NUD...not sure if I want to keep, advice please?

NUD...not sure if I want to keep, advice please? UPDATE pg 3

Hey all,

I have a new solid koa uke that I just pulled out of the box today (after sitting to acclimate to house temps). I took a chance on a Gretsch...taking a chance because not alot of people have them I don't think (based on what i found on Google). The company has been around forever, mainly cool rockabilly electric guitars but they made ukes back in the 40's and 50's. Fender runs their operations now and their ukes are made in China, like many others. I like underdogs and thought I would take a chance. In general I believe you should love a uke right away but I'm unsure if I'm iffy about this one for legitimate reasons or I'm just comparing it to my other ukes...of which none are koa.

First impressions are that I really like the uke itself (koa but weird grain and pattern, real rustic with an open pore finish, i love it). Its part of the Gretsch Roots collection they came out with a few years ago. Not overworked so if small rustic imperfections arent your thing, this isnt the one for you.

So upon playing, it seems pretty quiet and I dunno...closed up I guess. I have an Ohana solid mahogany and a Kala solid cedar top tenor and both have loud voices. But I've never owned a koa. Are they quieter/more mellow? This one has regular Nylguts on which I really rarely care for on any instrument. I tend to prefer fluorocarbons. Maybe these strings just do not compliment solid koa? The strings seem rather taut on this one compared to my other ukes. I have it tuned, wondering if that is contributing to a quieter slightly dull sound?

So...is this just the nature of koa or is this one a dud? Should I take a chance and swap out the Nylguts for fluoros? Hmmmmmmm......

A big yes to trying out fluorocarbons. They improved the sound and feel of both my ukes that started out with Aquilas. I'll never play Nylguts on my ukes again. They just made my ukes sound dull and muddy.

I agree - get some fluorocarbons. Oasis are pretty solid on most ukes and there is enough for 2 sets in a package making them a value. Also, I've not played one myself, but I've actually heard fairly good things about some of the newer Gretsch ukuleles. Don't give up on it too quickly!

Good luck

-Steve

I have a made-in Mexico Martin C1k solid koa. It is anything but quiet. Much louder, for instance, than our soprano flea. The Martin strings I use sound just fine on it. I tried some Aquila Nylgut strings and it was even louder. But I don't like the squeakiness of the Aquila strings.

I say give the Gretsch a few more days of play with the current strings and if you don't grow to like it......yeah, send it back.

David

mikelz777 said:

A big yes to trying out fluorocarbons. They improved the sound and feel of both my ukes that started out with Aquilas. I'll never play Nylguts on my ukes again. They just made my ukes sound dull and muddy.

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Ditto...plenty of folks like them, and I'm not saying they're wrong, but personally I detest nylguts. Try some Oasis brights, or if you want a warmer but still clear tone try Worth browns.

I concur. I cannot stand Nylguts, newguts or any of it. Go flouro and get those bell tones that are missing from so many ukes that are strung with Aquilla. I drank the Kool-aid at first, but they just dont make my ukes sound the way I want them to, with one exception. My Kamoa sounds great with them.

mikelz777 said:

A big yes to trying out fluorocarbons. They improved the sound and feel of both my ukes that started out with Aquilas. I'll never play Nylguts on my ukes again. They just made my ukes sound dull and muddy.

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I bought a soprano Pono. I really liked it but the sound was sort of dead. I put worth browns on it. BIG difference. I vote for trying new strings.

+1 for Oasis Brights on solid Koa ukes, and Worth Clears too!

I'm an Oasis strings fan too. I also like Martin strings.

I'm finding the longer I've been doing this that quieter is actually better. Im sure I'm in the strong minority's here, but when I grab a Kamaka, I get the softer one when I want to play more melodic stuff. I don't know. If the other two you have are cannons, maybe try playing a lullaby on the koa one

Only Koa uke I've ever played was my KoAloha and it's LOUD. Now KoAlohas are known to be extremely loud, so I'm not too sure, but I would definitely try Worth clears. They did wonders on more than one of my ukes.

Weeshan, closed up sound is not a characteristic of koa. In general, Asian factory ukes are over built. This could be the closed up sound you're hearing. It's what I hear whenever I pull a uke off the wall at Guitar Center or Sam Ash. Brands do this out of necessity to make the instruments more robust.

Different strings may help, but they won't correct for, nor match the sound of, a true lightly built uke imho.

soupking said:

I'm finding the longer I've been doing this that quieter is actually better. Im sure I'm in the strong minority's here, but when I grab a Kamaka, I get the softer one when I want to play more melodic stuff. I don't know. If the other two you have are cannons, maybe try playing a lullaby on the koa one

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Actually, I am with you. I prefer quieter, too.

Nylguts are loud strings, that is why cheap ukes use them, it helps. Not saying the Gretsch is cheap, I own a tenor. But switching to florocarbon will change the tone but won't do much for volume.

I'm going to suggest another option: return the Gretsch and get an Opio (KoAloha). The price I found for the Gretsch solid concert is $399 to $429, and an Opio is $475. You won't have a problem with it sounding dead or muted or anything. (And it already has fluorocarbons on it.) TheUkuleleSite appears to be out of them (but they have a long neck concert for $510), but there must be another seller who has one. I don't mean to assume that the price difference is insignificant; I just think that while the string change could solve the problem, it might not, and you probably have a deadline for a return.

I have actually owned this exact model and loved the sound. It was also setup straight out of the box, and beautifully made. But, I traded it away, not for any of those reasons but because I couldn't get along with the thick neck.

DaveY...just sent an Opio back after it was weather delayed for 14 days with UPS and then arrived with a horrible crazed finish. I still may go that route. I really like this old school rustic Gretsch though. I think Im going to swap out the strings before I decide for sure because I have a 14 day return policy on it.

An interesting development though...the stock strings seemed to have really high tension (was properly tuned) to the point of even struggling to play without buzzing. The only other strings I had at home was another new set of nylguts I had for emergencies. Then I started thinking...I have read that sometimes imports that say they have genuine nylguts on them when shipped, actually have lower grade generic strings. So just for the sake of, I pulled the set of "nylguts" off the Gretsch and installed the new set I had. String color was different..stock ones a yellowed white while the genuine nylguts are bright white. Instantly, the tension issue was gone, I could fret chords just fine. Makes me wonder if it had a crap set of whatever put on in China. So, while I still dont like nylguts, the uke sounds much brighter and more full. At least I can play around with it while waiting for the Oasis set to arrive. Then I will decide for sure if Im going to keep this one or not.

Thanks for the input everyone!

as others have said, It is not the "nature" of koa to sound dull or muted. It could be the strings, or the build, or both. start with the strings.

I'm not experienced with that particular model of uke, but my philosophy is if it doesn't sound great from the start, return it. Whether or not one believes in "opening up," miracles are not going to happen - a good sounding uke might sound even better over time, but a dud is a dud. If changing the strings doesn't violate the warranty, it's worth a try, but otherwise my advice would be to return it and move on.

Return it. If the uke doesn't impress with the "new uke shine" its unlikely to get any better as time goes on.