I had wanted to respond to this post and to the review of the BridgeBoneBeads as soon as it was posted. At the time, however, we had just asked fellow members to take one of our string sets for a test run. I didn’t want to give anyone the idea that I would react poorly to a negative review.
Fair, honest, informed opinions are what I was looking for on the strings, and as it turned out that was what the members gave me. Constructive criticism is always helpful, but I also kind of assumed there would be that “Aloha” spirit that permeates this forum. I can only speculate as to the intentions of Tim on his review, and so I won’t do that.
The review, however, is so bad on so many levels it was hard to know where to begin. I decided to focus on just two points. First, the review obviously puts a very great value on cost. Not surprising, as that is the philosophy of Tim’s website:
I don’t know about you but I am limited to how much I can spend at any given time on such things as ukuleles. If I get my hands an a nice ukulele I will review it, but that will not be my main goal. Honestly many ukes under $100 are really nice with some work.
However, what he implies is that we sell products that are overpriced. That may not have been his intention, but when you request (free) samples of someone’s product and then proceed to show how to go about achieving something that is “sort of the same” for less money, that is the impression you will leave.
If price is such an important part of the equation in Tim’s reviews, then a little research might have shown that we sell the Ukulele BridgeBoneBeads for $1-$2 a set less than anyone else. We may have some items that are expensive, but expensive and “overpriced” are not the same. Our mark-ups are low – we try to do everything possible to provide the best price.
Tim says he can’t understand why they would be $1 less if bought with strings. It really shouldn’t be that hard for such a price conscious guy to figure out that when we put them in the same packet with a set of strings, we save packaging and postage. We thought we might pass those savings along.
Leaving the other problems with this review aside, I’ll comment on just one more aspect. This statement:
Both ways work and have their pros and cons.
Nowhere in this review is there a “pro” to how store bought decorative beads work. That’s because there isn’t one – unless you want to include price. Price is not usually included in a description of how things “work”.
BrigeBoneBeads are simpler to tie. A simpler knot is inherently more secure because it is, in fact “simpler”! A knot on a BridgeBoneBead is therefore much less likely to fail than on a decorative bead, but in that unlikely event, it is also much less likely to gouge up your soundboard, since it ties on the side. Tying on the side means it’s not going to scratch either your arm or the soundboard. Of course a simpler knot is also a quicker knot. It’s less likely to buzz on the fretboard because of the flattened bottom side (the review noted this). I have probably forgotten some other advantage, but again, there is no advantage to the other method.
A fair statement might have been: “BridgeBoneBeads have some advantages over the less expensive methods, but are those worth the extra money? Not to me.” That statement would have been accurate in its first part and in its second, a pure personal statement of opinion, to which Tim would be entitled.
