Car uke sugestions

delmar500

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My best practice time is in the morning before everyone else in the house is awake. So I like to take my uke with me and go sit in a restaurant booth and play quietly before work. I just got a laminate Carmel tenor uke for Christmas, but I am wondering if leaving it in the car while I am at work would do it a lot of damage, or should I really invest in a plastic uke to live in my car?
 
With the low cost of caramels... maybe not. If you ruin the caramel, you could probably replace a couple times before you hit the price of like.. an outdoor uke.
 
With the low cost of caramels... maybe not. If you ruin the caramel, you could probably replace a couple times before you hit the price of like.. an outdoor uke.

Which is what I have. How hot does it get where you live? I've heard of people baking bread in their cars down here during the summer when it's over 100 (and sometimes over 110). It also depends on humidity.
 
Which is what I have. How hot does it get where you live? I've heard of people baking bread in their cars down here during the summer when it's over 100 (and sometimes over 110). It also depends on humidity.
95 in Summer, below zero in winter.
 
95 in Summer, below zero in winter.

I wouldn't leave my little laminate Ohana in the car once it gets over 80 or so. The Outdoor Uke, I'll be leaving in the car when it's 110 this summer.

I don't know how much it would take to crack it, but despite Spook's allegations that it's a low enough cost that you can just replace it, I wouldn't risk it. I know $40 isn't a lot to some people here, but my OU (at $145) is honestly my most expensive instrument and I'd have a hard time replacing a $60 soprano at times.
 
Would a plastic ukulele fare any better in a hot car like that, or in weather that cold? I don't know, but plastic is not impervious to heat and cold, you know. It gets soft at some point, and brittle at the other.
 
Would a plastic ukulele fare any better in a hot car like that, or in weather that cold? I don't know, but plastic is not impervious to heat and cold, you know. It gets soft at some point, and brittle at the other.

The claims on the Outdoor Ukuleles is that they're fine from -40F to 250F. I don't know about any of the other plastic ones.
 
My Outdoor Ukulele lives in my car year round. No problems. Just might have to re-tune when it gets to room temperature is all.
 
A better plan, if possible, is to bring the uke inside at your workplace.

Alternatively, our local coffee house allows the uke club to keep a couple of loaner ukes hanging on the wall. Maybe your favorite morning restaurant would like to receive a new piece of decor?
 
80 outside isn't the problem. It's leaving the car in a sunny place.
UPS/USPS/etc don't run AC in the storage area, and deliver all summer so most likely your uke has "suffered" it for a couple days.

I don't mean to say that $40 isn't alot of money.
But when you're at $40 for your main uke.. going to $145 for a car uke... that's alot of money.

A laminate in a car doesn't just spontaneously explode.
What's most likely to fail is the glue. But on a more budget uke, that glue is probably a CA rather than a hide glue meaning it's probably safer for a budget uke than a high end uke.
 
80 outside isn't the problem. It's leaving the car in a sunny place.
UPS/USPS/etc don't run AC in the storage area, and deliver all summer so most likely your uke has "suffered" it for a couple days.

I don't mean to say that $40 isn't alot of money.
But when you're at $40 for your main uke.. going to $145 for a car uke... that's alot of money.

A laminate in a car doesn't just spontaneously explode.
What's most likely to fail is the glue. But on a more budget uke, that glue is probably a CA rather than a hide glue meaning it's probably safer for a budget uke than a high end uke.

It is a bit of a jump in money, but while I could buy a $100 uke a week ago, I may not be able to buy a $40 uke next week because those funds might get used for something else.

*shrugs*

(and now I want to see a laminate spontaneously explode. But only if it isn't mine!)
 
We bought a cheap First Act plastic uke at Toys R Us, um, for our grandson right before he turned one year old. It has lived in the car for two years. I play it a lot whenever I get stuck waiting for someone or something. It's been dropped out of the car, stepped on, sat on, and left lying in full sunlight in the vehicle in the summer. I can honestly say it plays and sounds no worse today than it did when it was new.
 
We bought a cheap First Act plastic uke at Toys R Us, um, for our grandson right before he turned one year old. It has lived in the car for two years. I play it a lot whenever I get stuck waiting for someone or something. It's been dropped out of the car, stepped on, sat on, and left lying in full sunlight in the vehicle in the summer. I can honestly say it plays and sounds no worse today than it did when it was new.

Hah! Have you seen the video of someone doing a setup on a Spongebob one?
 
My Outdoor Ukulele lives in my car year round. No problems. Just might have to re-tune when it gets to room temperature is all.

Yes, nearly all strings will contract in the cold and likely be sharp in pitch when first picked up, and then if brought inside and immediately retuned, once the strings warm up and relax/expand you will actually be tuned flat by a semitone or two, or three, depending upon how the specific strings composition materials react to temp changes, which varies a lot from different string makers.

