KoAloha Katastrophe Almost

garyg

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2011
Messages
799
Reaction score
1
Well I suppose it had to happen one day, dropping a uke that is. But a word of warning and a shout-out to KoAloah ukes. Yesterday I picked up my soprano Pikake in its gig bag, checked to see if it was zipped up the sides (beware those two zippers) and put it on my back (the bag has back pack straps). I then walked out of the house to the car and all of a sudden heard a horrible sounding clunk as something hit the driveway. You guessed it, although my gig bag was zipped on the side I hadn't brought the two zippers together on the bottom and the uke slipped out, bounced off the concrete and ended up on the grass. There was a minor ding on the front side seam, but no other damage and the uke was still in tune! So a shout out to KoAloha and a warning to everyone else to make sure those zippers are closed tight. cheers, g2
 
OMG Gary. I imagine that the heart skipped a few beats. Glad to hear that there was no major damage
 
Well I suppose it had to happen one day, dropping a uke that is. But a word of warning and a shout-out to KoAloah ukes. Yesterday I picked up my soprano Pikake in its gig bag, checked to see if it was zipped up the sides (beware those two zippers) and put it on my back (the bag has back pack straps). I then walked out of the house to the car and all of a sudden heard a horrible sounding clunk as something hit the driveway. You guessed it, although my gig bag was zipped on the side I hadn't brought the two zippers together on the bottom and the uke slipped out, bounced off the concrete and ended up on the grass. There was a minor ding on the front side seam, but no other damage and the uke was still in tune! So a shout out to KoAloha and a warning to everyone else to make sure those zippers are closed tight. cheers, g2

Wow, the man's got a KoALoha "beater" uke! Must be the unibrace that makes it so solid OR the fact that since its so light, it probably floated in slo-mo to the ground... :)

I take one or more of my KoAloha's w/me but usually in hard shell cases that weigh WAY more than the uke! Happy Ending to that story.
 
Well, I have the same model Koaloha pikake and the imagery here is too horrible!:eek:
My wife is always reminding me to velcro/zip/snap my uke cases closed. A salutary lesson for us all.
 
Oh my! I'm already taking heart medication, my cow valve would have skipped a beat or two! So glad there wasn't serious damage. I have a little "ding" in my Pono concert and was told that if the finish has "broken" a small drop of super glue will seal it right up.
 
materialism

Yeah, I love that uke and my heart did skip more than one beat, mainly because I just felt so stupid for not checking the bottom of the bag. Ha a Pikake beater uke, well I guess that's not such a bad thing. You know I"m an old hippie and I try never to get too attached to material objects and there's a real story behind that. When I was an undergrad at Berkeley I lived in a house and we got a new housemate. He was unpacking his stuff and washing some dishes after unpacking and he took me aside and showed me two handmade ceramic coffee mugs and said, these mugs were made by my closest friend and I love them. He then placed them on one of those old dish racks that had projections to place cups upside down on so they'd drip dry. Well then I started washing some dishes and accidentally knocked something off the window ledge which proceeded to knock not one but both of the mugs onto the floor where they promptly shattered. I couldn't believe it, both of those damn mugs in pieces from a freak accident. So when my new housemate returned from class I took him aside and told him. He said "what, you broke both my mugs!" and you could just see blood pressure rising, and then he lowered his voice to a normal tone and said "I try not to get too attached to material objects" and that was that. That lesson has stuck with me for my entire life and you can see I still basically quote him in situations like this which fortunately are not very frequent in my life.
 
Aloha Gary,
Sorry too hear that happened to your koaloha soprano...I almost never zipper mine all the way.....I always zipper my both zipper at the top...don't believe that they need to meet in the middle by
the handle...by doing this, the bottom will always be zipped.. but I know how it feels man, just like a new car and your first scratch or door bump...sheesh...
 
Last edited:
OMG!!!!! Glad to hear your KoAloha uke survived the crash landing!!!
 
Wow! I always have my zippers at the top like Stan...but I also always have them touching. I'm a little anal retentive about that.

And when an instrument goes back in the case, the cash is always latched / snapped / zipped immediately. I've heard too many stories like this one to play around with that!
 
