Does the vintage market offer more bang for your buck?

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ejnovinsky

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Was on ebay, just browsing through ukes, and cant help but notice that vintage Harmony, and Kay ukuleles (among other lower brands) abound, and are easily attained for 100 dollars or less,much cheaper than you would have to pay for a modern solid. Alot of these ukes are solid wood. Im wondering for a starting player do these ukes offer more bang for your buck than a modern laminate? Im only factoring in sound, and construction here. Obvioulsy a modern uke set up by a pro will have a playability advantage right out of the box. (though theres every chance your vintage pickup will be totally playable, and it would totally within reason to take a vintage uke in for an inexpensive setup). So lets have it. Does the modern technology of a present day laminate trump the solid wood sound, and character of a vintage uke? Or should more starting players be looking at ebay harmonys, regals, and kays?
 
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Starting out, I'd steer clear of a vintage uke unless you already have a good knowledge of intonation and are able to hear if the uke can stay in tune. I had a couple of vintage ukes when I first started playing; I thought I was just a truly bad player until I learned that they were constantly going out of tune!
 
janeray1940 said:
Starting out, I'd steer clear of a vintage uke unless you already have a good knowledge of intonation and are able to hear if the uke can stay in tune. I had a couple of vintage ukes when I first started playing; I thought I was just a truly bad player until I learned that they were constantly going out of tune!
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thats true, but conversely youre going to have the same intonation issues with a modern uke if you dont know enough to have it setup right.....the comparison Im more thinking is say a Lanakai lu-21 fresh from the box at guitar center vs. a ebay solid harmony
 
ejnovinsky said:
thats true, but conversely youre going to have the same intonation issues with a modern uke if you dont know enough to have it setup right.....the comparison Im more thinking is say a Lanakai lu-21 fresh from the box at guitar center vs. a ebay solid harmony
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Sort of sounds like you're asking a question you've already answered to your own satisfaction.

Misplaced frets and bad neck angles go beyond set-up, plus they cost way more to fix than you paid for your ebay to begin with.

I used to own a lot of vintage instruments. It was fun putting them back in shape (or at least trying). If you like that, go for it. As far as being a bargain, I'd figure you'll come out ahead more often than not, but when you don't, you've pretty much thrown your money away. And as Jane said, if you're not too experienced to begin with, you often end up holding on to a bad playing instrument that you don't even realize is bad in the first place. You do it because you now have an emotional investment in your restoration work.

I'd say you want to get something rock solid and reliable to learn on. Vintage instruements are great, but they're more a hit or miss sort of hobby
 
southcoastukes said:
Sort of sounds like you're asking a question you've already answered to your own satisfaction.
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well sure I know how I feel about it, just curious what others may think......I guess I do see the hit or miss aspect of it, just seems like you could get alot of uke for a little money if you hit the right deal......Like i said before if youre not getting a setup with your uke, and you get frustrated by it because the action is high, and the intonation is crap arent you kind of throwing away your money there too?
 
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Ya get what you pay for. When I first started playing guitar 52 yrs ago, we would call those "instruments" cheesecutters due to the low quality setups and construction.

Like Dirk said, get something rock solid and reliable. If I had 100 to put in a uke, I'd look in the marketplace for a used one. At least there's some feeback on them, Or I'd go with the uke stores that are mentioned in this forum. It really makes a difference on your success with a quality setup uke.

I'm experienced with quality instruments. When I first started playing the uke, I went with a mid ranged uke rather than vintage just for the fact of not knowing the nuances to look for in a uke. Esp, off ebay. Now I know what to look for and would feel more confident in choosing a vintage. Just cause it's old, doesn't mean it's good.
 
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ejnovinsky said:
... just seems like you could get alot of uke for a little money if you hit the right deal......Like i said before if youre not getting a setup with your uke, and you get frustrated by it because the action is high, and the intonation is crap arent you kind of throwing away your money there too?
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I think you missed my two main points ej. If you get a bad set-up, vintage or modern, a new proper set-up won't be that much money. The more serious problems like I mentioned above, are the ones that cost big bucks. On a vintage, it means you've wasted your money. On a new instrument, those kind of defects mean you get a replacement.

You are right about the "win" aspect IF, as you said, you hit the right deal. High risk - high reward? And still, you need enough experience to be able to really evaluate what you have in this first place.
 
ejnovinsky said:
thats true, but conversely youre going to have the same intonation issues with a modern uke if you dont know enough to have it setup right.....the comparison Im more thinking is say a Lanakai lu-21 fresh from the box at guitar center vs. a ebay solid harmony
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I've bought several ukes on ebay - all of them so-called "bargains" - and several others in person. Guess which ones I've kept? Yup, the ones I've been able to try out first, none of which was really much of a bargain in terms of dollars spent.

When I first answered your question it hadn't even occurred to me that this was an either/or, eBay/Guitar Center question. I guess I tend to forget that for much of the world, the convenience of living a short drive / long walk from a fantastic independent uke-friendly guitar shop isn't a fact of life like it is for me - sorry about that :)

If that's really the question - eBay or big-box music store - my answer would be avoid both and instead buy new/midrange from one of the sellers like Mim or HMS that have a good reputation among the uke community. There's a reason the saying "you get what you pay for" has hung around all these years.
 
I just made my first step into vintage ukuleles just a couple days ago. I would consider myself a beyond basics player possibly entering into intermediate level.

I ran across and purchased what I believe to be a nice restored solid mahogany Soprano Uke c. 1920s / 30s on ebay. However I'm soley depending on the reputatation of the seller (who restores ukes and makes parts) by looking at the feedback comments of the buyers of his handy work as well as emailing the seller and reading what he has to say about the Uke. He does stand by his work though and offers a refund if not satisfied. It is a gamble but I feel pretty confident on this one.

