strat4me
Well-known member
As you can see by the sig file we have a few ukes and have sold many others. When I saw this one I knew my wife would love the retro vibe and surprised her with its arrival today. Initial thoughts include:
1. $99 from GC including shipping. Unbelievable value. Arrived in three days.
2. Original strings: Suck! Also difficult for her to see. Fremont Blacklines on now and sound as good as it looks.
3. Set-up: 3mm at 12th. Very easy to adjust with removable saddle. Nut depth was quite good.
4. Fret ends: Aware they are there but very well done. No sharp edges.
5. Weight and build: Internals looked very clean and uke is very light.
6. Top: Solid sitka spruce. Flat sunburst. Shows grease on fingers quickly. May add a topcoat to preserve it.
7. Neck: Great. Fast and very smooth C shape, maple.
8. Markers: Side markers (Baz would approve) and wonderful fretbd markers as well.
9. Frets: 12 to body, 16 total
10. Intonation: Very close at 12 except for "E" string which was off 2 cents. Not bad at all.
11. Looks: Everything flows well together. Very nice package. Fun looking and will bring a smile to anyone's face.
12. Sound/tone: Fairly loud. Very nice mellow (not dead) sound. Doesn't sound "cheap." Doesn't feel "less than" in any way. Amazing. Good resonance and sustain.
13. Tuners: Smooth geared (high ratio - guess 14:1). Love NOT having to replace finicky friction tuners.
For the money we are both surprised and thrilled. I have had a dozen or more guitars over the years including $3K Martins. I got a Recording King Parlor guitar for under $200 and was astonished at the build quality and tone for such an inexpensive instrument. No Martin but a wonderful guitar at an incredible price. Thus the willingness to test the waters with their uke. They hit this one out of the ball park for this couple. A definite keeper.
BUT, change the strings. Blacklines show-up wonderfully against the pearloid fretboard.
1. $99 from GC including shipping. Unbelievable value. Arrived in three days.
2. Original strings: Suck! Also difficult for her to see. Fremont Blacklines on now and sound as good as it looks.
3. Set-up: 3mm at 12th. Very easy to adjust with removable saddle. Nut depth was quite good.
4. Fret ends: Aware they are there but very well done. No sharp edges.
5. Weight and build: Internals looked very clean and uke is very light.
6. Top: Solid sitka spruce. Flat sunburst. Shows grease on fingers quickly. May add a topcoat to preserve it.
7. Neck: Great. Fast and very smooth C shape, maple.
8. Markers: Side markers (Baz would approve) and wonderful fretbd markers as well.
9. Frets: 12 to body, 16 total
10. Intonation: Very close at 12 except for "E" string which was off 2 cents. Not bad at all.
11. Looks: Everything flows well together. Very nice package. Fun looking and will bring a smile to anyone's face.
12. Sound/tone: Fairly loud. Very nice mellow (not dead) sound. Doesn't sound "cheap." Doesn't feel "less than" in any way. Amazing. Good resonance and sustain.
13. Tuners: Smooth geared (high ratio - guess 14:1). Love NOT having to replace finicky friction tuners.
For the money we are both surprised and thrilled. I have had a dozen or more guitars over the years including $3K Martins. I got a Recording King Parlor guitar for under $200 and was astonished at the build quality and tone for such an inexpensive instrument. No Martin but a wonderful guitar at an incredible price. Thus the willingness to test the waters with their uke. They hit this one out of the ball park for this couple. A definite keeper.
BUT, change the strings. Blacklines show-up wonderfully against the pearloid fretboard.
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