franklin.habit
Active member
I'm a brand-new uker but already suffering from UAS. I travel a lot for work, and now that they're on my radar I keep running into used ukes in odd places - antiques shops, junk shops, sidewalk sales, etc.
I wonder if the more experienced folks have a mental checklist of points they consider in situations like this - where the uke is old/used, isn't in a situation (i.e., a music store) where the seller necessarily knows anything about it, and it might or might not be a good buy. Or, for that matter, if the old/used uke is in a music store, and the seller still may not know anything about it.
I can think of the obvious/commonsense things to look for (make/model, breaks, cracks, missing tuners/other bits, destroyed finish, mice nesting in the soundhole) - but I'm sure there's more to deciding on the spot whether the uke is a) playable and b) worth a shot.
Any thoughts? My usual rule is "When in doubt, don't buy." But I'd like to reduce my doubt levels a bit, so if an oldie-but-goodie comes into view I can snap it up and give it a good home.
I wonder if the more experienced folks have a mental checklist of points they consider in situations like this - where the uke is old/used, isn't in a situation (i.e., a music store) where the seller necessarily knows anything about it, and it might or might not be a good buy. Or, for that matter, if the old/used uke is in a music store, and the seller still may not know anything about it.
I can think of the obvious/commonsense things to look for (make/model, breaks, cracks, missing tuners/other bits, destroyed finish, mice nesting in the soundhole) - but I'm sure there's more to deciding on the spot whether the uke is a) playable and b) worth a shot.
Any thoughts? My usual rule is "When in doubt, don't buy." But I'd like to reduce my doubt levels a bit, so if an oldie-but-goodie comes into view I can snap it up and give it a good home.