UkeStuff
Well-known member
I'm not sure where the best place is to post this, so I'll start here and let moderators move it if necessary.
As I just posted elsewhere (and have before), Mainland Mike donated four ukuleles to our program.
I bought one of Bonanza's Ukulele Carousels (love it), and had all four Mainlands, as well as our bargain Lanikai Soprano Banjolele from last summer's special sale on the carousel.
A student came up, and dropped his giant 3 ring binder on the "table" part of the carousel, knocking all five ukuleles to the ground.
He picked them all up, and then another student came jumping INTO that student, knocking him into the table and all five ukuleles down AGAIN.
Alas, there was damage to one ukulele, one of the Soprano Mainlands, which now has a cracked/chipped bottom where it hit the ground. The other instruments were okay…there might be one impact on one of our Mainland Concerts, but if so, it is still okay.
It is impossible to know if the first or second impact caused the damage. I have now modified the carousel with velcro to stop a similar occurrence; and for the winter months, the Mainlands are stored in cases anyway. I called the parents of both students and spoke quite directly about the issue. It’s hard to ask parents to pay for damage to a donated ukulele...the actual damage far outweighs the initial cost of the ukulele--so does a replacement/
I don't know if it is repairable--the ukulele plays. I do worry that a kid will catch something on the “chip” and either rip their clothing, cut themselves, or rip the chip out of the ukulele.
I also don't want to ask Mike for a possible replacement. We haven’t had these ukuleles for a great length of time and one has already been damaged by students.
And believe me, what echoes in my head is this: “They don’t appreciate the blessings they have!”
(Incidentally, one of the Caramels is dropped by a student at least daily. Schools are ROUGH on ukuleles. This is why I wish that Outdoor Ukulele made a concert...or would do so before their guitar!)
So…looking at the damage, is this repairable? What would you do with the ukulele?
And if Mike is reading this...I am SO sorry about this damage. I don't want you to think these are not appreciated. I just filled humidifiers today!
As I just posted elsewhere (and have before), Mainland Mike donated four ukuleles to our program.
I bought one of Bonanza's Ukulele Carousels (love it), and had all four Mainlands, as well as our bargain Lanikai Soprano Banjolele from last summer's special sale on the carousel.
A student came up, and dropped his giant 3 ring binder on the "table" part of the carousel, knocking all five ukuleles to the ground.
He picked them all up, and then another student came jumping INTO that student, knocking him into the table and all five ukuleles down AGAIN.
Alas, there was damage to one ukulele, one of the Soprano Mainlands, which now has a cracked/chipped bottom where it hit the ground. The other instruments were okay…there might be one impact on one of our Mainland Concerts, but if so, it is still okay.
It is impossible to know if the first or second impact caused the damage. I have now modified the carousel with velcro to stop a similar occurrence; and for the winter months, the Mainlands are stored in cases anyway. I called the parents of both students and spoke quite directly about the issue. It’s hard to ask parents to pay for damage to a donated ukulele...the actual damage far outweighs the initial cost of the ukulele--so does a replacement/
I don't know if it is repairable--the ukulele plays. I do worry that a kid will catch something on the “chip” and either rip their clothing, cut themselves, or rip the chip out of the ukulele.
I also don't want to ask Mike for a possible replacement. We haven’t had these ukuleles for a great length of time and one has already been damaged by students.
And believe me, what echoes in my head is this: “They don’t appreciate the blessings they have!”
(Incidentally, one of the Caramels is dropped by a student at least daily. Schools are ROUGH on ukuleles. This is why I wish that Outdoor Ukulele made a concert...or would do so before their guitar!)
So…looking at the damage, is this repairable? What would you do with the ukulele?
And if Mike is reading this...I am SO sorry about this damage. I don't want you to think these are not appreciated. I just filled humidifiers today!