Ken Middleton
Well-known member
Several people have asked what has happened to my YT review of the Ohana TK-35G. The answer is that I have withdrawn it from YouTube.
The reason for taking it off YT was that in the video I said that the action on that particular instrument was too high and that I would have to lower it. Some people have (sometimes intentionally I feel) interpreted that to mean that all TK-35Gs have an action that is too high. This is just not true. The action on my Kala and one of my Kanile'as was too high also, I just didn't mention it in the reviews.
Worse than that, I have discovered that at least one store was using my video as a reason for not buying a TK-35G. They were misquoting me. This is appalling.
In fact, the instrument in question did not get to me via the Ohana facility in Long Beach, but came by another route and was not checked.
This instrument, by the way is the one I use for nearly all my Celtic recordings. It has the sweetest tone of all my ukes. All it needed was a little adjustment.
However, I have to say that most instruments I have tried would need to have some adjustment to be perfectly set up for me. There is, in fact, no such thing as a perfect set up. An instrument can only be perfectly set up for a particular person or for their style of playing. However, I know that good suppliers and reputable dealers do always endeavour to make certain that their instruments are sent out to customers in playable condition.
It must also be remembered that some players like an extremely low action, particularly if they play delicately with a microphone. Increasingly though, I am coming across more experienced players (particularly in Europe) who say that the instrument was sold to them with too low an action. Of course it is much harder to raise it than lower it.
Remember also that the height of the action needs to be determined by also taking into consideration other factors like string diameter and string tension.
Here's an interesting thing to consider. I have been playing the guitar for over 50 years. I have owned many fine acoustic guitars. I currently have 2 Martins, a Taylor and a Collings. In the past I have had several other Martins and Taylors, Gibsons, Takamines, many Lowdens, Ovations, etc. On every single one I had to adjust the action: on the Taylors and Ovations it had to be raised, and on all the others I had to lower it. A set-up is a personal thing.
Now that I work for Ohana (and proud to do so) I felt that it was disappointing that some people were suggesting that one of the Ohana products needed to be avoided because "they have a high action".
My next 2 reviews will be the Ohana TK-75CG and the Kala soprano travel uke.
The reason for taking it off YT was that in the video I said that the action on that particular instrument was too high and that I would have to lower it. Some people have (sometimes intentionally I feel) interpreted that to mean that all TK-35Gs have an action that is too high. This is just not true. The action on my Kala and one of my Kanile'as was too high also, I just didn't mention it in the reviews.
Worse than that, I have discovered that at least one store was using my video as a reason for not buying a TK-35G. They were misquoting me. This is appalling.
In fact, the instrument in question did not get to me via the Ohana facility in Long Beach, but came by another route and was not checked.
This instrument, by the way is the one I use for nearly all my Celtic recordings. It has the sweetest tone of all my ukes. All it needed was a little adjustment.
However, I have to say that most instruments I have tried would need to have some adjustment to be perfectly set up for me. There is, in fact, no such thing as a perfect set up. An instrument can only be perfectly set up for a particular person or for their style of playing. However, I know that good suppliers and reputable dealers do always endeavour to make certain that their instruments are sent out to customers in playable condition.
It must also be remembered that some players like an extremely low action, particularly if they play delicately with a microphone. Increasingly though, I am coming across more experienced players (particularly in Europe) who say that the instrument was sold to them with too low an action. Of course it is much harder to raise it than lower it.
Remember also that the height of the action needs to be determined by also taking into consideration other factors like string diameter and string tension.
Here's an interesting thing to consider. I have been playing the guitar for over 50 years. I have owned many fine acoustic guitars. I currently have 2 Martins, a Taylor and a Collings. In the past I have had several other Martins and Taylors, Gibsons, Takamines, many Lowdens, Ovations, etc. On every single one I had to adjust the action: on the Taylors and Ovations it had to be raised, and on all the others I had to lower it. A set-up is a personal thing.
Now that I work for Ohana (and proud to do so) I felt that it was disappointing that some people were suggesting that one of the Ohana products needed to be avoided because "they have a high action".
My next 2 reviews will be the Ohana TK-75CG and the Kala soprano travel uke.
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