Have you ever purchased the "wrong" uke?

Caught2

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I recently purchased a new ukulele. It is often mentioned on the forums as a sought after/coveted model. It is solid wood. I have owned/played it for a month now. At this point, I am just not bonding with it. It is the size I prefer (tenor), so I am sure that is not an issue. I understand that solid ukes need time to "open up". I guess I am second guessing my selection. I know it is subjective, but I am wondering how long should I try to bond with this instrument? Has anyone had a similar situation and how did you resolve it?
 
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I generally find that ordering an uke online can be hit or miss, unless I have previously played it.

I would suggest a month is plenty of time to know if you like it or not.

My advice would be to sell it, maybe in the UU Marketplace.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I'd try a few different kinds of strings. Perhaps ask other owners which strings work for them.

As for "opening up" and "waking up", I've experienced that on mandolins and fiddle, but not noticeably on guitar or 'ukulele, so I wouldn't wait around for some magical transformation. If different strings and a set-up don't make you like it more then maybe let it move on.

YMMV.
 
I recently purchased a new ukulele. It is often mentioned on the forums as a sought after/coveted model. It is solid wood. I have owned/played it for a month now. At this point, I am just not bonding with it. It is the size I prefer (tenor), so I am sure that is not an issue. I understand that solid ukes need time to "open up". I am guess I am second guessing my selection. I know it is subjective, but I am wondering how long should I try to bond with this instrument? Has anyone had a similar situation and how did you resolve it?

I had the same experience. Everything I read said that this uke was a great uke, yet for me, it was not a joy to play and I could not get a good sound out of it. I had a friend of mine play it. He is an accomplished guitarist who also started playing the uke. the sound he got from it was far far better than I was getting. He told me he loved the rich quality and the great sustain. He talked about ease of playing. Also, the uke was physically beautiful and from a top uke company. I put it up on the marketplace for sale with the comment that I was selling because the uke and I just did not connect. I worried that it would not sell because of my comments, however, it did sell, and sold for the price I was asking. Not only that, the buyer loves the uke and knows that he got a wonderful uke at a great price. I believe that just because you don't bond with an uke, it does not mean that there is something wrong with the uke, nor with you. Like clothing, it just has to be a good fit.
 
This happened to me with a couple of ukes. In both cases, I ordered online after reading several good reviews. There was just something about both of them that didn't work for me. I know folks really like both the brands/models I tried, but they weren't for me. I know it is hard to try before you buy for a lot of us, but I think it really does come down to the feel of the instrument for the person.
 
I have bought many ukuleles that I have just not liked. I've returned a some, changed strings on a couple, and sold some off. But, the ones I didn't like when they were new are all gone.

If it's a high end instrument, I would call the seller and ask if my warranty would be void if I changed the strings. If so, I'd return it. If not, get advise from a reliable source on what strings to try in order to get more of what you're hoping for. If the second set doesn't do it for you, send it back. Otherwise you could go on trying for years.

If it's a cheapie, I would just return it and look for something different.

Thanks to buddhuu for saying what I've thought all along. I think "opening up" is 99% myth. We develope an ability over time to get better sound out of an instrument. We learn how to play it and coax better sound out of it, we get used to it's unique characteristics in sound and feel, without even knowing these things are happening. If there is any actual change in the sound over the course of its first few years, it is probably very small. It's a good story though.
 
If you don't think a change of strings will make a difference, sell or trade it for another uke. Just chalk it up as a learning experience. Like you, most people don't name the brand or luthier, but it's clear that many have felt this non-connection even with high end and custom ukes.
 
I agree with trying new strings, and if you still don't care for it, sell it with the I'm-not-bonding-with-it reason. No need to explain further---I've seen it many times on UU.

I had a beautiful uke that didn't ring my chimes after the new-uke-day feeling wore off. After a change of strings and a couple months, I took it to a local guitar store that sells ukes on consignment. A sales clerk played it and made it sound 5x better than I ever did. And now I'm legend among consigners at the store because my not-for-me uke sold in the time it took me to drive home.

Coda: I took a uke workshop at the store, and among the attendees was a man playing my former uke, as happy as could be with its beauty and sound.
 
The Uke chooses the player Mr. Potter

Love that quote...Yep I have done this. Problem is that us whom have no access to uke stores within trave have to buy over the net...and it may happen again!

Imagine Harry Potter buying a wand over the net...now that's a thought!

Chris
 
If it's the sound, try different strings. If it's the feel, find a new home for it, whether it is sold, traded, or gifted. As for the time frame, varies from person to person. Don't feel bad about it. We ALL went through it. It's part of the learning curve, part of the journey, part of the fun................................BO.......................
 
I agree with my friend, Stevepetergal, that the only "opening up" a uke does is when it cracks from low humidity.

