My Bad Luck Continues

Paul December

Paul December

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1st my "new" Mele arrived in worse-than-used condition...
...then my Lanikai 8 string arrived with cracked binding on the neck....
...and today my Kala Archtop arrived and it's buzzing :mad:
1st let me say that pictures do not do this instrument justice.... the sunburst is beautiful. Also, acoustically it isn't as quiet as I expected it would be.
Now the bad.... buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Seems to be coming from under the bridge. Just in case I tightened down everything possible. Using a stethoscope, I'm pretty sure it is under the bridge. Possibly the electronics?
Also, I was a bit disappointed to see that the saddle was too narrow for the bridge slot and leaned forward (as has been posted with some Kala Acacias). It was so loose that there wasn't any friction holding it. I cut a strip off a business card and was able to tighten up....... but still buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It only happens with the Low G & C string (the two lowest sounding strings) and what ever is vibrating happens as the note decays.
Any ideas?
 
I'm guessing it's the electronics. Could be a wire up against the wood (happened to me with every uke with electronics so far [2]). Good luck getting under the f-holes, though. For some reason, I think your only way to break the back luck cycle is to go to a music shop and play ukuleles until you find one that is to your liking.
 
Paul December said:
1st my "new" Mele arrived in worse-than-used condition...
...then my Lanikai 8 string arrived with cracked binding on the neck....
...and today my Kala Archtop arrived and it's buzzing :mad:
1st let me say that pictures do not do this instrument justice.... the sunburst is beautiful. Also, acoustically it isn't as quiet as I expected it would be.
Now the bad.... buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Seems to be coming from under the bridge. Just in case I tightened down everything possible. Using a stethoscope, I'm pretty sure it is under the bridge. Possibly the electronics?
Also, I was a bit disappointed to see that the saddle was too narrow for the bridge slot and leaned forward (as has been posted with some Kala Acacias). It was so loose that there wasn't any friction holding it. I cut a strip off a business card and was able to tighten up....... but still buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It only happens with the Low G & C string (the two lowest sounding strings) and what ever is vibrating happens as the note decays.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...

First let me say this not simply to console you: this is Kala's bad luck in terms of QC esp. with yet another popular seller above a certain price point. Great necks, some great cosmetics...they didn't learn from the Acacia tenor saddle thing (also bad choice with the ebony for the most part).

What's not consoling esp. with electronics, wires and ukuleles is what SuperSecret says about acoustic electrics with ukuleles is that that buzz is indeed familiar in try outs. I think the size of ukulele bodies even tenors makes not a few acoustic electric ukuleles iffy in that department. This is not what you want to hear: send it back.
 
I got a Mainland acoustic electric with a very similar problem. I too thought the buzzing was coming from the bridge and was probably the electronics. However, I took it to a local luthier, who found the problem at the other end of the instrument. It was the nut. he made several adjustments with a file, and, not only did the buzz go away, the tone of the whole thing improved. I would never have thought to look at the nut. best part was, he only charged me $10. :)
 
I know it's not possible for everyone but this is just one more reason for me to not buy an instrument sight unseen off the web. There too many variables of problems. I always buy local or have a local store do the ordering in. Even trying an instrument out in a store does not guarantee rattles and buzzes won't show up but at least you have a place to take it and complain instead of shipping it back at your expense.
 
I'm right with you Paul. My flame mahogony tenor's been buzzing the same way since day 1. It's mostly just the vibration when I pluck the "C" string but now it's starting to buzz when I pick the "E". I just have the normal soundhole so messing with the electronic's wiring is easy. I'll go in there and fix the buzzing but it eventually comes back, and I'll have to fix it again.
 
RyRod said:
I'm right with you Paul. My flame mahogony tenor's been buzzing the same way since day 1. It's mostly just the vibration when I pluck the "C" string but now it's starting to buzz when I pick the "E". I just have the normal soundhole so messing with the electronic's wiring is easy. I'll go in there and fix the buzzing but it eventually comes back, and I'll have to fix it again.
Click to expand...

