Hmmmmm just some thoughts on posts

MGM

MGM

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Aloha all....I feel forums such as this should be sounding boards uncensored for most posters comment. And I usally have a Motto....If you have nothing positive or nice to say ignore or do not respond.....However it bothers me when luthiers and self proclaimed experts give opinions and thoughts on build quality and such when their own built instruments have the exact same problem they are condemning...No I will follow my rule but be warned.....when ukuleles and build etc are argued here on a public forum and people dis a maker or instrument because of supposed to their theory and opinions on how to build ukuleles etc......they should be wary as I can say without hesitation that the lords of opinion also have the same problem with theirs. That said...every brand will occasionally have problems....even high end makers have their quality issues.....keep things in perspective....we are all striving to improve quality and sound if seriously producing ukes....Yes all opinions are welcome...just my 2-1/2 cents
 
Indeed, all of the top K brands have marked improvement in their build quality over time.

Look at the transformation from gold label Kamakas to the post 2000 Kamakas. That's a super clear lineage of improvement. (Although I'm not sure how much refinement there has been since then since 2000 there's probably little need to mess with a proven winning formula.)

I've seen KoAloha tinkering with different bridges, and changing little things about their instruments here and there. I swear their finishing got better too.

Joe has also come a long way since the early days of Kanilea. New bracing, new finishes, new headstocks, recently a new bridge design, etc. In fact, the latest Kanileas (as early as 2010) even have a different body shape than my first Kanilea (2008 build).

May the improvements continue.
 
I agree with you that people have personal preferences but I don't think it's a bad thing to talk negative on some brands. I know if I were a builder I would want people to talk about the negatives and positives on my ukuleles on a public forum so I'm not just hearing one persons thoughts but rather a group of experienced players. If everyone's worried about what they're saying then the builder will never know whats wrong with their ukulele. You could do a private email or phone call but if I were a builder and I saw a thread on something wrong with my ukulele and everyone else was agreeing I would feel better about changing knowing that a lot of people agree rather then just one person that emailed or called me

That is my 2 cents
 
I wouldn't even consider buying an instrument from an arrogant, condescending builder who spends more time trashing the endeavors of others rather than touting the reasons why I should buy an instrument from them. Just sayin.
 
PhilUSAFRet said:
I wouldn't even consider buying an instrument from an arrogant, condescending builder who spends more time trashing the endeavors of others rather than touting the reasons why I should buy an instrument from them. Just sayin.
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My thoughts exactly.
 
I'm fairly new to all this but have wondered how, if the generally accepted best practice is to "try before you buy", that every custom uke can be "fantastic" and none are "not what I expected".. Surely even with the greatest attention there are variations in the end product.
 
Kayak Jim said:
I'm fairly new to all this but have wondered how, if the generally accepted best practice is to "try before you buy", that every custom uke can be "fantastic" and none are "not what I expected".. Surely even with the greatest attention there are variations in the end product.
Click to expand...

What he said.
 
I'm far more concerned about the trend where not a single, negative or even perceived as negative thing can be discussed about a ukulele.

There's a new thread almost every day were a perfectly polite, genuinely non-confrontational question about a uke "issue" is slammed by the (apparently) self-appointed defamation police for daring to ask about something before talking to the manufacturer, seller, or whomever.

I've honestly never seen another forum act this way about it's subject. If I'm having an issue with my car, then I go to a forum about that car and ask if this is an issue for anyone else, if it's normal, or whatever. I don't call my dealer or the manufacturer first because I'm trying to educate myself on the issue first so that, if it is an issue, I can be informed about possible fixes. Or if it's not an issue, I don't bother the people who made it unnecessarily.

I can't imagine that the ukulele builders and sellers here are baby-soft-sensitive about a legitimate question post on this forum. They couldn't possibly be. And I don't think posters here need to run interference for them. It's a trend I'd like to see end.
 
And some of the biggest A-hole chefs I've worked with or met, create an amazing meal. As long as the meal is top notch, I don't care how they act in the kitchen. I don't have to dine with the chef.

