Cheap 2nds Ebay UK - Octopus - Mahalo - Dolphin

Just snagged a cheap imperfect Octopus Soprano as a take anywhere throwaway.

Baz rated these as a good starter uke and for £12 delivered if you in the UK and not hugely worried about imperfections it would be rude not to give the UAS a little snack! Also have a Dolphin and a quirky Alien mahalo up for grabs

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ukulele-Soprano-Seconds-Various/132618576357


Lee

I’ll bump this thread by posting so that folk who missed it earlier have the chance again. It was good of you to bring it to the attention of U.K. members and it set me thinking. I’ve had an Octopus and a Dolphin, they have now been passed on to make space for other things. The Dolphin was OK after a good set-up and a set of Martin strings and the Octopus Ukes just can’t be beaten on bang per buck.

The Ukes that I play are all just a (one) step up from those on offer, they are fine for me and the typical club player - well after a good set up and a string change - but most folks on here would already consider them basement buy beaters. I’ve come to think of them (£80 Ukes) as beaters too, though I always care for an instrument wherever it is, and so you get to the point where it doesn’t matter how cheap something is if it doesn’t perform well enough. That’s a place I never thought I’d end up in, never been a reason not to buy a Uke before but the effort required to make something play well has become something realatively valuable.

I guess that someone will jump on the Dolphin, I certainly would have done so a year ago and it’ll make a nice beater for someone. Thanks again for posting the link.

I've just ordered an Alulu tenor uke from Vietnam.
They have faults, and are sold as such which reflects in the price £85 delivered). I've also ordered a pack of 4mm Green abalone dots to replace the one's fitted. They come unfinished, but looking at the lovely wood grain, after giving it a shellac finish, should look great. I'm just hoping it sounds good? atb Glenn

Thanks for the bump!

To be fair my most expensive uke so far is around £160 although I managed to get it for £30 brand new from a music dealer due to a loose brace i swiftly reseated and now is good as new. I guess i see anything under £25 as a beater. Anything higher than that I take very good care of. Especially since UAS kicked in! Looks as though nobody has snapped any up yet but then id imagine many new beginners are unaware of this forum and members here may be further on the uke journey than needing a cheaper soprano!

Lee

@bales1983. It looks like you have got the jist of what I was trying to say, good.

In one way I’m surprised that these haven’t been snapped up and in another I’m not. They are a bargain for someone both as cheap beaters and sources of parts for projects - I have too much on but otherwise one would have made a donor for a Cigar Box Uke - as well as just something to practice diy lathering skills on. Alternatively they won’t sell because eBay buyers typically avoid items needing work and the photo’s in the listing are illustrative of the model rather than each uke’s defects.

To me now the things that are worth the effort are the more expensive instruments that are sold at a heavy discount due to a fixable fault. Well done on your £30 buy, anymore like that anywhere?

It was from Bill Lewington Ltd on eBay. They seem to wholesale to smaller dealers in bulk so occasionally sell single items that have filtered out with defects on their eBay store. Seen a few Ukes and guitars. The guitars mostly have cracked necks or lifting bridges.

My particular uke was a Luna Tapa Solid Cedar top Electro acoustic concert which was sold as rattling when strumming due to a loose brace.

Now when it arrives with 140 quid off the normal price I really couldn't hear a rattle unless it was played very hard.

I managed to take out the preamp controls and found the lose brace just behind under the bridge.

Wood glue and a bit of pressure later and it sounds perfect again.

My best bargain to date