Yikes, makes me wonder if this is something unavoidable. Too bad it is such a PIA messing with the wires through the f holes.
 
:D I take you bad luck and raise it...

Since December....
1) One brand new ukulele arrived in beaten second hand condition with loose saddle and lifting bridge.
2) Different brand new ukulele returned due to intonation far out.
3) Brand new mobile phone on ebay bought, recieved to find faulty and that they were ripping out a glued in sim card then selling them on as brand new. Returned at a cost.
4) Bought second hand pram on ebay, fairly expensive, left good feedback to later start finding the bits that hold the axel in place broken and a tear in the rain proof cover. (to late to return).
5) Expensive media centre bought second hand on ebay, first day the power pack blew up. Returned at a cost.
6) Brand new media centre bought, hard disk was screwed in with the wrong screws, arrived with screws rattling around the main board and a harddrive thumping about half wrenched out of its socket.
7) Jimmy car DVD bought second hand as "very good condition". Received it to find multiple massive deep circular scratches all round the DVD.
8) Bought a phono cable yesturday and one of the channels is completely blank, I've never heard of anything like it before.... did they forget to put the cabling in or something?
9) Today recieved a brand new clearwater ukulele case to find loads of glue inside it, the strap coroded and a massive lump of hardened foam under the cloth (possibly a massive lump of glue).

I can honestly say I've never experienced anything quite like it. I holding a positive attitude though about it as most so far has been really helpful (bar the pram person and phone people) in sorting out the issues, not taken up 8 and 9 yet..... but hey ho.

You've got to laugh sometimes, that or slowly gibber in a corner screaming 'Why me, what have I done *sob, sob*.

:p
 
I think the trolls are out in force this month. This week has been weird all over the place for me.

1: ants found crawling around my desk.
2: vendor sent out the incorrect hard drives, I returned them, UPS lost the box. Fought with UPS and vendor, received new hard drives IDENTICAL to the ones I sent back because they were the wrong ones.
3: I had a plunger thrown at me over a bathroom stall which NARROWLY missed my head.
4: had a terrible, terrible mishap at an open mic. I don't want to talk about it right now.

I ordered myself a new ukulele from Amazon (I know I know, but I really wanted a specific one and neither of the Mikes had it).

5: a week later my uke is still marked unshipped. Email Amazon asking what's up. They reply it will ship out on the 22nd. I reply asking what happened. They tell me they have bumped my shipping priority (at a charge of $10 to me) so it will ship out on the 25th. I don't even know how to reply to that...
6: mom tells me she's been operating in the red for a few months. I give her the $600 out of my Pineapple Sunday savings to pull her out.

I won't even get into the other weird things that happened at work.

At least it's friday.
 
...(reply to Skitzic)
1: ants found crawling around my desk.
Could the ants be behind all this?? :confused:
​
2: vendor sent out the incorrect hard drives, I returned them, UPS lost the box. Fought with UPS and vendor, received new hard drives IDENTICAL to the ones I sent back because they were the wrong ones.
Bright side, maybe the other two will show up returned to you... then you'll have four of the wrong hard drives.
​
3: I had a plunger thrown at me over a bathroom stall which NARROWLY missed my head.
lol, don't know how to reply to that one... its just bizzare
​
4: had a terrible, terrible mishap at an open mic. I don't want to talk about it right now.
I can imagine many horrific things, but flies undone on a going commando day is at the top :eek:
​
5: a week later my uke is still marked unshipped. Email Amazon asking what's up. They reply it will ship out on the 22nd. I reply asking what happened. They tell me they have bumped my shipping priority (at a charge of $10 to me) so it will ship out on the 25th. I don't even know how to reply to that...
It's about time to wave the white flag at Karma. :stop:
​
6: mom tells me she's been operating in the red for a few months. I give her the $600 out of my Pineapple Sunday savings to pull her out.

