pebbleInDaPacific
Well-known member
So I was at Barnes and Noble Bookseller the other day and while I was walking through the aisles, I heard a buzzing sound. At first I though my Spider sense was tingling, but as I turned to see, it was a kid strumming a totally out of tune ukulele!
Well, I watched as he took interest in it and after a few minutes of him trying to tune the pegs, he walked away losing interest in it and I proceeded to check it out. Well, it was a gift set they sell there at Barnes and Noble Bookstore which comes with a book on the history of the ukulele and basic chords, and a really cheaply made ukulele with metal strings. Has anyone else seen this?
So I opened one of the boxes because it has this little flap you could open up like a case and I tried to tune the uke thinking it would help its appeal to more people who pass through and try to strum it. As I started to tune it, I noticed that the glue has come off of the nut where the strings rest on, and it was just a mess. Well, I thought it was just a damaged one and tried checking another box. All of them had the same problem! They all had detached nuts! (no pun intended, ok maybe a little ) Not only that, but they were also strung wrong! I was looking at the thickness of the strings and notices that they were even in the wrong sequence!
Anyway, this is just a public service announcement of Caveat Emptor for anyone who knows someone considering the buying an uke as a gift during the holiday season. It retails for about $30 and for a little more, anyone could purchase a much better one on MGM's site for a first time experience. They could do without the history of the uke and the chord chart as they are both accessible for free online.
Well, I watched as he took interest in it and after a few minutes of him trying to tune the pegs, he walked away losing interest in it and I proceeded to check it out. Well, it was a gift set they sell there at Barnes and Noble Bookstore which comes with a book on the history of the ukulele and basic chords, and a really cheaply made ukulele with metal strings. Has anyone else seen this?
So I opened one of the boxes because it has this little flap you could open up like a case and I tried to tune the uke thinking it would help its appeal to more people who pass through and try to strum it. As I started to tune it, I noticed that the glue has come off of the nut where the strings rest on, and it was just a mess. Well, I thought it was just a damaged one and tried checking another box. All of them had the same problem! They all had detached nuts! (no pun intended, ok maybe a little ) Not only that, but they were also strung wrong! I was looking at the thickness of the strings and notices that they were even in the wrong sequence!
Anyway, this is just a public service announcement of Caveat Emptor for anyone who knows someone considering the buying an uke as a gift during the holiday season. It retails for about $30 and for a little more, anyone could purchase a much better one on MGM's site for a first time experience. They could do without the history of the uke and the chord chart as they are both accessible for free online.