Your Thoughts on Small Cosmetic Problems?

Your Thoughts?

  • No Big Deal

    Votes: 80 93.0%

  • FREAKING OUT

    Votes: 6 7.0%
  • Total voters
    86
Kyle23

Kyle23

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So I was picking my uke up to play it, and I hit it against my chair that I was sitting in and it caused a little "ding" to the bottom edge. Now it's not a big deal to me at all, I don't mind the small battle wound haha I think it gives it character. BUT it made me think, what would others think if they did what I did to their ukuleles. I think I did the attachment images right, usually I just upload them to tinypic.
 

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Bill1 said:
The smallest ding is very important to a buyer who wants to push the price down in a sale that is forced or has only a few interested buyers. Apart from that ten minutes in the buying/selling process, it is not really anything to worry about.
Click to expand...

Oh I totally agree. I was referring to more of a "personal collection" uke that you wouldn't be selling.
 
I vote no big deal. The first scratch means no more worries. Now you will really play that uke like you own it!

It will happen to all of your instruments..sooner or later..one day. daa daa dummm...
 
No biggie. It's mojo, character. As long as the uke isn't actually broken, I'd probably just curse once and then forget it.

I'm a clumsy ass. All my instruments get that custom shop "distressed" vibe pretty quick - by accident. Anyone has an instrument they want given the "relic" treatment? Just lend it to me for a week.
 
Man, my first uke... dinged it in the first week. It was a Kala spruce/ spalted maple... so not a high end uke, but I had "went overboard" when purchasing it. It was a bad winter for business (back in my ice cream shop days). I just ached over it. Turns out though... it was the beginning of a series of small dings here and there, I hit the headstock against something a few weeks later... and every little ding adds a bit to the character of the instrument I think. Shows it is played, shows it is loved, I dont hesitate handing it off to a kid to play.

Own it. Find the beauty in it. You are playing :) And it will look hard core the more dinged up it is. Peeps will say. "Man, he is a hard core player! Look at how beat up his uke is!"

That being said... I will probably be sad when I gets a ding in my Imua. So maybe I should shush! Haha!
 
It may be the first but won't be the last if you play it. If it was a Moore Bettah, I might freak but a player - No problem. It adds charature. Just ask Willie Nelson if small dings matter!
 
Problems with intonation and timbre send me over the edge, but not a ding.
 
vanflynn said:
It may be the first but won't be the last if you play it. If it was a Moore Bettah, I might freak but a player - No problem. It adds charature. Just ask Willie Nelson if small dings matter!
Click to expand...

Does that mean you do not consider Moore Bettahs to be player ukes?
 
vanflynn said:
It may be the first but won't be the last if you play it. If it was a Moore Bettah, I might freak but a player - No problem. It adds charature. Just ask Willie Nelson if small dings matter!
Click to expand...

My first ding on my Moore Bettah DID freak me out. Big time. But my Moore Bettah is my player, so I now think of them, yes there is more than one ding, as symbols I play a lot.
 
I would say if it doesn't affect the sound, it doesn't bother me. I buy instruments to play, and I don't intend to re-sell them (well, I might sell my beat-up resin clarinet since I have a wooden one, but I doubt I'd get much for it). If I were to buy a used ukulele, I wouldn't be bothered at all by dings, scratches, etc, and I wouldn't expect the seller to be able to catalog every minor issue. But when you buy a new uke, naturally you want to keep it as pristine as the day you got it. So the first boo-boo seems like a big one.

I recently returned a uke for a twisted neck, but it was brand new and I was afraid the twist would get worse. That's totally different from simple cosmetics. There were actually two small finish imperfections I found on the body, but they had absolutely nothing to do with my decision to return the uke. Weren't even worth mentioning.
 
If you can't stand marks and dings, NEVER have all cedar uke. My All aromatic cedar David Gill, if I look at it wrong it gets a dent or scratch somewhere.
I remember the first time I dinged my Boat Paddle, I hated my self for a bit, but now it is no big deal. Part of life
 
"if it 'no have scratch, you 'no play it 'nuff."...haha

Buy used, sounds better once wood opens up anyways and the more love/aloha put into those things the better ya play ;)
 
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If I knew it was there when I bought it (ie used or B-stock) then it's no big deal. But if I'm buying new online and it arrives with an obvious cosmetic problem, I would be quite upset.
 
Dings add tone. :D
 
I hate it. It would bother me enough to sell.
I really take care of all my stuff.
On a related note, I find Willie Nelson's guitar repulsive.
 
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Small dings are just honest signs that you're getting some use of the thing you bought. Now, if you're using it to drive nails...that's a whole 'nother story!

BTW, you needed one more category in your poll "dings and such mean so little to me that I would rather find a deal on a blemished instrument than pay for one that is pristine." :)

John
 
buddhuu said:
No biggie. It's mojo, character. As long as the uke isn't actually broken, I'd probably just curse once and then forget it.

I'm a clumsy ass. All my instruments get that custom shop "distressed" vibe pretty quick - by accident. Anyone has an instrument they want given the "relic" treatment? Just lend it to me for a week.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of a friend of mine who worked for a small construction company. He told me about the day that the owner added a couple of new pickups to the fleet. The owner gathered all his workers around the new trucks and said something like, "I don't want you to abuse any of my vehicles, but these are work trucks and I expect you to work, not pussy-foot around worrying about scratching something" - whereupon he took the hammer in his hand and put a couple of sound dents in the top of the tailgate on each brand new truck.

John
 
Paul December said:
On a related note, I find Willie Nelson's guitar repulsive.
Click to expand...


Honestly? Oh my gosh, I think instruments that are worn from being played are the most beautiful of all! Willie's guitar is a thing of beauty. I saw Springsteen's famous vintage Tele up close at the R&R Hall of Fame and thought the wear was gorgeous. I love every bit of playing wear on all my instruments. I even love the finish being marred on the side of my brazilian Collings dreadnough from all the set lists I taped to it with electrical tape over the years. I would kill any repairman that decided to buff my instruments. The wear is what I add to the insturment....
 
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