Well I suppose it had to happen one day, dropping a uke that is. But a word of warning and a shout-out to KoAloah ukes. Yesterday I picked up my soprano Pikake in its gig bag, checked to see if it was zipped up the sides (beware those two zippers) and put it on my back (the bag has back pack straps). I then walked out of the house to the car and all of a sudden heard a horrible sounding clunk as something hit the driveway. You guessed it, although my gig bag was zipped on the side I hadn't brought the two zippers together on the bottom and the uke slipped out, bounced off the concrete and ended up on the grass. There was a minor ding on the front side seam, but no other damage and the uke was still in tune! So a shout out to KoAloha and a warning to everyone else to make sure those zippers are closed tight. cheers, g2
man you so lucky. get that thing repaired pronto, you will be so glad you did. good thing it didn't get smashed to bits. i tell you no lies.
 
I had a bit of a sphincter cramp just reading your description! Glad to hear the damage was minor!
 
I think we all felt the pain from that drop! Glad to hear you know not to get too attached to stuff. Great philosophy.
 
Whew. Close call. Uh oh, now I'm looking over at my ukulele thats' balanced right at the edge of the dining room table... okay, it's safe in my lap, now. Ah, now it's "Doodle Doo Doo" time, again...
 
I had a bit of a sphincter cramp just reading your description! Glad to hear the damage was minor!

The thread title about doubled me over... :)
 
You know I"m an old hippie and I try never to get too attached to material objects and there's a real story behind that. When I was an undergrad at Berkeley I lived in a house and we got a new housemate. He was unpacking his stuff and washing some dishes after unpacking and he took me aside and showed me two handmade ceramic coffee mugs and said, these mugs were made by my closest friend and I love them. He then placed them on one of those old dish racks that had projections to place cups upside down on so they'd drip dry. Well then I started washing some dishes and accidentally knocked something off the window ledge which proceeded to knock not one but both of the mugs onto the floor where they promptly shattered. I couldn't believe it, both of those damn mugs in pieces from a freak accident. So when my new housemate returned from class I took him aside and told him. He said "what, you broke both my mugs!" and you could just see blood pressure rising, and then he lowered his voice to a normal tone and said "I try not to get too attached to material objects" and that was that. That lesson has stuck with me for my entire life and you can see I still basically quote him in situations like this which fortunately are not very frequent in my life.

Glad to hear your story ended well! I dropped my own uke recently, only a relatively cheap model, but still my heart skipped a beat. I loves that little uke! Its opened up a lovely world of singing and making music to me.
I also really liked your little anecdote about not becoming overly attached to material things. I try and keep the same viwepoint on things but of course it is not always as simple as that!
Cheers -F
 
@Foinnse, yes especially when it's something that we love as much as a good uke. I too have experienced great joy picking up a uke and learning how to play. I've always loved to sing but never thought that I'd be able to learn an instrument at 57 sufficiently well to accompany my singing. I was dead wrong and it just goes to show that one should never stop trying new things!
 
top zippers

How could I have not realized that this would have never happened if I had zipped my case at the top!! Great suggestion and thanks.
 
Sometimes a ding or dent makes a uke more enjoyable.

You know, like the first ding/dent on a new car. After the first one the pressure is off, and the others that WILL follow don't bother you.
 
...I then walked out of the house to the car and all of a sudden heard a horrible sounding clunk as something hit the driveway. You guessed it, although my gig bag was zipped on the side I hadn't brought the two zippers together on the bottom and the uke slipped out, bounced off the concrete and ended up on the grass. There was a minor ding on the front side seam, but no other damage and the uke was still in tune! So a shout out to KoAloha and a warning to everyone else to make sure those zippers are closed tight. cheers, g2
it could have happened to anyone, best to be careful and cautious, sometimes the unthinkable can and does happen. hit the repair button pronto, start with duct tape and work your way up, if nothing else.
I think we all felt the pain from that drop! Glad to hear you know not to get too attached to stuff. Great philosophy.
shocking. to say the least. i know i did.
Sometimes a ding or dent makes a uke more enjoyable.

You know, like the first ding/dent on a new car. After the first one the pressure is off, and the others that WILL follow don't bother you.
depends on a variety of things, and the circumstances, i suppose. i do see what you mean, but sometimes the exact opposite does happen. with not so good results.
 
Top Bottom