Oscar Schmidt has multiple personalities

deach · Apr 19, 2008

I ordered 2 Oscar Schmidt OU4 Tenor Ukuleles from the same company, at the same time.

Here is the description:
Select spruce top
Tenor size
Chrome tuners
Rosewood body
Abalone inlay

I opened the boxes and noticed right away they were different. One was made in China and the other in Indonesia.

The one on the left is from China. (The size is almost the same but the camera angle makes the Chinese version seem larger.)

The Chinese version has clear strings and the Indo - black.

Back view - Notice the difference in wood.

continued...

deach · Apr 19, 2008

part 2

Saddle/bridge - China - screwed in
...also notice the inlay...

Headstock - China - plain, Indo - "Aloha"

deach · Apr 19, 2008

part 3

Tuners - Indo - Open

Inside (sorry don't know the correct term)
Chinese - top picture

The Indonesian version is lighter, has a slightly smaller body and neck and has nicer inlay. It's hard to compare how they sound since the strings are different.

UkuleleHill · Apr 19, 2008

Wow thats crazy... You would think a company like Oscar Schmidt wouldn't let something like that happen... Or at least let the same person get one of each...

UkuLeLesReggAe · Apr 19, 2008

wtf...

So you bought them at the same time at the same place

Like ordering a UU shirt but 2 of them, correct??

Im not sure how it would work but get them to give you 2 exactly the same ukuleles... I could tell right away with the aloha and the circle things in the frets...

as the saying goes - you get what you pay for.. u paid for 2 ukuleles exactly the same and you got different...

I would be pretty annoyed, expecially if you waited a while for them.

deach · Apr 19, 2008

UkuLeLesReggAe said:
...So you bought them at the same time at the same place
...

Yes, I ordered them at the same time from the same place. They came individually boxed but both boxes were in a larger box.

I'm not mad but I did call the people I bought from to alert them of this. They were shocked as well.

UkuLeLesReggAe · Apr 19, 2008

Are they going to fix the problem or just leave it there??

deach · Apr 19, 2008

UkuLeLesReggAe said:
Are they going to fix the problem or just leave it there??

I'm not sure what they are going to do but they definitely need to have some type of disclaimer or display the exact model you are buying.

menehunenyc · Apr 19, 2008

Yea, I don't think they will do anything, although they should have been more considerate and smart about sending one person two ukes. I guess you could eventually change the strings on both, put the same new strings on both and then see which one you like the sound of better. Clearly its just a matter of a central warehouse somewhere packing the ukes that are manufactured in different places. All that said, it is a bit disconcerting and curious that this would happen.

Fred Miu · Apr 19, 2008

test the durability of the chinese and indo and see which one i should order from hahaha.

but if they dont really have that much of a difference in sound and in performance, then there should be no problems. but that is weird though how different places make them a lot different.

menehunenyc · Apr 19, 2008

World trade

Fred Miu said:
test the durability of the chinese and indo and see which one i should order from hahaha.

but if they dont really have that much of a difference in sound and in performance, then there should be no problems. but that is weird though how different places make them a lot different.

I guess this is to be expected, companies outsource the labor to wherever the parts and labor are cheapest. The positive spin on this is that the uke is kinda sorta legitimized now that its being manufactured worldwide!! Most likely the quality will suffer as the quantity goes up.

seeso · Apr 19, 2008

That's really odd, especially the kerfing. I've never seen kerfing without notches in it like the Indonesian one. I wonder if it would result in a weaker joint.

Is there any way you can check if the soundboard bracings are the same? If you shine a light in the inside of the uke behind the soundboard you may be able to see how they braced each one.

deach · Apr 19, 2008

seeso said:
...

Is there any way you can check if the soundboard bracings are the same? ...

The bracing appears to be identical.

deach · Apr 19, 2008

Fred Miu said:
test the durability of the chinese and indo and see which one i should order from hahaha.

but if they dont really have that much of a difference in sound and in performance, then there should be no problems. but that is weird though how different places make them a lot different.

I'm far from being an expert but the Chinese is heavier, slightly larger and has different wood. I don't think they will sound exactly the same with the same strings.

Dominator · Apr 19, 2008

seeso said:
That's really odd, especially the kerfing. I've never seen kerfing without notches in it like the Indonesian one. I wonder if it would result in a weaker joint.

Actually, the one without the kerfing is simply called "lining" and I think it was a pretty common thing some years back. It has no negative effect whatsoever. I think the kerfed lining which is wider at the top is primarily to provide support for instruments that have binding. Without it there would be just open space after cutting the binding ledge.

Those stew mac kits use lining and those ukes can sound amazing.

Howlin Hobbit · Apr 19, 2008

The Indonesian one also has a screwed on bridge, they've just covered the screw heads with those little circles of MOTS.

It also looks as if the Indonesian one has a compensated saddle and the Chinese one doesn't. It might be that the Chinese saddle is just more subtly shaped and it doesn't show up as well in the pics.

Interesting how it's essentially the same bridge but one did the "poke through the hole with a knot at the end" thing and the other did the classical guitar string tie.

The one that looks larger also has more of the thick-waisted dreadnought look to the body. It might actually be a bit larger because of that.

Phil Major · Apr 21, 2008

Howlin Hobbit said:
The Indonesian one also has a screwed on bridge, they've just covered the screw heads with those little circles of MOTS.

It also looks as if the Indonesian one has a compensated saddle and the Chinese one doesn't. It might be that the Chinese saddle is just more subtly shaped and it doesn't show up as well in the pics.

Interesting how it's essentially the same bridge but one did the "poke through the hole with a knot at the end" thing and the other did the classical guitar string tie.

The one that looks larger also has more of the thick-waisted dreadnought look to the body. It might actually be a bit larger because of that.

I'm curious about which of these differences are differences that matter? Can you tell me about the compensated or not saddle, and what value it is? Is the difference in body size and waist of one preferred to the other?

Vroom · Apr 21, 2008

I would convince them that one is poorer quality than the other and weighs more or something and get them to send me another,.... and then either sell one on ebay or give it to a friend. haha...

Phil Major · Apr 23, 2008

Phil Major said:
I'm curious about which of these differences are differences that matter? Can you tell me about the compensated or not saddle, and what value it is? Is the difference in body size and waist of one preferred to the other?

No one responded the first time I posted this comment, so I figured i'd give this a go again. I'm mostly responding to howlin hobbit's post, but anyone who knows can answer.

Can you tell me the significance of the differences between these two ukes?

Thanks

degracia · Apr 23, 2008

Phil Major said:
No one responded the first time I posted this comment, so I figured i'd give this a go again. I'm mostly responding to howlin hobbit's post, but anyone who knows can answer.

Can you tell me the significance of the differences between these two ukes?

Thanks

Well Phil, I remember him stating that he couldn't really compare the 2 since there were 2 different strings. I believe one was black and one was clear. It's very hard to tell by the sound quality if they don't have the same strings. Hope that helps

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