confused:
 
Pukulele Pete said:
Absurd ? ? I have new and old Martins and they all are treated the
same. I must be doing something wrong? :confused:
Click to expand...

This is my experience, too. I only have one vintage Martin, but I treat it the same as any of my ukes - they're not even humidified here in the UK. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that after 90 years a ukulele is likely to have done most of the shifting it's going to do, and be relatively stable (provided it's not suddenly exposed to completely new climatic conditions, obviously).
 
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