And if I'm being criticized by let's say Gordon Ramsey, who has 14 operating restaurants with at least 1 Michelin Star each, I'm going to grow some thick skin, ignore the insults and listen to the critique. Why? Because he obviously knows what he's talking about and I have something to learn from him.

My point? Builder's (hobbyists or pros) are different than customers. I've yet to read about any custom or production builder constantly berating their customers. If you're asking advice from Gordon Ramsey expect a little harsh feedback if you choose to argue or get it wrong. Listen to the critique of the work and learn.
 
Please don't get that people shouldn't post negative things about theirs or others ukulele...it's the responses that I sometimes feel turned off about...Non uke example....your house was painted and then suddenly all the paint seems to be bubbling...you post about it and other painters or people with the same problem comment....then one painter post how they should have done this....they didn't do that and how to do it correctly....at the same time you look at the house across the street that posted person painted and it has the same problem they are berating another for on the post....
 
MGM said:
Please don't get that people shouldn't post negative things about theirs or others ukulele...it's the responses that I sometimes feel turned off about...Non uke example....your house was painted and then suddenly all the paint seems to be bubbling...you post about it and other painters or people with the same problem comment....then one painter post how they should have done this....they didn't do that and how to do it correctly....at the same time you look at the house across the street that posted person painted and it has the same problem they are berating another for on the post....
Click to expand...

Understood, sorry, my post was on a different type of thing, apologize for the confusion.
 
Sporin said:
I'm far more concerned about the trend where not a single, negative or even perceived as negative thing can be discussed about a ukulele.

There's a new thread almost every day were a perfectly polite, genuinely non-confrontational question about a uke "issue" is slammed by the (apparently) self-appointed defamation police for daring to ask about something before talking to the manufacturer, seller, or whomever.

I've honestly never seen another forum act this way about it's subject. If I'm having an issue with my car, then I go to a forum about that car and ask if this is an issue for anyone else, if it's normal, or whatever. I don't call my dealer or the manufacturer first because I'm trying to educate myself on the issue first so that, if it is an issue, I can be informed about possible fixes. Or if it's not an issue, I don't bother the people who made it unnecessarily.

I can't imagine that the ukulele builders and sellers here are baby-soft-sensitive about a legitimate question post on this forum. They couldn't possibly be. And I don't think posters here need to run interference for them. It's a trend I'd like to see end.
Click to expand...

I agree, it's the one and only "bad" thing I would say about this forum. I was very surprised when I joined and noticed this. How else can you make an informed judgement if you don't have all the information you can get in order to help make your decision.

In every other walk of life we will look to reviews, be it Yelp, Angie's list etc... to get some perspective before we patronize an establishment or purchase some consumer goods. I'm not talking about a blatant bashing, but useful and helpful information about ones experience with a luthier or music shop, seems to be frowned upon here.

I don't know about anybody else, but if somebody wants $1500 of my dollars, it might be nice to know that he has a history of ragged frets, or tool marks or whatever. I can decide what's important but I sure would have liked to have known before I chose him.
 
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MGM said:
Please don't get that people shouldn't post negative things about theirs or others ukulele...it's the responses that I sometimes feel turned off about...Non uke example....your house was painted and then suddenly all the paint seems to be bubbling...you post about it and other painters or people with the same problem comment....then one painter post how they should have done this....they didn't do that and how to do it correctly....at the same time you look at the house across the street that posted person painted and it has the same problem they are berating another for on the post....
Click to expand...

Sporin said:
Understood, sorry, my post was on a different type of thing, apologize for the confusion.
Click to expand...

Oops! I just saw this after I posted, I was confused as well. My apologies to the OP, MGM.
 
As a general rule of thumb:

1. This board allows you to ignore people-- through which you won't ever see their posts. If there are people on this board that offend you, ignore them, and you won't even know they're here.

2. This is a community, with a multitude of opinions. We should be able to share differences of opinion with respect.

3. Prior to the internet, it was rare to have much contact with instrument builders. Now it's quite common. I love having access to builders, and recognize that some of them have rough edges. I know rough edges aren't everybody's cup of tea; see the Ignore option above.

