Possible warning re Fremont cases

Two of my ukes cased in rectangular Fremont hard cases have not only new discoloration but raised grain right at the area neck join on the body where they have the most contact against the case. On my Kamaka it's starting up the neck too. It was so subtle at first I thought it was just a thinner spot in the finish on my Kamaka that I somehow never noticed before, now it's actually looking bleached. I expect it's Chinese crap glues outgassing and reacting with the finish in the way that rubber or neoprene does to nitrocellulose. In both cases the fit of the tops of the ukes' upper bouts is snug. I would imagine this is something to watch for in any Chinese made case.

Melamine, toxins and bacteria in the food; substandard dangerous steel, toxic drywall driving people from their homes, lead in toys, contaminated heparin that killed a lot of people (probably including my ex husband).. a case that damages an instrument it is supposed to protect is just another brick in the great wall of dishonor. Don't even get me started on China.

EDIT AND NOTE: I AM GOING TO REITERATE RIGHT HERE AT THE FRONT THE WORDS "POSSIBLE" AND "WATCH FOR" (as in "FYI" and "Just in case" pun intended). YES, TWO OF MY UKES HAVE DAMAGE AND THE KAMAKA IS F*CKED UP JUST FROM SITTING IN THE CASE. IS IT THE CASE? I DON'T KNOW, BOTH ARE STILL IN THE SAME CASES. IS IT HUMIDITY? I DON'T KNOW, THE CASES ACTUALLY KEEP THE UKES AT A LOWER AND BETTER HUMIDITY THAT THE AMBIENT WHICH RUNS 80%. NONE OF MY OTHER CASED UKES HAVE ANY DAMAGE. I ACTUALLY LIKE FREMONT CASES THE BEST FOR DESIGN AND PROTECTION. I'M NOT CRYING OVER THE UKE, IT'S ONE OF MY TOP THREE BUT IT IS JUST A MATERIAL OBJECT. DON'T BOTHER FLAMING ME FOR BEING DISGUSTED WITH CHINA! I'M GENERALLY DISGUSTED WITH THE LACK OF MORALS AND ETHICS ALL OVER THE ENTIRE WORLD!

Fremont case

Thanks for the warning ! My china made Ohana sopranino
Had it's bridge come off !!
Moral of the story - avoid all china made stuff

Teek said:

Two of my ukes cased in rectangular Fremont hard cases have not only new discoloration but raised grain right at the area neck join on the body where they have the most contact against the case. On my Kamaka it's starting up the neck too. It was so subtle at first I thought it was just a thinner spot in the finish on my Kamaka that I somehow never noticed before, now it's actually looking bleached. I expect it's Chinese crap glues outgassing and reacting with the finish in the way that rubber or neoprene does to nitrocellulose. In both cases the fit of the tops of the ukes' upper bouts is snug. I would imagine this is something to watch for in any Chinese made case.

Melamine, toxins and bacteria in the food; substandard dangerous steel, toxic drywall driving people from their homes, lead in toys, contaminated heparin that killed a lot of people (probably including my ex husband).. a case that damages an instrument it is supposed to protect is just another brick in the great wall of dishonor. Don't even get me started on China.

Click to expand...

Chinese manufacturing is as good or as bad as the raw materials that go into the products. We have some really nice ukuleles and guitars coming from China. The issue is manufacturers of clothing and everyday household items, not so much musical instruments and recreation equipment where cutting corners kills performance.

Quality assurance of "Masterbilt" guitars, for example, is better in the Chinese factory than it is at Gibson in Bozeman, Montana. The same holds true with Eastman and Blueridge guitars. Ohana, Kala, and Mainland all are very nice quality ukuleles at affordable prices.

Agree with you Pippin. I've had some Kala ukes that were very nice. Also Eastman mandolins that were excellent.

