Did I get the wrong Uke?

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ChooChooTran

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I ordered a Kala KA-CG off of amazon.com but the ukulele I received has an entirely different color. Did I receive the wrong Uke? This is the one I got in the mail:
Kala KA CG.jpg
 
The color of mahogany can vary quite a bit. I wouldn't say it's the wrong ukulele on that basis. The binding on yours looks nicer than that on the Kala site for the KA-CG, however. But the sure way, or presumably a good way is to look at the label inside the sound hole. Kala prints the model number on them. While it could have been mislabeled, it seems to me if it is the "wrong" uke, it could be a better uke.
 
The ukulele looks fine to me. But it is unlikely that you received the one pictured on the site from which you ordered. Are you pleased with the ukulele ?
 
A lot of sellers dont take individual pics of their ukuleles and use stock pictures and every cut of wood is unique. So it is likely. But I agree, I wonder if it was mislabeled. It looks a little nicer than most actually.
 
Wood colors vary widely and the pictures on Amazon.com (and most other cites) are just stock photos of a typical sample of the instrument. Mahogany can range from a very dark reddish color to almost golden, for example.
 
I prefer the darker reddish color to be honest. The inside of the sound hole does honestly say KA-CG
 
ChooChooTran said:
I prefer the darker reddish color to be honest. The inside of the sound hole does honestly say KA-CG
Click to expand...

Yeah, I do too but when you order online, especially from a big warehouse outfit like Amazon.com, you pretty much get whatever comes off the top of the pallette.

I'd say if it plays good don't sweat the color of the wood.

John
 
The Uke does seem a bit harder to play than my old one but it may be because i've switched to the white strings. I hear there's a break in period for the Uke? could someone detail that for me?
 
It will take some time for the strings to settle and hold their tuning. That's normal. It's a laminated uke so don't expect much opening up over time (as far as I'm concerned the jury is still out on whether much of that happens even with most solid-wood instruments).

Being as it was drop-shipped from a warehouse somewhere it may or may not need to be set up. Most of the factory ukes can benefit from adjusting the nut height for proper intonation at the first couple of frets and for easier barre chords at the first and second frets. Of the eight factory ukes (Kala and Lanikai) that I've owned or purchased for grandkids, one was perfect, seven needed some amount of setup at the nut, and three of them had one or more strings that were off by twenty cents or more at the first fret until I adjusted the nut slots. These were all purchased from big outfits like Amazon.com or Sam Ash. (When you purchase from folks like MGM, Uke Republic, Mim, etc. they set the ukes up before they ship them.)

John
 
I think you did get the wrong uke. That's a Martin!

Kidding. But it is shaped like one.

"as far as I'm concerned the jury is still out on whether much of that happens even with most solid-wood instruments"--John. I agree with you wholeheartedly, John. I'm looking forward to someone doing the sound test of "opened up" ukes versus those just off the line and having one of the zealots in the pro-opening up crowd accurately state which is which. lol
 
ChooChooTran said:
I prefer the darker reddish color to be honest. The inside of the sound hole does honestly say KA-CG
Click to expand...

They change the "look" of models from time to time sometimes. Change the bindings, gloss, etc. This may be the newer model that has a different finish on it. I know the Kala all solid mahoganies have a different binding now which really changes the look.

Yes, it needs to be broke in, in the sense that the strings need to stretch. If it was drop shipped most likely there are some things that are just normal for out of the box ukes. The nut is probably high. The saddle too. BUT... I warn people against sanding down the saddle since that can create buzzing from high frets that are compensated for from high saddles. The set up process involves to fret work and leveling to take care of that on most ukes. Once that is done, then the saddle can come down. Does that make sense? BUT, that is not always and it may be in perfect playing order, just speaking from what I usually see. But sometimes a uke needs very little and sometimes it needs a lot.

The strings will drive you crazy going out of tune for the first week.
 
haha yeah. the strings sounded off and i was starting to worry about my purchase :p
 
Mim said:
The strings will drive you crazy going out of tune for the first week.
Click to expand...
yeah Mim's right. But you can fast-track that stretching process and do it yourself in 20 minutes or so...

Just pinch the strings gently between thumb and forefinger from down near the bridge all the way up the fretboard to the nut on each string...not in an 'upwards' motion (which would put undue pressure on the bridge) but sideways - parallel with the top of the uke. Just do it on each string, then retune...and keep going until they stop going flat. You'll find you can tame them quite quickly that way. :)
 
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