a very BLACK Friday

Barbablanca

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Well, today should have been one of those great "New Uke Days" - I just took possession of a brand new Cove Creek (Tanglewood) TU9 EQ.

When it arrived, I was so impressed when I took it out of the box. It was apparently in perfect condition and it was a truly beautiful instrument. The photos I'd seen of it and the video on Youtube, just didn't do justice to its highly polished gloss mahogany finish.

I was surprised to find that it was almost in tune. Good news,I thought, that means someone has checked it over before shipping (I bought it from a reputable music store, I have dealt with before, but not one famous for set ups).

Imagine my disappointment, then, when I attempted to play it and was greeted by an awful BUZZ - that made the sound incredibly distorted.

Listen here:
and here

I cannot figure out the source of the buzz. I thought it might be the saddle was not put back on correctly after they installed the electronics, but getting a friend to hold down the saddle with his fingers while I played seemed to make no difference.

Then I thought it might be connected with the housing for the EQ and Built-In tuner. I tried taking the battery holder out, but the resulting hole just seemed to amplify the problem. And I can't really stick my fingers in while playing to try and hold things still in there ;)

So, I've written to the Store and await their reply. I'll let you know the name of the store when I get their response.

Signing off with a sad expression... which I'll have to get rid of before 9:30pm - since I'm playing a gig tonight with a friend of mine. We are two "scousers" (guys from Liverpool) doing an acoustic tribute to the Beatles. Hope that lightens up my Friday and doesn't turn it obsidian :)

PS Photos tomorrow. I have to get set up for the gig right now.
 
Check to make sure there aren't any loose wires inside causing the buzzing.

Also, a good general string height should be around .08mm at the 1st fret and 2-2.5mm at the 12th fret.
 
It could the strings. Three of the strings do buzz awful. What type of string are on it?

I've had a string give a buzz like that, but not on 3 of 4 strings at once.
 
It came with Aquilas (labelled). I really don't know what is causing it, but it's awful! :(
 
Hi Barbablanca,

Sorry to hear about your uke problems. What may have happened is the setup has changed due to climate differences. It can be very marked especially if from a hot, high to a cool, low humidity environment. There is a tendency for the action to fall and hence buzz. To a certain extent a store can setup with this in mind, but the setup will not be as good as if it was allowed to settle into the new climate then done.

When I sell any instruments, if they have been specifically setup for my environment, I do inform the buyer to let it settle then have it setup.

Terence
 
aww, disappointment city :( hope they can fix it for you!
 
The company Gear4Music of the UK have agreed to a full refund and they are sending a courier to pick up the defective instrument. :)

They also offered me the chance of taking it to a local Luthier and they would pay for the repair, if it was reasonable, but I thought my local guitar shop might not know how to fix this and then the store and I might have disagreed about whether the guarantee had then been broken. So, I thought, on balance, it would probably be better to scrap this deal and go for something else. (once bitten....). I'll let you know what I eventually purchase.

I have used this company a few times and generally been very happy with them. The last problem I had with something I bought from them was dealt with quickly, efficiently and with no argument :). So, I have no hesitation in recommending them. Though in this particular case, something went wrong with the quality control chain. Anyone strumming this baby would have instantly been alerted by the buzz that something was wrong.
 
Whitebeard - it could be a loose brace inside the uke, but it sounds like you've got the problem sorted.
 
Sorry to hear about your defective uke. That's always a bummer, to wait so long only to be let down.
At the same time, I enjoy reading about stores with great customer service. I've been burned in the past but I've also had good experiences too. I'll have to check out Gear4Music!
 
Well the guy came to pick up the Uke today. So that's the end of this particular story (*). Here is a picture of what I will be missing. The photo does not do justice to the sheen of the finish.
TU9 01.jpg

I'll let you know what I decide to replace her with ;)


(*) actually I'll really consider the story ended when I see the refund appear in my account :)
 
Well the guy came to pick up the Uke today. So that's the end of this particular story (*). Here is a picture of what I will be missing. The photo does not do justice to the sheen of the finish.
View attachment 45808

I'll let you know what I decide to replace her with ;)


(*) actually I'll really consider the story ended when I see the refund appear in my account :)

Maybe you should put it towards what we were discussing! ;)
 
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