Teek, thanks for the warning and yes China, like the US produces both poor quality and high quality items. I made a post several weeks ago about a noxious odor emanating from two new hard cases that two vintage ukes that I had just purchased were mailed in. I left the cases open in my garage which gets 90+ temperatures here in GA during the summer, hoping that the heat would drive off all the emanating fumes. After about two weeks the odor is much reduced. I also got some of those baking soda refrigerator deodorizer packs (about $1.75 @) at the market and then put them in the cases with the lid shut. What scared me is that the ukes smelled like the case and I also was worried about damage to the finish or gluing. Most of the smell is gone now although after what you've reported I may put them back for another week or so. Sorry to hear about the damage to the ukes, that's everyone's nightmare. Aloha, g2

I've only got the one Fremont tenor rectangular case, and it has my Kala Gloss Tenor; I think I'll put a microfiber cloth between the neck and the case.

Thanks, Teek.

-Kurt

Thanks Teek for the warning, I'll be sure to steer clear of those cases...I hope you're able to get the damaged repaired!

sure glad I have a formica uke lol

NOOOOOO!!!! I'm sorry to hear about the damage to your ukulele. I hope that something can be done to fix the damage. I'm also worried because I have two of these cases and have to very expensive ukuleles in them. I bought the first case about a year ago. It didn't smell when I got it. The second one came about 2 months ago and it smelled awful. Like garyg writes, the ukulele cased in it has begun to smell like the case. The odor has begun to dissipate and I see no discoloration, but I'm very concerned. I'll, at least, get something to put between the neck and the case; but I'm not sure that this is enough.

Hmm, I've got one in tweed that I ordered with my Kiwaya longneck. It didn't smell and so far so good but thanks for the heads up - I'll definitely keep an eye on it.

John

@ the posts regarding the quality of Chinese made ukes and guitars, I posted regarding specific cases of which I have two, pointing out other far more egregious lack of standards or concern in China because most people aren't aware of the myriad problems with Chinese imports, beyond killing animals and people with melamine in food or antifreeze in toothpaste. Regarding the instruments made there, most factories are well supervised and the builders can do incredible ukes and guitars. The other issues are society based and won't go away any time soon. They are still finding melamine in milk and infant formula.

I have two rectangular Fremonts, both concert sized, the black is two and a half years old and has been a super case and was the basis for my recommending them to others, the other is newer, tweed, and has my Brad Donaldson custom in it. I had to send the first tweed back because it was next to impossible for me to close the latches. The newer tweed one is not as well made and was stinky.

Both ukes had slightly thinner finish at the necks, that's a difficult spray area and not a problem on the part of the uke at all or with the build. Both are showing damage, it was just so slow and I've had the Kamaka out so little I would wonder WTF is that but thought it was just my imagination, until it became much worse since the last time I had it out. The Amy just has a slight raised grain feel after over a year, but the Kamaka looks bleached and is very raised feeling. The photo is my white label Kamaka, which when I bought it was lovely. A new production uke with a thicker finish (I'm thinking actually like a Pono say which I feel are too thick, I had one) would probably be ok for a longer time.

Just to note I will have to refinish that part of the Kamaka at some point because it's irritating when I see it and it has damaged the resale value, but it's filed it under s** happens and I'm not griping about that, just wanted to give a head's up to everyone as it is also probably something to watch for in a number of the newer stinkier cases of any brand. If it smells it's outgassing, and if it is outgassing it is likely reactive.

I have some awesome instruments that were made in China and am pro Chinese instruments for the most part now, as long as the factory conditions are not abusive to the workers. I don't want a uke made by basically slave laborers. It's great that it supplies jobs to people in China and good instruments to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford them. Regarding the other issues, that is a whole societal mindset and it still happens here in the US and all other Western countries in different ways. For some reason Time Warner Cable comes to mind, but I was also thinking stuff like runaway Toyotas, rollover Ford Explorers, Firestone tires, Taco Hell "meat", the pet food industry in general, medical insurance companies etc. etc.

Hi Teek,
Sorry you've had so much trouble with those cases. Thanks for the heads up you gave to the rest of us. I did agree that the Chinese made ukuleles and mandolins that I had were good quality and well made. However, some of the imported toys and products you mentioned should be banned.

