Hi, I just inherited two Kamaka ukuleles from my departed sister: an alto and a baritone. I haven't strummed an ukulele since grade school, so I'm pretty close to clueless.
They look disused and it seems that the bugs have gotten at them and eaten away at the glue -- the alto is now coming apart at the seams. I guess it needs to be reglued. The baritone seems to be in better shape, but I can't seem to get it tuned, so I guess it needs new strings?
Anyway, I live in NYC and I was hoping someone could recommend a repair shop or at least give me some tips to identify good repair shops from bad ones and how to avoid getting ripped off by someone who doesn't know what they are doing.
I did a search on the forum and I saw a recommendation for setups at Mandolin Brothers, but Mandolin is very difficult for me to get to since they are on Staten Island, not near the train, and I don't have a car. The same thread mentioned Rudy's "in the music district." I'm guessing that's Rudy's Music near 7th Ave and 48th St?
Seems to me that the right thing to do is to get these two instruments back into playable condition and take a stab at learning something beyond "my dog has fleas."
Any advice welcome!
They look disused and it seems that the bugs have gotten at them and eaten away at the glue -- the alto is now coming apart at the seams. I guess it needs to be reglued. The baritone seems to be in better shape, but I can't seem to get it tuned, so I guess it needs new strings?
Anyway, I live in NYC and I was hoping someone could recommend a repair shop or at least give me some tips to identify good repair shops from bad ones and how to avoid getting ripped off by someone who doesn't know what they are doing.
I did a search on the forum and I saw a recommendation for setups at Mandolin Brothers, but Mandolin is very difficult for me to get to since they are on Staten Island, not near the train, and I don't have a car. The same thread mentioned Rudy's "in the music district." I'm guessing that's Rudy's Music near 7th Ave and 48th St?
Seems to me that the right thing to do is to get these two instruments back into playable condition and take a stab at learning something beyond "my dog has fleas."
Any advice welcome!
