Sunken belly on my OU7T!

DougNC

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Good News! See #26: Sunken belly on my OU7T!

My Oscar Schmidt Spalted Mango OU7T was my first uke (just a short 6 months ago) and I still love it. Since it is laminate construction, I didn't have any concern with keeping it out all of the time.

I picked it up to play one night and noticed that the string action seemed much lower than usual, but I just passed that off as poor recollection. As I played it I realized the C string, fretted at the first fret, had a terrible buzz.

After a thorough inspection, I discovered that the belly of the uke has sunken in. It's as though the bridge was built on a sinkhole. From my guitar experience I know this can be a symptom of a severely dehydrated wood instrument, so I am "super-hydrating" it in a spare guitar case. I haven't found any loose braces yet, but we'll see after I've hydrated it for a few days. I've got 2 full-size sponges in plastic bags (with small holes punched in them) inside the case too. I'll give it a couple of days before I will check it.

My question is: how is it that a laminate instrument would be so susceptible to shrinkage from low humidity? I thought laminate was very stable and resistant to low/high humidity conditions that can severely affect solid wood instruments. And the OU7T is solidly built (some say it is over-built) so it seems even less likely this should have happened.

What do you think?

Doug
 
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I would start researching their "Lifetime Warranty".
 
Unusual situation.

There are a lot of ways to laminate wood - some more likely to withstand low humidity than others. Any idea how low we are talking about?

Will be interesting to hear what happens with the hydration.
 
Wow, that's kinda scary! I have an OU7T, and it's one of my favorite ukes. I was playing it last night, thinking how good it sounds and how well it plays. I usually leave it on my sofa, but maybe I need to keep it in the case with a humidifier, like my solid wood ukes.

Hope yours can be repaired, or maybe replaced under warranty.


OU7T is the one in the middle:

011-2.jpg
 
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Okay, that is pretty damn funny. I totally pringled.
A quick search didn't yield anything non-chip related, so what does "pringled" mean?

What I meant was that I would be finding out how to send the uke back under terms of the warranty. Maybe I'm imagining something more severe, but the problem just doesn't sound like something easily fixed. I hope I'm wrong.
 
I too have an OU7T - got it about a week ago so I am watching for your outcome.

One thing I thought of.......since the wood is "spalted" which is another word for "rotting" do you think that could be part of the problem?

I bought this while I wait for my Donaldson later this year but it looks nice and sounds good so I hope I didn't waste my money - maybe I can still send it back - I'll check on that.
 
A quick search didn't yield anything non-chip related, so what does "pringled" mean?

What I meant was that I would be finding out how to send the uke back under terms of the warranty. Maybe I'm imagining something more severe, but the problem just doesn't sound like something easily fixed. I hope I'm wrong.

I guess the term "Pringled" is really a very very very inside joke used by a small sub-set of UC Berkeley alumni, and I kind of typed it without really considering who is reading. Basically it means to LOL.

The origin (if you're interested, though I can't imagine you would be) comes from the name of a legendary Cal football player from the late 1890's, Charles "Lol" Pringle. Lol became the first official "Custodian of the Axe" after a group of Cal students snatched it from a pack of stanfurds. Lol also was instrumental in leading the Bears to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, complete with dominant victories over the furd in both the 1898 and 1899 Big Games. That 1899 team was also the inspiration for the "Football Players" statue that was awarded to the University of California, which remains as a monument on the campus.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled uke-talk.
 
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I guess the term "Pringled" is really a very very very inside joke used by a small sub-set of UC Berkeley alumni, and I kind of typed it without really considering who is reading. Basically it means to LOL.

The origin (if you're interested, though I can't imagine you would be) comes from the name of a legendary Cal football player from the late 1890's, Charles "Lol" Pringle. Lol became the first official "Custodian of the Axe" after a group of Cal students snatched it from a pack of stanfurds. Lol also was instrumental in leading the Bears to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, complete with dominant victories over the furd in both the 1898 and 1899 Big Games. That 1899 team was also the inspiration for the "Football Players" statue that was awarded to the University of California, which remains as a monument on the campus.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled uke-talk.

GO BEARS!

Now the real question is what's inside the secret room in Senior Hall.
 
Sounds to me that it is something that may be covered under their Warranty...contact the dealer and Oscar schmidt..never hurts to ask...although, I wouldn't have mentioned pubically first.
 
