What's with Bushman?

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JohnBoy

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I'm a newbie about to buy my first uke. I have decided to get a tenor and I want a solid wood instrument and not a laminate. It seems to me that the Bushman Jenny fits the bill. My problem is that it seems that every dealer I have found on the web is out of stock. Some have even said that they no longer carry Bushman. Does anyone know what is going on with Bushman or where I can find one? Any other suggestions as to which uke to buy?
Thanks for your help.
 
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One retailer that I spoke to mentioned a lot of QC problems with Bushman ukes. They decided not to carry them anymore; too much trouble.

That said, there are a lot of folks who are very happy with their Bushmans. If you get one, just make sure that you're backed by a good return policy.
 
ChiyoDad said:
just make sure that you're backed by a good return policy.
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for sure the best way to have a good return policy is to deal directly with bushman. but, even in that department, i have read some bad reviews on their level of customer service.

on the other hand, i have dealt with bushman on one purchase. it was for one of their active pickups. and it went off without a hitch. so there are two sides of the story, as usual.

so johnboy, its up to you if you want to check it out. please give us a review on your experience with them and with the instrument once you get it if you do decide to give it a shot.

btw, i moved this thread to uke talk. the marketplace is more for buying and selling between members of this forum. a "classifieds" section, if you will.
 
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Thanks to all. Wow...this is a great sight! I tried to call Bushman today and got an answering machine that told me to call back during office hours. The only problem ...it was during their office hours. The answering machine at Bushman didn't allow you to leave a message. NOT GOOD!!! I can't imagine how frustrating that would be if a guy were trying to get a problem fixed with one of their ukes. Any suggestions as to a different brand I might consider?
 
JohnBoy said:
Thanks to all. Wow...this is a great sight! I tried to call Bushman today and got an answering machine that told me to call back during office hours. The only problem ...it was during their office hours. The answering machine at Bushman didn't allow you to leave a message. NOT GOOD!!! I can't imagine how frustrating that would be if a guy were trying to get a problem fixed with one of their ukes. Any suggestions as to a different brand I might consider?
Click to expand...
probably whats going to make the biggest difference in sound quality is the soundboard. or top of the uke. so make sure at least that is described as "SOLID". if you can deal with just the back and sides being laminated, then you will have a lot more options to choose from. of course, you will always get better sound from an all solid construction. and if you are still dead set on that, then i would suggest taking a look at the pono mahogany series, and the koa pili koko ukes.
 
An Ohana tenor would be an excellent alternative to Bushman. There seem to be many bad reviews of Bushman's customer service, so I'd be weary of buying a uke from them. Here is an Ohana solid mahogany tenor from musicguymic that should be pretty good. And since it's backed by a reputable dealer, you should feel pretty safe with the purchase.
 
GX9901 said:
An Ohana tenor would be an excellent alternative to Bushman. There seem to be many bad reviews of Bushman's customer service, so I'd be weary of buying a uke from them. Here is an Ohana solid mahogany tenor from musicguymic that should be pretty good. And since it's backed by a reputable dealer, you should feel pretty safe with the purchase.
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i was just about to post a link to that one too. haha
 
Thanks for all the good info. I will follow up on these suggestions and let you all know when I make my purchase.
 
btw. ive played a few ohana ukes. and i almost fell in love with one of their concert ukes. turns out that it wasnt even a solid uke. it was in fact, a koa laminated koa uke. and it had one of the nicest tones ive heard.

i say almost, because i had to remind myself that i was shopping for a uke for my sister, and not for myself. hahaha. i had to put her back down.
 
I have a number of uke's:Martin style 1, 0, Le Domino, kumalae,a few others.
I've never been one to think of name or even structure, but it's the sound that counts.

I bought a bushman eagleman at the N.Y. ukefest 2 years ago and it's great. I like the sound of it better than the rest.

The sales people from the store I bought it from, played it for a number of weeks in the back, and found it sounded the best of a shipment of a couple of hundred,of so -called better models.

Therefore I'm not sure if you can purchase a uke by mail,without playing it and think the sound will be good,just because of how its built ETC.

Anyway, here's a link of it:http://www.jumpingflea.com/productdetail/~Model/ENGC~/d.html
 
I agree with Nuke.
Sometimes just a solid soundboard makes alot of difference.
I know that Kala offers a Solid ( top ) Spruce.
It costs about $135 before shipping.
I have the kala laminate Koa Tenor, and I like it alot.

Hope this helps.

Aloha
Acabooe:cool:
 
I haven't played any Bushman ukuleles, but I've been corresponding with them a lot since the contest and about the upcoming Ukulele Luau, and I can tell you that they've been nothing but extremely cool to me.
 
There's a local shop here that sells a lot of Bushmans. Says they sell like hotcakes. He had Bushmans in every size. They are a really good value. $400 sound for half the price. I thought the overall build quality was excellent. Sure was a blast to play (I think I was in there for 1.5 hrs). If my CC wasn't maxed out I would of brought home a Jenny Tenor cutaway :)
 
Hey, thanks to all....I really think the idea of playing before buying sounds right to me. Over and over I hear that two exact same ukes may play or sound different. We go to Maui every year so I think I will settle for a laminate for now and then next year head west with fire in my eyes to find THE uke that I will fall in love with. Any other thoughts on laminates would be appreciated.
 
I own a 2008 Bushman Jenny tennor. Solid Brazillian mahogany top, back, and sides. Mahogany neck. Rosewood fretboard. Bushman tuners. Bone nut and saddle. Aquila strings in re-entrant.

To my ears this is a great ukulele for the price. Good volume, sustain, and the string spacing works fine for both finger picking and strumming. Of course, I'm just a beginner on the ukulele, so feel free to take my review with a grain of salt. To my ears, the solid wood makes a difference tonewise. And the workmanship is good. No major flaws that I can see.

My one critique would be that the saddle was rather high when I got it, so I had my luither friend whip up a compensated saddle and, boom-chaka-boom, now my Bushman has a nice action and plays just fine. Intonation is good, not perfect, but almost there. As others have said, the Bushman's have had some quality control and customer service issues. A good rule of thumb is, as others have said here, try before you buy, or at least make sure the seller has a 24 hour review period.

As for me, I guess I lucked out and got one of the good ones. :)

Good luck hunting.

Happy pluckin'!
 
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I've got a cedar tone concert on its way. Should have it by the end of the month. Can't wait I played one at my local shop.the sound was awesome I cant beleave they sell them for what they do. The craftmenship seems to be great. I'll post more on it after I get it and have a chance to play it for a time. I end up buy fromhttp://www.jumpingflea.com/productde...l/ENGC~/d.html
 
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Bushman ukes

I've contacted the folks at Bushman after the ukulele vid contest. They were really supportive and nice. They were a little hard to get a hold of though. As mentioned before they don't have an answering machine so you have to catch them when they are withing hearing distance of the phone (may not be easy in a uke factory with all the machines running). Once you do get a hold of them I'm sure you'll find them to be very helpful. Try multiple forms of communication. Give em' a ring and email them too, maybe even myspace and youtube them. I can't speak for their ukes as I have yet to try them. But their tweed case is awesome! (and not just cause I got it free). It definitely makes me feel more rock n' roll now that I have a tweed case, its like I'm sporting a mini Les Paul.
 
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