..Late reply to older thread, but Teek, thanks! I'm wondering, since I just bought this case for my tenor uke, what's the latest skinny. Oldephart et al., anyone having issues with this Femont rectangular case since watching for it since middle 2011 from Teek's helpful warning? Thanks.

I was quite concerned when I read Teek's post as I have 3 of these cases - all holding Martins. I've been monitoring them and have not had any problems. The tweed case in particular gases quite a bit when it is new. The black one seems tighter as well, i.e., holds moisture inside, thus, I think it is important to air out the ukuleles (play them), especially during the summer.

I've had mine for over a year and I haven't seen any issues. Of course, mine never had a really noticeable smell, either, so it might be different glue or what have you from different manufacturing batches...

John

Oh that picture breaks the heart. I would have sent a picture of that and a picture of the guilty party to Kiwaya and see what they had to say. I have a Fremont relative case, my Steady gigbag, and no weird smells from it. Speaking of cases, I had an Oahu that I never really inspected much, just happily used it. Then I got the Steady, and was deciding which uke to go in there and which hard case to phase out. I thought it'd be the cheap and cheerful one that came with my Koaloha. But then I noticed, in the Steady case and in the cheap and cheerful hard case, my ukes could lie completely flat, and in the expensive Oahu case, the neck support was too shallow and the ukes lie at a steep angle. So much for price = quality! That's the case that was phased out.

Anyway, I never saw this thread, so thanks for necromancing it. It touches on something that no one ever wants to talk about, and that's just what the hell are the conditions in these uke factories? The evidence of the better ukes coming out of china would suggest that the factories are nice places, but all we hear is a rumor here or there. If these brands had real pride to them, you'd think they'd let us see who builds the ukes, let them know how highly we think of the work that goes into them. Seriously the Western factories get that recognition why can't these? Yeah yeah, culture.. doesn't make the isolation right.

And if these factories aren't nice places, then that's something that needs fixing, but no one knows, no one talks about it. Thanks Teek for bringing it up. Who wants a slave labor land fill uke? Who wants suffering so that they can save 20 bucks?

There's two types of made in China. There's made in China with pride, like that guy who pioneered solar panels, or that group of audiophiles looking to build an earbud that would sound like full size monitors. Then you the better uke factories which might also be made in China with pride. Then you have the other side of the coin. We criticize not because we are against China, but because we are for humanity. Ok, that last bit isn't supposed to sound like a manifesto, I just get a bit wary of the closet xenophobes who hop on the anti-made-in-China bandwagon, when all most of us want is to not exploit anyone, and to not be poisoned. It's a small wish, really.

I wasn't happy with pets getting offed by melamine. When it was dry wall rotting out houses, I got a bit concerned but I wasn't worried. Infants and children drank tainted milk, but heck, that was in China so it wasn't affecting me. BUT NOW IT'S POISONED UKE CASES?????


We must institute an embargo immediately. I will settle for nothing less.

oteonghn said:

Thanks for the warning ! My china made Ohana sopranino
Had it's bridge come off !!
Moral of the story - avoid all china made stuff

Click to expand...

I just had the bridge pop off an Ohana soprano, with Southcoast strings on it, so low tension. Did you fix yours? I have been mulling over how much I want to pour into mine...

Just checked my Kala, in the Fremont Black Tenor case I got from Elderly last year - no staining, still good. I keep two home-made humidifiers in the case, and it has been at 50%RH all winter (according to the paper humidity indicator from Damp-it.)

And no smell, either.

Thank you for the heads-up regarding the cases, I'm sure plenty of Fremont case owners appreciate the warning so they can make sure theirs are still in proper working order. However, your anti-China remarks rubbed me as possibly being offensive to Chinese uke players or uke players of Chinese heritage, of which there are many.

As others have pointed out, there are plenty of really great ukes and uke products made in China. Two defective cases do not reflect on China as a nation, in the same was that two defective Martins do not reflect on all of America and it's territories. If you want to raise the question of Chinese social and economic policies (and that is a completely valid question that should be, and is being, raised), it seems to me that the best place to do it wouldn't be in a thread like this.

Just my two cents.