So if buying an old ukulele without playing it first, the key things to consider would be.

- Reputation
- References
- Refund

The price for the uke was no more than a new Lanikai LU-21 Concert probably due to the fact that the maker is unknown. It looks alot like a Gibson but has some P'Mico attributes to it. Looking forward to getting it in a few days.

Jim
 
Very Risky and it is hit or miss....stick with the top brands Like martin and Kamaka for more better ukes...but no garrantees for sure.. You Get what you paid for or get burned...always ask to
hear it played on the phone and hope the guy is honest and plays that uke...
 
southcoastukes said:
I think you missed my two main points ej. If you get a bad set-up, vintage or modern, a new proper set-up won't be that much money. The more serious problems like I mentioned above, are the ones that cost big bucks. On a vintage, it means you've wasted your money. On a new instrument, those kind of defects mean you get a replacement.

You are right about the "win" aspect IF, as you said, you hit the right deal. High risk - high reward? And still, you need enough experience to be able to really evaluate what you have in this first place.
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Ah yes I see what youre saying now, it makes sense I guess if you dont have the experience to evaluate youre better off going new.........
 
janeray1940 said:
I've bought several ukes on ebay - all of them so-called "bargains" - and several others in person. Guess which ones I've kept? Yup, the ones I've been able to try out first, none of which was really much of a bargain in terms of dollars spent.

When I first answered your question it hadn't even occurred to me that this was an either/or, eBay/Guitar Center question. I guess I tend to forget that for much of the world, the convenience of living a short drive / long walk from a fantastic independent uke-friendly guitar shop isn't a fact of life like it is for me - sorry about that :)

If that's really the question - eBay or big-box music store - my answer would be avoid both and instead buy new/midrange from one of the sellers like Mim or HMS that have a good reputation among the uke community. There's a reason the saying "you get what you pay for" has hung around all these years.
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no worries, theres no right or wrong answer. I didnt phrase this question well at all. It also never occurred to me that duh, some people do actually have shops they can walk in and buy ukes at that arent a big box type place. That would be nice. Southcoast is right though, the difference is once you buy vintage its yours.....with a modern uke you can get replaced/repaired so its less risk that way. Being able to actually try out all options in person would be a great advantage though, and maybe in that case youd be more likely to find a vintage steal?
 
I've bought a few vintage ukuleles the most recent being an old Harmony Roy Smeck. I agree with everyone else it is hit or miss with them, just like it is hit or miss with a lot of lower end imports (see the recent dolphin harpooning threads in the review section). If I can get one cheap I'm willing to gamble on them. My Roy Smeck is light as a feather and sounds very loud, good intonation and has that complex solid wood sound I like. You really can't get solid mahogany instruments for $35 new (although my BadAax was only $50 for solid mahogany and it sounds pretty good). The only problem was that it had four hair line cracks in it that I fixed with hot hide glue. I have a couple of birch Regals too and with a little work they play ok although they both need new tuners to really be decent players. If we look at higher end vintages like Martin, Gibson, Favilla, Gretsch, Kamaka, Kumalae, Nunes, etc. I think we'll have a better chance finding a real keeper.
 
hoosierhiver said:
and just because the seller on ebay says it's solid wood, that doesn't mean it always is.
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That is very true. Many sellers on ebay are antique store/junk store owners that see wood grain on the top and assume that it is solid... after all what else could it be right? Many times a seller will say it is in great shape and it'll have several hairline cracks, but I think many just don't know what to look for. Maybe I'm too forgiving?
 
ChrisRCovington said:
That is very true. Many sellers on ebay are antique store/junk store owners that see wood grain on the top and assume that it is solid... after all what else could it be right? Many times a seller will say it is in great shape and it'll have several hairline cracks, but I think many just don't know what to look for. Maybe I'm too forgiving?
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I don't think it's always intentional, as you said alot of people just don't know what they've got.
 
You don't find too many steals on ebay anymore. Let's say you get a great deal on Regal uke and you sell it, will you make a lot of money? Probably not. Even if its the best sounding uke, it's not going to worth a lot of money as people will not pay high dollars for a Regal.
 
I found that I didn't know what I liked until I played a few ukes and developed my ear a little. I started playing with a vintage uke that I borrowed from my Dad. No markings and solid wood. I thought at the time it was okay but I lusted after something newer and more polished looking. I bought a Lanikai SM-T online for quite a few bucks. As soon as I really started playing it I realized that I liked the vintage so much more. It had a much nicer sound to my ears and more character. That said I've also had beautiful looking vintage ukes that sounded terrible to my ears.

I personally enjoy the thrill of finding a hidden gem that no one cares about for not much money, so I would opt for the ebay/used route. That could easily be time and money wasted though. A safe choice for a beginner is a Kala KA-C. I have one and it is very OK. Develop that ear and then it won't be long till you develop UAS
 
I agree with what I've read here from Southcoast. I'm sure ejnovinski would be better off with new. That being said, I think others reading this thread still might consider the old Harmony sopranos. I've bought and restored several. If you really look at the ones for sale, it's not hard to find them in pretty good shape. You can easily re-glue the top and back without any disassembly (the seams are invariably opened up some), clean and restring them, adjust the tuners, and you've got a very nice little ukulele. The plastic fret boards with the zero fret require no set-up and I've found them among the easiest ukuleles to play, maybe the easiest. And, pardon me, but the intonation on the ones I've played is excellent. Far better than we are demanding of the Chinese manufacturers.
 
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