Don't know about Uke Republic, but Mim's always sent my Ukes USPS>Canada Post, so the duties were pretty minimal (and occasionally zero) compared to a courier who charges fees on top of fees.
I wish I had a good suggestion for a Canadian company. Maybe our market is too small, but I'm hoping to be proved wrong.
Mim is great. I ordered a uke for a friends grandaughter last Sunday and arrived in Washington State last Thursday. Was an entry level uke but Mim still set it up perfectly.
Where are you located? You may be able to find a local guitar shop or luthier who can do a custom set-up once you have your uke in hand. I know that some others have a great reputation for setting up before you even see the uke but in some cases, you might want to play it for a bit and then decide what you want done to it. If it's a quality uke, the intonation will be fine and it will be playable and will only need fine tuning to your specification. I sell and ship ukuleles but am not currently offering set-up services. I will make sure fret ends are clean and smooth and correct action that is out of expected spec but for set-up I work with a local guitar guy who does great job. Fortunately we're a very musical community with an arts school that includes luthier like programs.
The majority of ukes that have quality control also have a basic setup at the end of the production run. This is usually a fairly generic setup to conform to the factory standards and works for most players. This may not be sufficient for advanced players who need a specific setup to suit their particular playing style. Other times when a setup may be needed is for older ukes where the geometry has slightly changed over time and adjustments may be able to fix that. For cheap ukes that have questionable quality control a free set-up is likely beneficial.
There currently restrictions on non essential travel in my province. This lead me to thinking about an online purchase. I keep reading about the importance of purchasing from a reputable dealer that performs setup. Hence I am wondering what my options are.
The majority of ukes that have quality control also have a basic setup at the end of the production run. This is usually a fairly generic setup to conform to the factory standards and works for most players. This may not be sufficient for advanced players who need a specific setup to suit their particular playing style. Other times when a setup may be needed is for older ukes where the geometry has slightly changed over time and adjustments may be able to fix that. For cheap ukes that have questionable quality control a free set-up is likely beneficial.
One advantage of buying from a store, even without a specific “setup” is that there a final check before the uke ships to you. Some manufacturers that were primarily amazon based are starting into retail channels, partly to develop some street cred and get away from the “online entry level” considerations. The ukuleles that they produce are shipped to a distributor which may or may not maintain optimal conditions. When the uke is shipped to the store it is checked for variances that may have cropped up while in storage (ie. sharper fret ends due to fretboard shrinkage) or things that may have been missed/incorrect from the factory (ie. the wrong saddle installed). The store will typically correct these things, verify finish quality, etc and then ship it to you. Buying online skips this last step of the process and you might end up with a uke that is ok but needs a bit of work before even considering your “setup” which could include string height adjustment, etc to meet your specific needs.
There is a place for both online and retail models but you will never develop a relationship with (insert online marketplace name here). You can get a decent uke at a decent price and there are even used/nearly new or open box items from side sellers that you just might not be able to get elsewhere. The more you know, the more confident you will be in making your purchase; wherever that purchase is made.
I am a Canadian who has purchased many ukes over the course of years. There are a number of factors that determine how to proceed. One being your budget, two being what exact ukulele you want to purchase and three being how picky you are about a “perfect” set up. Other then my first uke which I bought from Long and McQuad everything else was purchased from either Hawaii Music Supply and used instruments bought right here from members selling on Marketplace subforum. Uke Republic and Mims are also uke specialists that do pro level set ups.
I am not aware of any on line Canadain retailer doing pro set ups. You can always have a ukulele set up by a local music store that has or uses a guitar tech for their set up purposes. I have done this before with Cosmo music, as well as having pick ups installed.
Hi Dave,
I am not that far from Ottawa. Although travel there from Quebec is being clearly discouraged at this time.
My original thoughts were to buy from Long and McQuad or Cosmo and then use one of the recommended Ottawa guitar techs, if as when I needed their expertise.
I have actually bought from Long and McQuad before. They don't have the Uke models I was looking for in stock and as far as I am aware they don't do setup from their online warehouse. I should of course ask them this directly.
I don't mind paying more for shipping if I have the piece of mind that the store has taken the time to go through a setup (I am a beginner so its nice for me to know the Uke is at least right as far as specs go). Mims seems to have a good rep.
Glennard eased most of my fears when he said Mims shipped USPS. The brokerage fees from Fedex and UPS are typically astronomical. With USPS I should just have to pay my taxes that I would pay anyway with a purchase in Canada.
Thanks so much for the reply. I am just learning about Ukes and what is available to me.
I am pretty sure that he includes a set up if you ask him. Shipping is also very quick though I only bought strings. Interaction with owner was very good.
Acoustic Music Shop in Edmonton did a terrific job of set up on an Ohana tenor I bought from them through the Canadian Reverb site. Good communication and excellent customer service.
