chuck in ny
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2013
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bought this from ebay on an intuition, a gold label from back in the day. there is a letter included from gerry kamaka talking 1985 prices, $85 picked up in the islands with a senior citizen discount otherwise $125. to the mainland. yikes.
i figure to change the strings to worth browns. what i have in the house is martins and the browns and the browns should mellow things out. i tightened up the strings it has on and they don't hold tuning but the tone is quite nice. the front and back are one piece and not a book match.
it has its small condition issues and i will let a luthier glue the back and so forth. i have a question about the finish, it looks like a urethane more than nitrocellulose and it is missing in a few areas most notably where the front has pick damage. i am a cabinetmaker with a spray facility but see no need to refinish the instrument. i am just wondering whether it is good form to apply oil, perhaps mineral oil with beeswax, to the bare spots, or whether this is a faux pas. you hear stories all the time about the original finish on old objects and how you are supposed to leave them alone. the ukulele has a fine honey color and to my eye if the bare spots were oiled it would even things out.
i figure to change the strings to worth browns. what i have in the house is martins and the browns and the browns should mellow things out. i tightened up the strings it has on and they don't hold tuning but the tone is quite nice. the front and back are one piece and not a book match.
it has its small condition issues and i will let a luthier glue the back and so forth. i have a question about the finish, it looks like a urethane more than nitrocellulose and it is missing in a few areas most notably where the front has pick damage. i am a cabinetmaker with a spray facility but see no need to refinish the instrument. i am just wondering whether it is good form to apply oil, perhaps mineral oil with beeswax, to the bare spots, or whether this is a faux pas. you hear stories all the time about the original finish on old objects and how you are supposed to leave them alone. the ukulele has a fine honey color and to my eye if the bare spots were oiled it would even things out.