My Dilemma - The Follow-Up

RafterGirl

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So the Cliff Notes version of my dilemma for those of you that don't want to read the original thread......2006 KoAloha concert, gift from mom, first nice uke, plays & sounds great, wish it didn't have friction tuners, wish it didn't have a gloss neck, wish it did have a pick-up. Sell it or upgrade it?

The overwhelming response from my UU brothers & sisters was to upgrade it the way I wanted. No-brainer. Well, she's been pimped out, and she turned out great. I'm very happy & can't believe I even considered selling. I dropped her off at my local acoustic guitar & ukulele shop. Got her back in one day. The technician said he really enjoyed doing the work, and he's looking forward to doing more work on ukuleles since they've really taken off in popularity here in Utah. I was the third person in a week who had talked with him about upgrading to the Gotoh UPT tuners. He did a nice job on the MiSi pick-up install as well. The semi-glossy neck will stay as is. The amber buttons on the UPTs look perfect with the color of the uke.

All of this set me back $280. $120 for the MiSi pick-up from Mainland. $70 for the Gotoh UPTs from Philadelphia Luthier Supply via Ebay. $90 for the work.

Last question ......keep the original tuners or try to sell them? They are the large ivory/white tuners with the KoAloha logo & the large screws.
 

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That's pretty inexpensive for a nice uke!
The tuners....what I do with stuff like that, is keep them for one year.
If I haven't used them, then sell them to someone who needs them.

OF course, I do have some items that I forgot about, so they've been around say, 4 or 5 years...
 
Can the friction tuners be re-installed with the larger tuner hole diameter?

If they can’t, and you have no use for friction tuners on another ukulele, you might as well sell them. I suppose if they have some sentimental vsour, you could hold onto them.

John
 
Glad to hear it went out very well!

They looks very good and good color. We have to screw tight in friction tuners in order to work friction. We should not screw too tight in UPTs. They are not friction but planetary (gear inside). I have brake a couple of buttons and screws in UPTs before, because I screw too tight. I have got two spare screws from Gotoh.
 
Very nice result. You can't put the original tuners back without filling and redrilling the holes, and that's probably not going to happen. If you think you're going to sell the uke, then keep the tuners and pass them on to the new owner. You won't get much money for them, so it's a question of whether or not you want to store them somewhere.
 
Well done Raftergirl, that is now a lifetime uke. It is easy to sell something too quickly then regret it later, ask me how I know:(

I love the sap wood on the back of your Koaloha. How about a few other glamour shots. I don't remember a NUD on this ukulele or pictures.
 
Well done Raftergirl, that is now a lifetime uke. It is easy to sell something too quickly then regret it later, ask me how I know:(

I love the sap wood on the back of your Koaloha. How about a few other glamour shots. I don't remember a NUD on this ukulele or pictures.

I got this uke in August 2017 & posted in the Uke p*** thread. I had been playing for 4 months & was 100% hooked. I wanted a "good" ukulele and a member of my local group had both a Kanilea & KoAloha concert for sale (he's a collector/enabler). I sat in his kitchen for about an hour, playing both ukuleles. This one just spoke to me. My mom gave me the money to buy it as a birthday present.

Here are some before and after pictures. The old tuners looks so massive now, compared to the new ones. But the KoAloha logo is pretty cool.
 

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I wanted a "good" ukulele and a member of my local group had both a Kanilea & KoAloha concert for sale (he's a collector/enabler).

A KoAloha soprano was my first good uke, and I have an older Scepter with those white tuners. They're staying on it. Enablers are great! :)
 
A KoAloha soprano was my first good uke, and I have an older Scepter with those white tuners. They're staying on it. Enablers are great! :)
I consider you an online/long distance enabler Jerry. Your uke collection inspires “window shopping.”

The guy that I bought this uke from always comments on it when I bring it to our monthly group jam. “I forgot how nice that uke sounds” he says. I’m grateful to him for selling this little beauty to me. She’s even more beautiful now with her new “jewelry.”
 
It's a beauty Rafter Girl, you made the right call, those tuners look awesome!
 
I consider you an online/long distance enabler Jerry. Your uke collection inspires “window shopping.”

The guy that I bought this uke from always comments on it when I bring it to our monthly group jam. “I forgot how nice that uke sounds” he says. I’m grateful to him for selling this little beauty to me. She’s even more beautiful now with her new “jewelry.”

Yes, I am easily influenced - today, for example. Someone posts something about a nice uke, and I have to buy it. I've sold several ukes and then missed them so much that I had to buy them again. Some members of my groups have sold ukes back and forth among themselves. A KoAloha has been sold four times within our group.
 
Unless you have another uke with cheap friction tuners that you want to upgrade, maybe not much reason to keep the old ones. For me, it would depend on how much effort to sell vs. how much $$$ you get. Hopefully the KoAloha logos add value for selling them.
 
Looks great...glad it all worked out well for you. I'm pleased as punch with the Gotoh tuners on my KoAloha concert and have zero regrets.
 
Unless you have another uke with cheap friction tuners that you want to upgrade, maybe not much reason to keep the old ones. For me, it would depend on how much effort to sell vs. how much $$$ you get. Hopefully the KoAloha logos add value for selling them.

I think someone had those white KoAloha tuners for sale here a while ago.
 
That looks great. I'm glad everything worked out. I think you've inspired me to upgrade to UPTs on my KCM as well. Thanks for enabling!
 
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