Caring for my Tenor Lanikai LU-21

Hi Guys,

Just got my LU-21T a couple days ago. Have a few questions on caring for it.

1) I purchased this from amazon (http://www.amazon.com/aNueNue-aNN-G...S0/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1295541112&sr=8-12)
Will it do a good job of protecting my uke? I don't plan on doing any heavy traveling with it.

2) Do I need to use a humidifier for my uke? It is not solid wood, if that matters.

3) I used to have an Oscar Schmidt OU-2 uke, and the neck cracked on it when I was away from my dorm for the weekend (I did not have it in a bag or case). I am still not sure if my roommate accidentally broke it, or if it cracked from lack of humidity? Is that even possible? The neck actually split from where the wood veins are, if that makes sense.

LU-21 series doesn't need too much in the way of special care. I used some Renaissance wax on the body of mine just because the nato wood felt kind of rough - the wax helped seal it and it looked a little nicer. Purely cosmetic, though.

A gig bag like you've linked to will spare the uke from getting scratched and dinged but if a careless roommate sits on it all bets are off.

The kind of hard case that would protect the uke from being sat on (or provide protection if you were to bring the uke as checked luggage on an airline flight) would cost almost as much as that uke, though!

I suppose technically a neck could crack from drying out over a very long period of time - but it's not the kind of thing that's very likely. Cracked necks usually indicate some kind of trauma (sat on, dropped, used to drive nails, etc.).

John

augiepitcher said:

Just got my LU-21T a couple days ago. Have a few questions on caring for it.

1) I purchased this [gig bag] from amazon. Will it do a good job of protecting my uke?

2) Do I need to use a humidifier for my uke? It is not solid wood, if that matters.

3) I used to have an Oscar Schmidt OU-2 uke, and the neck cracked on it

Click to expand...

Hi

(1) It should be OK. I would've gone for a hardshell case like

http://www.amazon.com/Lanikai-Hards...JH4M/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1295569754&sr=8-6

I packed my Pono tenor in such a case and put it in my duffel bag when I went to Japan and it was fine. A gig bag protects your ukulele from scratches and minor dents but a hard shell gives a better job against something falling on it. Anyway, you should be OK with a gig bag - just make sure you put it on top of things, not under.

(2) Where do you live? One major problem of dry climate is that the fingerboard shrinks and when that happends, the fret ends will stick out and, at least, it is uncomfortable, or it can hurt your fingers. That's something you should avoid. In New England, proper humidification is very important. Note that a gig bag will not protect your ukulele from drying up.

(3) Most likely, your ukulele was dropped or knocked around.

Last month, I bought a Lanikai tenor for a good friend of mine, and it was a decent one (for the price). Enjoy yours!

Cheers
Chief

Thanks for the replies guys!

I live in the Chicago area, and I am in a dorm room currently.

I got my gig bag in the mail yesterday and it is really nice! Very thick foam, and it seems very durable.