Wow...I'm real curious as well as I just ordered the Soparano OU17 and OU7TE models. But I would bet this would be covered under the lifetime warranty. And I doubt that it's typical because there have been a lot of people who recommend these. Including Ukulele Mike who recommends them to students.

Definitely let us know the details. Did you register your uke and do you still have the original receipt?

AB
 
Well, I have had my uke tucked away in an old guitar hard case with sponges in baggies. My hygrometer reads only 47% RH in the case, which is probably good enough though probably slows the process down. I started this update thinking about a week had passed, and then realized it's only been a couple of days.

The good news is that already the larger part of the sunken belly has improved, so I am hoping I am on the right track. I guess I need to work on my patience a little harder, though.

I'm going to have to try and find my sales slip, just in case. If I recall correctly, I bought this from an eBay store. I know I visited the Oscar Schmidt website but can't recall if I registered it. It doesn't matter to me that I posted here before contacting them because I wouldn't have withheld any information from them anyway.

I'll keep checking every couple of days and update this thread. If it's not all better in a week I'll contact Oscar Schmidt. I've got my fingers crossed.

Doug
 
Good to hear, I am enjoying playing my OU7T but was thinking about sending it back. I did buy a Herco humidifier and was going to put it in the case, just in case.
 
Interesting post... I have an Oscar Schmidt OU2 that has the same issue as your uke. It is also a laminated job, but laminated mahogany. Of course, I wouldn't think that would make much of a difference. Like you, I rarely ever put the thing in it's case. It's all laminated, so I just don't worry about it. The action on my uke started at a "normal" string height, but now the action is low. Fortunately, I still have enough of a saddle that I don't get that string buzz. I'd be interested to hear the outcome of your uke. Since I can replace mine rather cheaply, I'm pretty much going to leave it as is and not worry about it. It's pretty much my beater uke anyhow.

Dan
 
actually 47% RH should be fine. 40-50% is usually the recommended range. I just took ownership of a OU7TE and I'm really bumbed that this occurred. I will say my uke is built like a tank compared to a Kala or Lanikai. so I wonder if that's the issue. As others call it overbuilt...in any case it's built very strong and I wonder if there isn't much give and cause issues like you've seen.

AB
 
Bellying can occur on Oscar Schmidt ukes due to dry air. If the uke sat in a place exposed to heat and/or air-conditioning, then it is not an unusual occurance. Neck warping is a different thing altogether. I have one Oscar Schmidt that the neck warped and they replaced it, no questions asked. They do stand behind their product if there is some sort of defect. I hope your attempt at re-humidifying does work.
 
Thanks, Pippin. That's encouraging. Did you deal directly with the company or an authorized dealer. I found my receipt and I did get it from a reputable eBay seller who operates a virtual store.

It has been one week now since I discovered my problem and attempted to raise the top by re-humidifying it.

Attached are photos that I hope clearly shows the issues. Interestingly, the lower bouts photo clearly shows 2 areas of sag--two of the main top braces are located at the lowest points of the sag! The side view of the fingerboard shows how the fingerboard has a decided angle downward from where the neck joins the body to the sound hole.

It's pretty obvious to me that no amount of re-humidifying the uke is going to solve these issues. It looks to me like something gave out and the top is imploding on itself. I'm going to try contacting the company.

Good thing I have UAS or I wouldn't necessarily have any sort of backup. My Kala concert and Mainland soprano will keep me occupied but I still miss the tenor.

I have a birthday coming up in another 1-1/2 months so I am thinking about getting a solid wood tenor, or just a higher end concert than my Kala. Unfortunately Apple is probably going to announce their iPad3 in another week and I have been holding off getting one until they offered a high-def display. Hmm, may be a real good time to thin my stable of Martin guitars by selling off some.

Thanks, all. I'll let you know how this turns out.
Doug


OU7T-lower_bouts.jpg OU7T-side_view.jpg OU7T-Mid_top.jpg OU7T-neck_at_body.jpg
 
dougNC,

Thanks for the updates. I received my OU7TE and hope I don't run into a similar fate. Did you purchase from an official authorized dealer as per the Oscar Schmidt website? You stated reputable just not sure if they are an official dealer.

Also can you explain the care you had for the ukulele. where are you from and what levels are your humidity? did you keep in a certain room that may have been more exposed to low humidity levels?

AB
 
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