Yea, I made a Noob mistake of buying a Uke Online

Ukejungle

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If you are looking to buy a Ukelele please listen to the first rule of buying a UKe. Buy it from someone that sets them up. And if they are online call them a couple of times. I ended end buying a Gretsch Tenor with the pickup and tuner in it. Great value. Most companies were out of them and HMS said they would check with a store in Florida if they still had them. Never got back to me and I found one online from a store that doesn't set them up. The price was the same as HMS - I got the Uke, broken string out of the box and the action was way high. Took it to the local Guitar Center and they wanted $75 for setting it up (Fret dressing and saddle lowered) and on top of that the Uke buzzes from inside - I think it has something to do with the pickup install as I took the strings off and check for loose brace - might be the pickup wire running the jack. The Gretsch sounds ok but doesn't have much sustain. Kind of dead sounding and I even changed the strings to Low G set from Aquila.

Sorry for the rant - just wanted to pass on my experience of buying online from a shop that doesn't set then up. Next purchase will be HMS. Don't make the mistake of Rule #!.
 
Call around to some non-chain music shops. I got a uke as a present with action that was suitable for slide uke and found a local mom and pop store that did the set-up for $25.

Good luck
 
I made that same mistake, but was able to do my own adjustments to get my new pina to play well. My local guitar shop looked at it, did some adjustment and when I picked it up, the fret buzz was still there. Right in front of me, he TOOK A PICK AND CLAIMED HE COULD NOT GET THE STRINGS TO BUZZ. I picked it up and said, plucking it with my thumb, the fret buzz is still there. Very irritating and buying through a uke shop is always the way to go, regardless of what great product may be floating around online.
 
I have never seen a Guitar Center that had a "tech" worth a flip. Most of their repair work is actually outsourced. I bought a floor model G&K Goldline 4 X 10 bass cab at a GC a few years ago. As soon as I cranked up even a little with my own amp I knew there was a problem. Turned out two of the drivers were blown - when I pulled them out I checked the others and somebody had replaced the other two drivers but with the wrong ones (ones from a 8 X 10 cab, different impedance, and the reason the other two blew out). They made good, ordered me all new drivers of the right impedance and I installed them myself and the manager said "I guess we'll make a note not to use that guy for repairs anymore."

So, yeah, sorry to hear about the bum uke but not surprised that Guitar Center wasn't much help.

A setup isn't too difficult if you're patient and handy, there are quite a few resources describing how to adjust the nut and saddle (all that needs to be done on all but the worst ukes).
John
 
It's an easy mistake to make. Unless you are familiar with string instruments or you have spent an above-average amount of time on research, you don't really know about the importance of a proper setup. It is counter-intuitive because normally when you buy a product, you get something that is perfectly usable out of the box. So when it says "in original packaging", to most people that means they get a superb, flawless product (or else they can just send it back, if it is clearly broken or malfunctioning).

A proper setup should be the default, not the exception, but apparently this is "normal" for string instruments. I didn't know this and surprisingly few online resources talk about it, so my first uke's action was also too high. It's a shame since this seems to mostly affect entry level instruments, which is what people will buy for others as gifts, or pick up for themselves when they are curious about the instrument. High action, buzzing, etc. can easily turn someone completely off the ukulele. Without this forum here and its fantastic community, I'd probably have lost interest too. Instead, I bought two properly set up ukes. ;)
 
That sucks. I suffered the same with my first uke (ordered from Amazon).

I hope you can find a way to get your Gretsch tenor set up properly. I bought a Gretsch tenor cutaway from HMS for my partner in crime and it's awesome. So much fun to play. I finally got to hear it plugged in tonight. It's fantastic, especially considering the price.
 
I've bought seven ukuleles from HMS-- and all for this bonehead himself, not for my partner in crime-- and they do a bang up job every single time without fail. :cool:
 
I'd say the biggest mistake you made was trusting Guitar Center to do anything beyond tying your shoe. Try not to do business with them. You will always be disappointed. Alot people buying their first uke do so on line for a variety of reasons. I did because I was self conscious about trying to play an instrument I had never picked up before. I bought an inexpensive Lanakai to see if I liked playing. I have since purchased 4 others from music shops and one from Mainland Ukes online who do a great job of setting up. I am fortunate to have a great luthier in my area to help with action and whatever else I need done. Google "guitar repair" in your area and see what comes up. Good luck, your uke journey has just begun.
 
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Personally, I would never buy any instrument be it ukulele, guitar, etc. without first trying it first. I'm sure there are a lot of great sellers out there that sell online but I have run into too many "dud" instruments to buy something blindly.
 
I think you'll find that you like this uke if you get someone to take a look at it and make sure it is set up properly. We've had a lot of fun playing the one we ordered from HMS. It's a nice instrument.
 
Personally, I would never buy any instrument be it ukulele, guitar, etc. without first trying it first. I'm sure there are a lot of great sellers out there that sell online but I have run into too many "dud" instruments to buy something blindly.

Of course this wouldn't be for "noobs", but I'll bet many experienced players out there would disagree about buying an instrument without trying it first. Take Moore Bettahs made by Chuck Moore, for instance. Unless you fly to Hawaii you aren't going to get to try it out. Not only that, but when an instrument comes up on his website, they're gone within minutes. I'll bet not too many of these people have even seen one of his instruments in person. It's just the knowing of the craftsmanship and quality that are put into his instruments that is legendary.

Not only that, but if you order any custom instrument from any luthier, you are buying without trying. Most won't even start to build without at least a 50% deposit. And then they won't send it out until they get the rest of the money. However, many of these luthiers will take the uke back giving you a 72 hour trial, if they receive it back in perfect shape.
 
Of course this wouldn't be for "noobs", but I'll bet many experienced players out there would disagree about buying an instrument without trying it first. Take Moore Bettahs made by Chuck Moore, for instance. Unless you fly to Hawaii you aren't going to get to try it out. Not only that, but when an instrument comes up on his website, they're gone within minutes. I'll bet not too many of these people have even seen one of his instruments in person. It's just the knowing of the craftsmanship and quality that are put into his instruments that is legendary.

Not only that, but if you order any custom instrument from any luthier, you are buying without trying. Most won't even start to build without at least a 50% deposit. And then they won't send it out until they get the rest of the money. However, many of these luthiers will take the uke back giving you a 72 hour trial, if they receive it back in perfect shape.

There are exceptions. When it comes to beginners the market is pretty saturated with ukuleles, I can go to some of the closest music stores and probably try out a dozen different models. Admittedly I have bumped into more guitar duds then ukulele duds but they are out there and I would have someone like an employee play different ukes for you if you don't know how to play to see which ones sound the best to you or at the very least learn a few chords and see which ones sound/feel the best to you.

You are right though, if I were to buy a high quality ukulele I would probably buy one online sight unseen without a second thought as long as I got a fair amount of time to return it. If you are a beginner and want to buy online I would certainly suggest buying from a site that has a liberal return policy.
 
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I say you should still order a cheaper ukulele online from a shop like The Ukulele Site(aka HMS) even if you are a new player..i have been to Guitar Center in Calif..one of the largest "music/guitar" stores around and went to get some uke strings..when I said I wanted a LowG set they had no idea what I was talking about..anyone can read the specs of a ukulele but do they know the ukulele?

just because they are a large store does not mean that much to me
 
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