Bad Luck with new ukes

Hi All,

Today is a sad day for me, so I thought I would share my frustrations. Two weeks ago I ordered a Kala KA-TEM from ukulele hotline, when it arrive it had blemishes in the fretboard and so it was returned. After regretting not getting the HMS setup, as well as a solid wood uke, I ordered a Pono AT from HMS. It arrived today and has multiple cracks in the body I'm pretty confident that the cracks could have occurred while being shipped in the cold weather. I'll be calling HMS as soon as they open.

Happy Holidays,

Skip

wow It looks like it got damaged during shipping please contavt us today and a replacement will be sent asap aloha mgm

Tough luck!
But it appears that you are getting good customer service.
While not a luthier, I work with wood every day.
It is a very dynamic medium.
One can take every precaution and still occasionally get surprised.
I swear by it and at it on a regular basis.

Oh, Dude! I'm so sorry. I've been eyeing one of those and hoped someone would get to do a review. Hope the replacement comes soon.

Tough break, it happens. I've had two ukes damaged in shipping (to me) over the years.
Based on an earlier poll about 1 in 4 folks have received a damaged uke at some point.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?36132-Ever-get-a-uke-that-was-damaged-in-shipping&p=521185&highlight=poll+damaged+shipping#post521185

I'm sure HMS will make it right.

Just curious, what did the shipping box look like? Any damage outside?

Was the uke in a hardcase or double boxed?

Ouch! Tough break. But at least you ordered it from a top-tier outfit that will make it right for you.

How dangerous is shipping a ukulele in cold weather?

I'm so worried about when I order mine.

Yikes! Major bummer. I'm pretty sure MGM Mike is right and that is shipping damage rather than temperature related cracks. Looks like the box/uke got crunched on the side. I'm sure the delay is disappointing, but at least you know that you're in good hands with HMS.

modern day ukuleleist said:

How dangerous is shipping a ukulele in cold weather?

I'm so worried about when I order mine.

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I ordered my Kala from MGM last year about this time - arrived in NY (from Hawai'i) on 12/31 - but the mail drop closed before I got there (after telling me they'd be open!), so it sat in their unheated store room until 1/2/11.

The packing was first rate, and the ukulele was (and is) wonderful. And of course, it had the famous MGM setup!

So yeah, it isn't the weather. It was a lot colder last year at this time.

ksiegel said:

I ordered my Kala from MGM last year about this time - arrived in NY (from Hawai'i) on 12/31 - but the mail drop closed before I got there (after telling me they'd be open!), so it sat in their unheated store room until 1/2/11.

The packing was first rate, and the ukulele was (and is) wonderful. And of course, it had the famous MGM setup!

So yeah, it isn't the weather. It was a lot colder last year at this time.

-Kurt​

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Some ukes are more prone to cold weather nitrocellulose lacquer cracking. I think it is the rapid change and how extreme the temps.
A brand new glossy koa uke from Hawaii (70+F) finally arrived in Atlanta (50+F) but was subjected to variations of (-20F or colder) in transit.
Here's what is looked like after I waited hours for it warm up from 50 F. (It was returned and I was refunded.)

Was it delivered by Fedex???

Nope. UPS. The box was perfect, no damage. Just cold weather and a long ground trip from LA to Atlanta.

I'm not sure who delivered the OP's uke. Who does HMS use?

Doc_J said:

Who does HMS use?

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I received a UPS tracking # from them today.

Not saying this the source of your uke cracks, but the effect of cold weather on ukes has been discussed in other threads before. When you immediately open the box and case of a ukulele or guitar that's been sitting in the cold for a long time, the wood of the instrument can expand faster than the finish. This causes the finish to crack but not the underlying wood. To reduce the likelihood of finish cracks, you should allow the package to slowly come to room temperature (a few hours) before opening the box and case.

ShakaSign said:

Not saying this the source of your uke cracks, but the effect of cold weather on ukes has been discussed in other threads before. When you immediately open the box and case of a ukulele or guitar that's been sitting in the cold for a long time, the wood of the instrument can expand faster than the finish. This causes the finish to crack but not the underlying wood. To reduce the likelihood of finish cracks, you should allow the package to slowly come to room temperature (a few hours) before opening the box and case.