4. I'll always buy the best-sounding, best-playing instruments and can find and afford. I respect the opinions of others to avoid certain builders because they have issues on how those people express themselves. To each their own. To me, it's a complete non-issue.
 
Sporin said:
I'm far more concerned about the trend where not a single, negative or even perceived as negative thing can be discussed about a ukulele.

There's a new thread almost every day were a perfectly polite, genuinely non-confrontational question about a uke "issue" is slammed by the (apparently) self-appointed defamation police for daring to ask about something before talking to the manufacturer, seller, or whomever.

I've honestly never seen another forum act this way about it's subject. If I'm having an issue with my car, then I go to a forum about that car and ask if this is an issue for anyone else, if it's normal, or whatever. I don't call my dealer or the manufacturer first because I'm trying to educate myself on the issue first so that, if it is an issue, I can be informed about possible fixes. Or if it's not an issue, I don't bother the people who made it unnecessarily.

I can't imagine that the ukulele builders and sellers here are baby-soft-sensitive about a legitimate question post on this forum. They couldn't possibly be. And I don't think posters here need to run interference for them. It's a trend I'd like to see end.
Click to expand...

What he said...
 
One thing I notice about UU is that the builders are members here, right along with the people who are picking up a uke for the first time. That has some very good points, because we have some highly trained and experienced experts on here to educate us, along with veteran players who have a wealth of experience.

I am friends with a very highly respected clarinet maker's facebook page and it is a love fest. On the forums, people will talk about the pros and cons of his clarinets compared to other makers. It is very informative, and very detailed about who likes what.

On my clarinet forum, the makers aren't on the forum, so people can get on there and nitpick as much as they want. The makers probably don't even visit the forum. Of course, these are makers on a very much different scale, but here it is a smaller family and more intimate. So, I get that we need to be respectful to those who put their blood, sweat and tears, and dreams into their art of making ukuleles.

I wish we could find that balance of being able to talk openly without offending the owner or representative of X product.
 
RichM said:
As a general rule of thumb:

1. This board allows you to ignore people-- through which you won't ever see their posts. If there are people on this board that offend you, ignore them, and you won't even know they're here.

2. This is a community, with a multitude of opinions. We should be able to share differences of opinion with respect.

3. Prior to the internet, it was rare to have much contact with instrument builders. Now it's quite common. I love having access to builders, and recognize that some of them have rough edges. I know rough edges aren't everybody's cup of tea; see the Ignore option above.

4. I'll always buy the best-sounding, best-playing instruments and can find and afford. I respect the opinions of others to avoid certain builders because they have issues on how those people express themselves. To each their own. To me, it's a complete non-issue.
Click to expand...

All true.

And, of course, rule #5: whatever we think, beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear.

Everyone I know, everything we post, goes away in the end. An empire of dirt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go
 
Sporin said:
I'm far more concerned about the trend where not a single, negative or even perceived as negative thing can be discussed about a ukulele.

There's a new thread almost every day were a perfectly polite, genuinely non-confrontational question about a uke "issue" is slammed by the (apparently) self-appointed defamation police for daring to ask about something before talking to the manufacturer, seller, or whomever.

I've honestly never seen another forum act this way about it's subject. If I'm having an issue with my car, then I go to a forum about that car and ask if this is an issue for anyone else, if it's normal, or whatever. I don't call my dealer or the manufacturer first because I'm trying to educate myself on the issue first so that, if it is an issue, I can be informed about possible fixes. Or if it's not an issue, I don't bother the people who made it unnecessarily.

I can't imagine that the ukulele builders and sellers here are baby-soft-sensitive about a legitimate question post on this forum. They couldn't possibly be. And I don't think posters here need to run interference for them. It's a trend I'd like to see end.
Click to expand...


Sporin,

I couldn't agree with you more. This is a discussion forum, and as long as it is done in a polite and civil manner, then there should be no issues. I value honest opinions, not sugar-coated rhetoric, and have learned a lot by reading up on people's experiences, whether good or bad.
 
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