Dropped my Kamaka!

TheOnlyUkeThatMatters

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A friend is thinking about getting a ukulele. Thinking that letting her strum a few chords on my Kamaka would stoke her interest, I passed her my HF-1, only to watch it slip from my fingers and spin to the floor. It happened so quickly I didn't even have time to panic.

Luckily, my friend got her foot under the ukulele, cushioning the uke a little as it hit the floor. More luckily, damage was limited to a small scratch and a tiny dent. Whew.

The uke may have been a bit slippery due to recent warm weather---a little more sweat on both the uke and my fingertips than usual. I'll remember to give my baby an extra polish on hot days from now on.
 
That just gives it that worn-in, well-played vibe.... a musical instrument without a few dings is an instrument that's not played often enough. Thankfully the damage wasn't more debilitating.... and hopefully you didn't have to change your shorts afterwards.....
 
Red Badge of Courage, gives it some character and personality.
 
Glad to hear there was minimal damage. When I dropped my KoAloha I was not so lucky....
 
Glad damage was not big but still, it's heartbreaking when we drop them!
 
I'd probably have to sit down and cry if I dropped a fav uke. Glad to hear it wasn't badly damaged. I'd had my bro-in-law bump my uke a couple times and I cringed each time. I warn him each time he goes to pick 'em up now. lol
 
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Oh -- I'm so sorry to hear about that, but relieved that the damage wasn't too bad. Ouch.
 
I guess this is easy for me to say, since it is not my ukulele, but this gives it character. LOL. My main guitar for the past 10 years has been a Collings D1. For about 4 years I cringed on any inevitable minor scratch. Then I started to realize that it is not painting on the wall but an instrument to make music, which it does well. A few dings are inevitable, although I still try to keep it as nice as possible. It shows signs of 10 years of gigs, but it is still my favorite go to guitar.
 
Despite all the reassuring comments about character markings and badges of honor...as soon as I read your post about the uke slipping from your fingers I felt the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach...those first dings - whether on car or furniture or ukulele - are heart breaking. At least for a little bit.
 
Red Badge of Courage, gives it some character and personality.

Definitely.

The first one always hurts the most.

So it's nice to get it out of the way.

Glad damage was not big but still, it's heartbreaking when we drop them!

Watch out for slippery ukes on hot days, everyone!

I guess this is easy for me to say, since it is not my ukulele, but this gives it character. LOL. My main guitar for the past 10 years has been a Collings D1. For about 4 years I cringed on any inevitable minor scratch. Then I started to realize that it is not painting on the wall but an instrument to make music, which it does well. A few dings are inevitable, although I still try to keep it as nice as possible. It shows signs of 10 years of gigs, but it is still my favorite go to guitar.

I've had my acoustic guitar for about twenty years. It doesn't look quite as rough as Willie Nelson's beloved Trigger, but it's getting there. This is certainly the first of MANY dings. I'm looking forward to wearing away the finish, then the koa itself just by strumming this ukulele for ten or fifteen years. Whee!
 
That sucks, man. I'd be afraid of something like that if I owned that expensive of a uke. Like it was said, it's got to happen at some point.

I used to play shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). Nothing like an $2000 instrument that can pop a big crack in it if it doesn't happen to like the humidity levels that day. I still remember my teacher passing around a $15,000 flute that was gifted to him by his master in Japan to a bunch of people that had never seen one. Talk about nerve wracking...

Hopefully someday I'll be able to justify a Kamaka, although I'm sure for the first 6 months or so it wouldn't leave the house and would only be played in a carpeted area, lol.
 
thruth is if I could play guitar like Willie and had been doing it that long id be proud if mine looked like his lol
 
my granddaughters cello looks like it was dragged behind a car for a couple blocks,, beat up but oh what sound she can produce from all that wood,,

if ya play them they are going to eventually have a few scars,,

wife and I attend the St. Louis Symphony regularly and when you look at the wood instruments I am amazed at how beat they look and you can see many crack repairs but they keep on playing them,,

I'm not in favor of dropping any instruments on intentionally marking them but when playing if a nail kisses the sound board I don't stop to see if the FP or wood was marked,, they were made to enjoy,,

Derry
 
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