Resonator uke upgrade tips, advice, and experiences.

ukuleland

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Just picked up a republic resonator ukulele, does anybody have anysuggestions for improvements on it? I found it at a local music store and eyeballed it for months. They didn't know the brand but after a fair amount of research I've found the republics to have the star inlay. I got it for $175 so I thought it was a mighty fine deal.
 
**Double check the size of the existing cone against the size of a National cone before pulling the trigger**
 
And there's this funny thing about buying a cheap instrument (or anything else) and then paying more than it can ever be worth to upgrade it...

Sow's ear? Silk purse? Anyone???

Maybe you should just enjoy it for what it is...
 
No info about condition, tuners, etc. At the very least, you can insure that what components installed are still functioning as intended. Are the tuners good? Is the cone sitting on the soundboard/soundwell as tightly as possible? Lost air around the cone = lost sound/projection. Same with the coverplate. Is the bridge installed properly? Need a new/better one? Strings? Some folks prefer Aquila banjo uke strings on these things. Guadalupe fiber cores?

Frets good? As Rick said, make what you have as good as it can be. This site is about ukes and fun. Lots of us enjoy trying to make a "silk purse out of a sow's ear" so to speak, but I agree one should be careful how much to invest in such a project. Considering what you paid for it, you could, as many have (many members here) install a National cone and still not exceed the cost of many available reso's available today. As long as you have a realistic view toward the end result, have a ball.
 
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Sorry my reply has taken so long, I broke my phone but all is well now. It's a flat/ relic style brass-y finish, Grover tuners, I got brand new aquila nylguts for it right off the bat. Disassembled it to look at the cone and it fits pretty darn snug, there is maybe and I stress MAYBE a millimeter between the wall and it, it sits perfectly flush aswell. The welding points on the cover plate bridge cover point don't look too hot. The frets were fairly good but I dressed them anyways to be sure. Hand carved a deerbone nut. It's not that bad of a uke, one previous owner who didn't seem to care about all the nasty marks built up on it but still... no buzzing, quite amplified, and after my personal settup, perfect action. I bought it for only $175 so I feel like it was a very fair deal and the uke deserved a caring owner. So I may look into the national cones, and maybe even some planetary tuners.
 
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