clan~kerr
Active member
I've got a few issues that I was hoping to bounce off you folks to get some feedback and advice on.
I've had this Luna Tattoo Concert for about 9mo. now. It's also how long I've been playing the ukulele. For the price paid, I think it was a good starter purchase to see if this was something I wanted to continue with. Needless to say, I can't put it down. When I 'go-a-pickin' with friends, I generally play the bass for 3/4's of the time, but I've managed to wiggle in a number of songs for the uke with my friends. They really dig 'Gypsy Ukulele' (my toned down version) a lot, and it has become a weekly standard. Too make a short story longer, a friend of ours has a bar and wants us to come out and play sometime. That brings me to my concerns with the Luna. Maybe my ear has improved or perhaps I am being too picky. But the intonation seems to be considerably off. When I tune up the open strings with my Snark tuner, the notes on the frets are all off. Just going from an open E to a F is sharp by 4 lines on the tuner. And the E on the C string to the open E is not even close to being the same. Even a G chord has a sourish tone to me. I am guessing there is really not much I can do about that? And would probably cost more to fix than it is worth. I have Martin fluorocarbon strings on it which seem to be indestructible and hold their tone pretty well. I know that a different brand won't make a difference in my tuning issue, but it probably can't hurt to try a couple different brands. Perhaps a specific brand that would give me more volume?
So I have convinced the better half that an upgrade is needed. Been doing a lot of research the past couple of weeks and I think I know what I would like to get. I have my eye on a Pono-AT Acacia Tenor. I've read nothing but good reviews on all their models and I like the way this one looks and sounds on HMS's website. Any other ukes out their that are in the same price range that I may have overlooked and aught to check out too? To me it just seems like you can't miss with a Pono. I've read great reviews on here about the way HMS sets up all the instruments they sell. I know it will add to the shipping costs, but it seems that going through them you're going to get quality.
I apologize for rambling on for so long but it's a big deal to me and I don't like the idea of playing for anyone without a decent instrument. So any thoughts on getting the most out of my 'cheapie' and things to look/request for on getting a new instrument would be greatly appreciated. You guys have given me so much instruction from your pages and links as it is and I am very thankful for your willingness to share your knowledge.
I've had this Luna Tattoo Concert for about 9mo. now. It's also how long I've been playing the ukulele. For the price paid, I think it was a good starter purchase to see if this was something I wanted to continue with. Needless to say, I can't put it down. When I 'go-a-pickin' with friends, I generally play the bass for 3/4's of the time, but I've managed to wiggle in a number of songs for the uke with my friends. They really dig 'Gypsy Ukulele' (my toned down version) a lot, and it has become a weekly standard. Too make a short story longer, a friend of ours has a bar and wants us to come out and play sometime. That brings me to my concerns with the Luna. Maybe my ear has improved or perhaps I am being too picky. But the intonation seems to be considerably off. When I tune up the open strings with my Snark tuner, the notes on the frets are all off. Just going from an open E to a F is sharp by 4 lines on the tuner. And the E on the C string to the open E is not even close to being the same. Even a G chord has a sourish tone to me. I am guessing there is really not much I can do about that? And would probably cost more to fix than it is worth. I have Martin fluorocarbon strings on it which seem to be indestructible and hold their tone pretty well. I know that a different brand won't make a difference in my tuning issue, but it probably can't hurt to try a couple different brands. Perhaps a specific brand that would give me more volume?
So I have convinced the better half that an upgrade is needed. Been doing a lot of research the past couple of weeks and I think I know what I would like to get. I have my eye on a Pono-AT Acacia Tenor. I've read nothing but good reviews on all their models and I like the way this one looks and sounds on HMS's website. Any other ukes out their that are in the same price range that I may have overlooked and aught to check out too? To me it just seems like you can't miss with a Pono. I've read great reviews on here about the way HMS sets up all the instruments they sell. I know it will add to the shipping costs, but it seems that going through them you're going to get quality.
I apologize for rambling on for so long but it's a big deal to me and I don't like the idea of playing for anyone without a decent instrument. So any thoughts on getting the most out of my 'cheapie' and things to look/request for on getting a new instrument would be greatly appreciated. You guys have given me so much instruction from your pages and links as it is and I am very thankful for your willingness to share your knowledge.
