Hi folks,
I made a pretty big purchase today and one that I think was a good investment. I bought 5 uke's for $500. I am pretty sure they are worth a lot more, but I want to make sure I am not a victim to my own confirmation bias.
#1- Harmony d-tune 'school model'
very good body shop, no major scratches or cracks, 1960's
#2-silvertone mahagony, sunburst type finish 1960's ish, body is worn and fairly scratched, nothing structural. Still Very playable
#3 unidentified banjolele- skin says F.R. Clarke, but I am not sure if that is the uke brand or just the skin. looks to be a maple body and neck. good condition
now for the good ones(I think)
#4 kamaka pineapple soprano. Front is in good condition as well as the neck, the back had two cracks that have been repaired, my guess puts it around 1950-1960
#5-this is the one I am unsure about- Jonah Kumalae soprano. i think it to be made between 1915-1922, as it has 1719 liliha st. and it has three small rings around the sound hole, so i believe it is model a (1) has a fairly large crack on the front, but is still playable, back and sides are solid, but the back is 'bowing' a bit. This is the only one i am contemplating selling, just because it needs some work i cant afford and i think it deserves to be played.
I took a whole bunch of Pictures of all of them, but i don't want to upload them all here. I put them all up at this link ( i hope it works-also, sorry label pics are upside down!)http://s427.photobucket.com/user/tbar24/library/Ukulele?sort=3&page=1
So, now two questions.
What would you recommend for strings for the banjolele?
and what do you think the value of them all is?
Thanks for looking!
Tyler
I made a pretty big purchase today and one that I think was a good investment. I bought 5 uke's for $500. I am pretty sure they are worth a lot more, but I want to make sure I am not a victim to my own confirmation bias.
#1- Harmony d-tune 'school model'
very good body shop, no major scratches or cracks, 1960's
#2-silvertone mahagony, sunburst type finish 1960's ish, body is worn and fairly scratched, nothing structural. Still Very playable
#3 unidentified banjolele- skin says F.R. Clarke, but I am not sure if that is the uke brand or just the skin. looks to be a maple body and neck. good condition
now for the good ones(I think)
#4 kamaka pineapple soprano. Front is in good condition as well as the neck, the back had two cracks that have been repaired, my guess puts it around 1950-1960
#5-this is the one I am unsure about- Jonah Kumalae soprano. i think it to be made between 1915-1922, as it has 1719 liliha st. and it has three small rings around the sound hole, so i believe it is model a (1) has a fairly large crack on the front, but is still playable, back and sides are solid, but the back is 'bowing' a bit. This is the only one i am contemplating selling, just because it needs some work i cant afford and i think it deserves to be played.
I took a whole bunch of Pictures of all of them, but i don't want to upload them all here. I put them all up at this link ( i hope it works-also, sorry label pics are upside down!)http://s427.photobucket.com/user/tbar24/library/Ukulele?sort=3&page=1
So, now two questions.
What would you recommend for strings for the banjolele?
and what do you think the value of them all is?
Thanks for looking!
Tyler