NTMUD: Imua iET

I wasn't looking for this, but when I saw the posting from fellow member Ben Mulleman, I was intrigued. After some discussions, it turned out he was interested in my GoldTone BUT tenor banjo uke. So we worked out a trade. I'll copy the specs from his post:

Body : Chambered / Hollow Body Mahogany w/ Solid Hawaiian Koa Top
Top : Hawaiian Koa
Neck : Genuine (Honduras) Mahogany CNC
Fingerboard & Bridge : Indian Rosewood w/ Abalone Dots
Nut & Saddle : Real Bone Custom Prepared (and it is compensated!)
Tuner : Grover Side Open Gear 14:1 Chrome Black Buttons
Finish : Satin (Waterbased)
Scale Length : 431.8 mm, 20 Frets with 7 Genuine Abalone Position Markers and side Dots at 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, and 15th position
Pickup : Fishman Passive w/ Hand Made Koa Volume Knob Includes 2 Fender Style Strap Pins

Since Ben is left-handed and has an affinity for Aquila strings, neither of which apply to myself, I changed out the strings with the only thing I could get my hands on quickly - Martin M600s from Guitar Center (thanks to Booli for the suggestion). I am happy to report they work just fine and feel pretty good tuned to my tenor favorite of Bb reentrant. Tension is on the lower side so they could easily go up to C tuning. Either way, I think the brighter tone of the M600s suits this uke well.

As you would expect, the acoustic tone is extremely muted, though not silent. Plugged in, I've only tried it through a Danelctro HoneyTone so far. I think I'm gonna like one this a lot. My very first uke was a concert Risa stick, but I think this is really what I was after at the time.

Playing samples soon but here are some pics:





And there are a few more here: http://s12.photobucket.com/user/jimhanksnc/library/Imua iEt

so cute! love the turtles and can't wait to hear them sing! congrats!

Congrats! Looks great!

Glad I was able to help with the strings issue...

also I noticed in your photobucket pix that it looks like those are the Grover 9NB tuners, which are not expensive tuners, but work very well, (I have them on several ukes) and it seems interesting to me that these basic tuners are on such a high-end instrument....

Congratulations Jim, nice trading, partner.

Nice!

OhioBelle said:

love the turtles and can't wait to hear them sing!

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Haha! Yes, the turtles sealed the deal! :shaka:

Booli said:

it seems interesting to me that these basic tuners are on such a high-end instrument....

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Astute observation. I have no idea what brand/model the tuners are, but they do work well and look just fine to me. I don't know the story on the iET model and how "high end" it is. I'm pretty sure this is my uke which puts it in the same price range as the Pono and Godin chambered body ukes.

Edit to add: according to the Imua website, the entire product line uses "Grover Side Open Gear 14:1 Chrome Black Buttons"

Congrats, Jim. I've been impressed with the acoustic Imua's I've heard. Terrific bang for the buck!

Camsuke said:

Congratulations Jim, nice trading, partner.

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I told Ben we should post a poll and ask the forum who came out better.
I think I did. I hope Ben thinks he did.

Congratulations Jim!

Jim Hanks said:

I told Ben we should post a poll and ask the forum who came out better.
I think I did. I hope Ben thinks he did.

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Who says either of you would be wrong?

Really like the headstock logo -- nice uke!

Great looking instrument Jim, congratulation to both of you, looking forward to the sound sample. I am curious about the saddle compensation because you said Ben was a lefty. Is that saddle compensated for a left hand set up or a right hand set up.

Congrats Jim. Imua is delivering some excellent Hawaiian made ukes.

DownUpDave said:

I am curious about the saddle compensation because you said Ben was a lefty. Is that saddle compensated for a left hand set up or a right hand set up.

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Good question. I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to assume right handed since it has a right-handed cutaway and the cord plug is on the bottom - both reasons Ben was looking to get rid of it. I suppose he might have flipped the saddle. Not sure how I can tell. It seems to intonate within 5 cents on all strings. Good nuf fer me really, but seems like it might should be better if you're going to the trouble of compensating. Hmm. I can't photo this well but I think I'll draw a picture and ask the luthiers what they think.