Surely with this good deed Karma will repay you.... somehow.....:confused:
​
 
casarole45 said:
:D I take you bad luck and raise it...

Since December....
1) One brand new ukulele arrived in beaten second hand condition with loose saddle and lifting bridge.
2) Different brand new ukulele returned due to intonation far out.
3) Brand new mobile phone on ebay bought, recieved to find faulty and that they were ripping out a glued in sim card then selling them on as brand new. Returned at a cost.
4) Bought second hand pram on ebay, fairly expensive, left good feedback to later start finding the bits that hold the axel in place broken and a tear in the rain proof cover. (to late to return).
5) Expensive media centre bought second hand on ebay, first day the power pack blew up. Returned at a cost.
6) Brand new media centre bought, hard disk was screwed in with the wrong screws, arrived with screws rattling around the main board and a harddrive thumping about half wrenched out of its socket.
7) Jimmy car DVD bought second hand as "very good condition". Received it to find multiple massive deep circular scratches all round the DVD.
8) Bought a phono cable yesturday and one of the channels is completely blank, I've never heard of anything like it before.... did they forget to put the cabling in or something?
9) Today recieved a brand new clearwater ukulele case to find loads of glue inside it, the strap coroded and a massive lump of hardened foam under the cloth (possibly a massive lump of glue).

I can honestly say I've never experienced anything quite like it. I holding a positive attitude though about it as most so far has been really helpful (bar the pram person and phone people) in sorting out the issues, not taken up 8 and 9 yet..... but hey ho.

You've got to laugh sometimes, that or slowly gibber in a corner screaming 'Why me, what have I done *sob, sob*.

:p
Click to expand...

I have to say...I think there's a moral to this story...don't buy cheap second hand s** anymore...

:)
 
Paul December said:
:mad: As the consummate cheap bastard, I take offense to that! :eek:
Click to expand...

Paul, I have been thinking of your bad uke luck...Why don't you save the money you are spending on these "bad luck" instruments and get a koaloha? realistically, you can only play one at a time.
 
haolejohn said:
Paul, I have been thinking of your bad uke luck...Why don't you save the money you are spending on these "bad luck" instruments and get a koaloha? realistically, you can only play one at a time.
Click to expand...

Does this "logic" make any sense...
I don't think I'm a good enough uke player for a Koaloha, so prefer to get a variety of different sounding ukes. I do enjoy picking up a different instrument each time for a specific song. I've got 5 ukes, and each sounds very different from the other: 6 string tenor, Low G tenor, tenor with pick up, High G concert, High G soprano.
Also, I absolutely love my Low G tenor, a Kala Acacia, which doesn't have any of the reported problems with it (knock-on-wood).
 
afeistyfiesta said:
I have to say...I think there's a moral to this story...don't buy cheap second hand s** anymore...
Click to expand...

Hah! That is damn good advice! I need to remember it...
 
Paul December said:
Does this "logic" make any sense...
I don't think I'm a good enough uke player for a Koaloha, so prefer to get a variety of different sounding ukes. I do enjoy picking up a different instrument each time for a specific song. I've got 5 ukes, and each sounds very different from the other: 6 string tenor, Low G tenor, tenor with pick up, High G concert, High G soprano.
Also, I absolutely love my Low G tenor, a Kala Acacia, which doesn't have any of the reported problems with it (knock-on-wood).
Click to expand...

i think it does. I owned 11 ukuleles before i got my first koaloha. 4 meles and a bunch of kalas and makalas. Well now i own 11 but it is 4 koalohas, a mele, 2 mainlands, a vineyard (soon to be sold) and some dolphins that are out on loan. The quality on the koalohas is so much better than any of my other ukes. It sounds crazy but you will grow into the koaloha. Now let me ask you this, if your playing isn't good enough for a koaloha, is it good enough for 5 ukuleles?:)

btw i agree with you about variety. variety is good.
 
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