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This is definitely good advice for buying instruments during the winter. Open the box up after a few hours, then give it a few more before you crack open the case. Don't ship ground either.

modern day ukuleleist said:

How dangerous is shipping a ukulele in cold weather?

I'm so worried about when I order mine.

Click to expand...

I got one pocket Kala shipped from MGM last January (below freezing here), and a Pono from HMS just recently, also when it's cold. No problems with either instrument. The Pono even took the long route by truck for several days.. it still arrived in good condition.

As another poster said, when the instrument arrive you shouldn't open it in a warm room. Bring the package inside first, if it's cold to the touch then leave it in a cool room (e.g. your entrance or something, just warmer than outside but not as warm as your living room) for a couple of hours, then take it fully inside and let it sit there for another hour or two. Then open. That's lots of precautions, I know, but if it's freezing outside it's worth it. If it's just cold, but not freezing, then you may take the package inside to your living room directly, but you should still give it a good hour or two before you open it.

The only temperature damage I've had to an instrument was nitrocellulose lacquer crackup on a guitar that had been a week in a truck in very very cold weather (it probably dropped from +5C to -30C during the drive, as the truck went inland, and then back to +5C). That all happened before it arrived here, because I spent almost a full day with slowly warming the box in different rooms before I took it all the way inside. But I've never had the wood crack, so far. Nitro is more sensitive to temperature changes than the type of lacquer most commonly used on ukuleles also.

-Tor

Doc_J said:

Some ukes are more prone to cold weather nitrocellulose lacquer cracking. I think it is the rapid change and how extreme the temps.
A brand new glossy koa uke from Hawaii (70+F) finally arrived in Atlanta (50+F) but was subjected to variations of (-20F or colder) in transit.
Here's what is looked like after I waited hours for it warm up from 50 F. (It was returned and I was refunded.)

Click to expand...

Oh, I'll grant you that the temperature changes can have an effect - but the pic that you showed was damage to the finish, rather than damage to the wood.

When I referred to my Kala, it came from Hawaii to an Upstate NY December with temps between 10 and 20 degrees (F), and whatever the temps were in the unheated cargo hold in the aircraft, then sat in an unheated room (20-30 degrees) for 3 days before I rescued it. I didn't unpack it for 24 hours, until it had gotten to 68 degrees (F). And again, no issues whatsoever.

As a P.S. to my own, and a couple of other posts - Nitrocellulose lacquer cracking can be repaired. I have never tried this myself (after all, I only have that single cracking in just one of my guitars), but I've seen luthiers explain that it can be fixed by heating the lacquer or something like that. Not something I would try myself, but I'm pretty sure a qualified luthier can fix nitro cracking. Other kind of lacquers are less prone to cracking but can't, on the other hand, be as easily fixed. From what I've been told, mind.

-Tor

Doc_J said:

Tough break, it happens. I've had two ukes damaged in shipping (to me) over the years.
Based on an earlier poll about 1 in 4 folks have received a damaged uke at some point.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?36132-Ever-get-a-uke-that-was-damaged-in-shipping&p=521185&highlight=poll+damaged+shipping#post521185

I'm sure HMS will make it right.

Just curious, what did the shipping box look like? Any damage outside?

Was the uke in a hardcase or double boxed?

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Hi Guys,

The Uke was in a hard case and there was no physical damage to the box and it was shipped via UPS. I talked to Music Guy Mic shortly after my original post and got things figured out. A replacement is being 2nd day shipped to me and the cracked one is being returned. I am thankful for the excellent service from HMS

skip125 said:

Hi Guys,

The Uke was in a hard case and there was no physical damage to the box and it was shipped via UPS. I talked to Music Guy Mic shortly after my original post and got things figured out. A replacement is being 2nd day shipped to me and the cracked one is being returned. I am thankful for the excellent service from HMS

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Glad to hear it's all been sorted and a new one is on the way!

Happy New Uke Day (Almost!)