Shipping and acclimatizing my cheap ukulele

kristina*m

Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone!

I'm moving home and I'm worried about the effect it's going to have on my ukulele, which I acquired here. Currently I live in a relatively humid climate, but home is technically a desert. It is by no means a fancy or expensive ukulele, but I quite like it and don't want it to crack. Should I somehow try to ease it into the low humidity or should I just take my chances? I read some of the other posts about humidity, but I'm not going to get into hygrometers or humidifiers because the ukulele just isn't of a caliber that would make that worthwhile.

And my second question: does shipping a ukulele count as ukulele torture? I mean, it will be in a hard case, which will be wrapped in a sleeping bag inside a sturdy cardboard box handled by the postal service's finest. I know I should take it as carry-on, but I have an insane amount of junk and it's all clamouring to be carry-on. Since the ukulele has a protective case, it'll probably lose :p.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
 
Hi kristina,

if it is a laminate it should be able to cope with the climate change, if it's a solid we will need some more details...

Shipping as you described it shouldn't be a problem - try to send it with insurance so you can buy a new one in case the postal guys wreck it. If you wanna be on the safe side just leave it in the hard case for a couple of days after arrival to allow for a very smooth climate change inside.
 
Last edited:
""I'm moving home and I'm worried about the effect it's going to have on my ukulele, which I acquired here.""
Where is home and where is here?? Locations would help us.
 
Aloha Kris,
I'd buy a humidifer to take home if you have a solid body uke.....laminates fair better as mentioned.....hard cases and foam cases are usually the best for shipping...but you never can
tell on the postal handling policies and workers and conveyer belts...Good Luck.... and have a safe trip home....Happy Strummings....best to carry on if you can or put in hard luggage
or box it well ...
 
it will be in a hard case, which will be wrapped in a sleeping bag inside a sturdy cardboard box
That should do for almost any postal service. Might be good to mark it "HANDLE WITH CARE". And "reinforce" the box with a few loops of Scotch tape to keep it from falling apart even when it's wrecked (broken/dented corners and the like)
 
Thanks a lot, everyone! My ukulele is definitely a laminate, so I'm glad to hear its chances of surviving the trip are decent! I'll wallpaper the box with FRAGILE stickers and hope for the best!
 
that is the only problem with such delicate instruments, im currently in a house with many children running about, animals and alsorts. So humidity is behind along line of other potential issues! lol

Let us know how it goes!
 
In case anyone's been waiting with bated breath, my ukulele arrived in the mail yesterday. The box was in appalling condition, but my ukulele seems to have survived just fine. I'm pretty excited too - I wouldn't have thought I would miss it so much in just two weeks! Thanks again for the advice, guys!
 
Hi kristina,

if it is a laminate it should be able to cope with the climate change, if it's a solid we will need some more details...

Not necessarily. Depends on how the laminate was made and what sort of glue was used, as well as the finish. Plies can de-laminate very easily under some conditions. Old laminate instruments sometimes show bubbling where the plies are separating. You can also see it along the edges were splinters or small pieces come off, particularly along the grain pattern.
 
Top Bottom