Same can happen somewhat with ABS plastic and polystyrene or polyethylene plastic, and that is why most modern 'plastic' ukes that cost little more actually have some other blend of materials that do not expand/contract (as much) with temp changes, usually either fiberglass or carbon fiber (sometimes as a powder), which is mixed into the typical plastic pellets before they are melted down and poured into a ukulele-shaped mold.
 
I have a makala shark in the car at all times and has served me well when I have to wait in the car.
It isn't bad for me as I live perhaps in a moderate climate. Well, I haven't seen summer yet so I'll see.
 
Living in coastal California the car Martin only suffers maybe 20 days a year. Don't call the police, the Martin was a rescue job before I got it so it's value is minimal and it gets played quite a bit on trips to the surf breaks (what a way to go) when the surf sucks. It hasn't popped a bridge yet and stays in tune somewhat. So use your best playing beater ukulele. If the Bridge pops, glue it back on and perhaps drill for a through the bridge set up.
 
I found a thread right hear at UU that I think might be leading me in the right direction. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?117178-New-Vorson-25-plastic-concert-uke

Can't go wrong for $25 and it is concert size, which makes me happy!


Edit: Looks like the pink and yellow are in stock right now with 2 day free shipping http://www.zzounds.com/item--VORAUG24?siid=179062
but I think I'll hold out for a red one.

Here is what the ZZounds website says about it...
"Strum away all day without a care -- this Vorson AUG concert ukulele is impervious to weather or humidity, so its intonation and sound is sure to last." Sounds like just what I'm looking for.
 
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I suspect that at least part of the issue with a uke living in a car is the number of heat cycles up and down. Is there any chance you could take your uke in to work with you? I've done this and it often leads to interesting conversations.

If you want to get something really bombproof, there is always the Blackbird carbon fiber. I've got one of their eKoa ukes (slightly less temperature resistant), and I've gone from "won't leave it in the car because of temperature" to "won't leave it in the car because I can't afford to replace it if it gets stolen".
 
Is there any chance you could take your uke in to work with you?
That is what I'm hoping to avoid. I spend a lot of time unsupervised and don't want the boss thinking I am having too much fun while she is gone.
 
I found a thread right hear at UU that I think might be leading me in the right direction. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?117178-New-Vorson-25-plastic-concert-uke

Can't go wrong for $25 and it is concert size, which makes me happy!

I actually bought one of those and the ABS plastic is actually quite soft when compared to the back of the Fluke or Flea. I feel that this would melt in the summer heat if left in the car, even just from the string tension, as it would likely bow the neck.

Yes, the plastic feels THAT soft to me.

As it is, even with the lightest strings with the lowest tension I could find (Worth CL) when you pluck or strum even open strings, you can hear the pitch waver about 15 cents sharp, and then back again, almost like a chorus effect, but in a very bad way to my ear, and the effect is worse and more pronounced as you go up past the 3rd fret when fingering notes or chords.

Aside from that the intonation was also pretty bad no matter any of the 10 sets of strings I tried in all materials and guages, bad as in no better than 10 cents sharp at the 1st and also 12 frets...and there is no way really to adjust the nut since it uses a zero fret. Going sharp at the first fret is usually caused by the string height at the nut and NOT the saddle. I have also swapped out the saddle, and compensated the replacement with one made of Nubone, and there is just not enough space to get the E and C string in tune with the 2.5mm width that is the breakpoint of the string area of the saddle itself...

Aside from the intonation problems, it has very little sustain, regardless of strings used, and several boomy sympathetic frequencies on like every harmonic pitch of C4, all across the strings, and these are not PLEASANT frequencies. I had used some small 10mm fridge magnets placed on opposing sides of the top, right in front of the bridge in a line parallel and touching the bridge, and this has served to dampen these offending harmonics, which to my ear, are overwhelming to most other notes you might play, whether in a chord or single-note melody lines...maybe these harmonics were intentional since a uke is typically tuned for C6, but using a frequency counter instead of ones own ear seems to be working against this instrument on all accounts.

Some folks lack the hearing perception to actually notice these problems and they are lucky (as they can be satisfied playing such a uke and not know the difference), but for me it is unplayable, even as a novelty or emergency backup, and I would feel bad giving it away and inflicting someone with one of these.

Better to just get a Shark or Dolphin from Uke Republic and ask them to correct for intonation problems in their setup. These Makala ukes are double the price of the Vorson, but you are buying a problem with the Vorson IMHO.

There is a reason we have a 12-tone equal temperament scale for most western instruments, and this one is like an exception to this convention and not worth the $25, IMHO.

I do NOT recommend it. 'Buy cheap, buy twice' is in full effect here with this so-called 'instrument'.

I am likely going to buy a small AA-powered clock-kit thingy, and using an old CDROM as the clock's face, mount it in the sound hole and then as a wall-hanger, I will have a nice ORANGE uke-shaped clock. :)
 
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