Uku uke arrived - a bit different.

The flame acaciakoa two hole uke arrived today (left), and it's not the exact color I was expecting from the online image I saw (right). Obviously not seeing it in person is a risk, but it's still very nice, and really sounds good, lots of presence. It tuned up easily with Aquila nygut strings.

I may follow the lead of the other posts and give it a glossy finish, which seemed to enhance all the grain on their samples. Until I decide, I'll hold off adding a strap button and side mounted preamp/tuner/battery unit. I'm also going to lower the action at the saddle. (Please excuse the poor masking I did, quick-down-and-dirty.)

Congratulations on the arrival of your new ukulele? Which of the two in your post is yours and which is the online photo?

I just rewrote my post to clarify.

Well it would shokc me if mine came like taht cause I can't see it!!!

It is tricky buying the exotic wood grained ukuleles on line. There is so much variation between instruments that a standard studio shot of one cannot properly represent all of them. That is why, when the wood grain is important to my decision, I only buy if they have photographed the one that is actually going to be sent. Congrats on your new uke!
–Lori

Colour temperature is playing a part. If you look at the fretboard and the bridge you can see that the photo you took is colder and blueish where as the stock photo is yellower and warmer. This difference is exacerbated in the lighter colour tops. Under exactly the same light conditions they would look more similar although I think there well may be variation in the timber as well.

Anthon

Still looks awesome in my opinion. Glossing it up using wax or rubbing compound will definitely be worth it in my opinion, it has made my satin ukes look awesome!

P.S. If it's an open pore finish, be sure to use something to fill the pores if you're using wax/rubbing compound to gloss it up.

After playing it for the last few hours, I'm happy with the sound and feel, nicer than the Lanikai monkey pod I bought a few weeks ago (which, Boa, I'm going to improve with strings and action).

I am getting closer to the idea of glossing it, have to review the suggestions made in other posts. The only hesitation I have is the work involved. It seems pretty smooth to me, not like my monkey pod, which really has visible pores. In fact, I rubbed the acacia a bit with a soft cloth and just that got a bit of a sheen, I suspect it will take well to glossing.

I tried to adjust the color of the photo I took to be as close to real as possible, but I did leave a bit too much blue tint. (I'm a photographer with high end equipment and lighting, but shot this with my iPhone for simplicity.) It seems that the online photo was way overly adjusted to show the flame grain. So yes, Lori ya' never know from online photos (I'll bring it to the next rehearsal), but I'm happy it sounds good (though my monkey pod was almost exactly as it's online photo).

Nicki, don't know why you don't see the photos, but they are from my web site, not uploaded to UU. Maybe you have a firewall setting that's blocking the external link.

Congrats on the new uke. Glad you like it. The two holes look good with the slot head.
Your uke is a more typical acacia color. It's sort of like buying a burger at McDonalds. It sure doesn't look like what they show on TV.

Enjoy

Lori said:

It is tricky buying the exotic wood grained ukuleles on line. There is so much variation between instruments that a standard studio shot of one cannot properly represent all of them. That is why, when the wood grain is important to my decision, I only buy if they have photographed the one that is actually going to be sent. Congrats on your new uke!
–Lori

Click to expand...

I agree with you, Lori. If the grain appearance is very important to you, you should ask for a pic of the exact instrument you are getting. Shade and grain pattern can very greatly for the same kind of wood.

I sent the online photo to the company not knowing if they had the uke, and she said she would send me a photo of the one in their warehouse, but then she said that their item was exactly the same as the photo I sent, so she didn't photo it. Because of that, I didn't think the color would be that different, but be that as it may, I really like the two hole and slot head. The fact that it sounds good makes up for the color, though what first struck me was the horizontal grain effect in the online photo. I think the gloss finish will enhance it enough.

Sunday I'm going to the hardware store for some lighting fixture parts, I'll also look for one of the finishes recommended on the other posts.