I own a solid Mahogany Silver Creek (on musician's friends) that is such a hunk of crap that it could only seriously function as a doorstop. I didn't love it when I bought it, but thought some Aquilas would help--which they did. So, I kept it. Now, a year later, the fifth fret is buzzing, and I drilled in a Shadow pickup and, even electrified, I like it nada. Every time I even look at it, it makes me ill. I keep it in the back of my pickup truck., and the irony is that, when I'm on the go or someone wants an impromptu song, that's the one I now have most handy. Ugh! Moreso than even my buzzy crapola Cordoba CK25, which is a real hunk of doo-doo itself. I told my wife that, when I die, she can cremate me with my Koaloha or Donaldson (I know, I know..but I want to play them in Hell, okay!?)--just my poop luck, my non-uking wife will likely think the Silver Creek is the one I want to be burned with since it's in the back of my truck, and that'll go into eternity with me!

I swear, if that Silver Creek (or the Cordoba, for that matter) sits with my ashes in a clear jar (so I can see out) atop my fireplace mantle for eternity, I'll come back and haunt those luthiers, if that's what they're called, at Silver Creek until my buns are blue.

So, yeah, original poster, I have the same experience.
 
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Me too. The first one I bought was a baritone. Small mistake, bought a concert and gave the bari to a friend. He loves it.
 
Like everyone else, I'll just agree that if it's been a month and you still aren't feeling it with your uke, then either sell or return it and hope for better luck in the future.

It doesn't matter how prestigious the name, how great the construction, how pretty the wood, or how much others rave about the uke. If it isn't connecting with you, then it isn't the right one.

That being said, I will disagree with those who think that an instrument opening up is baloney. I've noticed that both my solids have started to acquire a more refined, more characteristic, and more clear sound after playing them regularly for a couple of months. And it wasn't due to recent string changes nor a vast improvement in my style (at least I don't think so about the latter). My Kanile'a in particular has undergone a very nice transformation. At first it felt as if the instrument was too rigid sounding -- almost as if it were made of concrete. But over the last month or so, it has started to relax and sound more alive.

Yeah, I know these adjectives are lame, but it's the best way to describe the change.

But there is nothing about the concept that vibrations through the body due to regular play can affect the grain and the settling of the wood that sounds silly to me. The cellular structure and grain of a wood isn't locked into place. There is some settling, shifting, moving, expanding, and other internal changes that can happen, and regular vibration will directly impact that.

That said, don't wait for your uke to open up, because I doubt that will suddenly bring about your desired bonding.
 
I know each individual uke is different, even of the same make and model, but I would wager my house that given a sound test (like the recent one posted here from NPR where even the "experts" couldn't tell a genuine priceless Stradavarius violin from a modern knock off) that one could not consistently tell an "opened up" uke from one "not opened up". Not even the uke's owner.

Ukeeku Tim, after his current contest, may have a soundwave contest of solid versus laminate ukes -- although there's some difference, tested head-to-head, I think even though the "sound" is different, few (any?) would be able to honestly and accurately say which is 100% laminate and which 100% solid. We'll see, if he runs the contest this summer. Cheers!
 
i have 2 ukes that i am just not hitting it off with the reason is that they just have'nt lived up to the expectation i had before i got them, i still play them but not as much as my favourite ukes, i will probably end up selling them on and using the money towards another uke, i agree with PoiDog on the opening up issue, my solids certainly sound tighter and sweeter after a few months, there is no difference in the appearance of my solids it just sounds better than it did when new
 
I was so unhappy with a Pono solid koa tenor even after trying 4-5 different string sets on it that I bought a Kanile'a from MGM. While waiting for the Kanile'a I put Worth Clears on the Pono, and thoguht "Oh, crap!" because it finally found it's voice. When I put it side by side with the Kanile'a, which came strung with Aquilas, they sounded very similar to my ears at the time, but the Pono finally had some volume and sustain.

So I wouldn't necessarily stop at trying just one other set of strings. My hubby forced me to sell the Pono as "there was no reason to have two tenors", and it was a nice uke. So is the Kanile'a though!
 
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whether it is the tone, voice or playability and comfort..or as simple as strings..if that doesn't do it,a set-up
is a last ditch effort..I've bought ukes that others have given up on and after doing some setup and strings
have become my best ukes..you will know right away if the setup works, it will be a like a totally different new
ukulele..from worst to the best.. I have one like that right now and the playability makes it a dream to play.
 
Yep, plenty of these. I always buy on the internet too, so it's not really an issue. I like to spend a few weeks/months playing the instrument before I make a decision on whether it goes or stays, you simply can't do that with a shop unless you walk past every day. The money you lose by selling it you would have lost anyway in petrol/rail fares.
 
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