Detailed info about Bruce Wei Arts Vietnam ukes on eBay

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KohanMike

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I've been seeing a few posts lately about ukes bought from Bruce Wei Arts eBay auction site. After winning a tenor mandolele a few months ago (not very good), I found out some pertinent info directly from Bruce a couple of weeks ago while corresponding with him about making me a custom ukulele.

During our correspondence, I mentioned that I was disappointed with the mandolele I bought, thick top with dull sound (even with a string change), very poor binding seams, poor fret installation, the only nice thing is the color/finish. His response was that the U series ukes are not his construction, they are made by other builders and he allows them to be sold through his eBay site (but he does stand behind them). He concentrates on custom builds only.

The UTT series is what he calls "B" grade, simple bracing, heavy tops, whatever material is on hand, not a lot of attention to detail. The two letter U series are better construction, and higher priced. (The other letter series are apparently other builders of various qualities.) I asked if I could get a mandolele built better and he said he would do that himself in about 30 days.

I've posted this info in other threads, but thought I would do Bruce a service by clarifying things specifically. There have been a few posts from UU members who have Bruce's custom builds and they say they are very happy. So I'm going ahead and ordering the custom, a tenor gypsy jazz Django/Selmer Maccaferri "Grande Bouche" style uke, to be ready in about 60-70 days. The mandolele should be done in a couple of weeks (I'm adding the tailpiece shown and a preamp/pickup).

Gypsy custom 72.jpg

Mandolele mahogany.jpg
 
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You are a brave man, brother kohanmike.
 
i've bought several from his store, most were good on arrival only two were bad on arrival but fixable. It makes sense if he's a reseller but I really do think he needs to start branding them or at least adding a sticker on the inside so the buyer knows who made it. If he posts a uke that catches my eye I don't mind getting it to try it out, out of the ones that I ordered from him, if I didn't end up liking them, i just sold them off.

Im interested in seeing how your custom one comes out. I have one that looks like yours that I ordered about a year ago and its cracked since then, has a tailpiece and floating bridge similar to the design you asked for.
 
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i've bought several from his store, most were good on arrival only two were bad on arrival but fixable. It makes sense if he's a reseller but I really do think he needs to start branding them or at least adding a sticker on the inside so the buyer knows who made it..

If someone else really is making it (i.e.we believe the Wei multiple-tier-of-construction excuse for shoddiness).

The logical side of me demands that I ponder this: if my proud family name was on every ukulele, it was my brand, and I knew how to construct beautiful ukuleles, personally...would i let the numerous "duds" we've read about out of my shop?

No.
 
If someone else really is making it (i.e.we believe the Wei multiple-tier-of-construction excuse for shoddiness).

Ponder this: if your name was on a ukulele, and you built beautiful ukuleles yourself, personally, so you knew good from bad...would you let the numerous "duds" we've read about out of your shop?

Yea, I would still sell them, but I would mark them down and make sure people knew they were defective, most companies call them B stock. I've bought a couple of Lanikai B stock ukes that needed to be fixed and had no problem with them since I knew exactly what I was getting. If it really is a different shop making these for Bruce Wei then I would like to know which ones are made by his shop and which ones aren't.
 
To me, B stock is a blemish. Not heavy top wood, "simple bracing", poor attention to detail and a "dull sound" as described by kohanmike.

But I respect your thoughts, jcarlos.
 
Yes there are different builders making ukulele's for Brucewei's shop and yes they are of differing qualities. I can tell by looking at them and any ukulele starting at a VERY low starting price is a sign that its a lower quality instrument. However, I have a cheaper quality baritone from Brucewei. It has faults but MAN does it sound good.

Here is one of my original songs on a very cheap brucewei.



The instrument needs some work. I'm going to spend some money because it deserves it. I'm sitting on a high quality 8 string baritone as well. It needs some work to but it has a GREAT sound waiting to come out.

Anthony
 
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How much would that custom tenor gypsy jazz going for?

QUOTE=kohanmike;1535173]I've been seeing a few posts lately about ukes bought from Bruce Wei Arts eBay auction site. After winning a tenor mandolele a few months ago (not very good), I found out some pertinent info directly from Bruce a couple of weeks ago while corresponding with him about making me a custom ukulele.

During our correspondence, I mentioned that I was disappointed with the mandolele I bought, thick top with dull sound (even with a string change), very poor binding seams, poor fret installation, the only nice things is the color/finish. His response was that the U series ukes are not his construction, they are made by other builders and he allows them to be sold through his eBay site (but he does stand behind them). He concentrates on custom builds only.

The UTT series is what he calls "B" grade, simple bracing, heavy tops, what ever material is on hand, not a lot of attention to detail. The two letter U series are better construction, and higher priced. (The other letter series are apparently other builders of various qualities.) I asked if I could get a mandolele built better and he said he would do that himself in about 30 days.

I've posted this info in other threads, but thought I would do Bruce a service by clarifying things specifically. There have been a few posts from UU members who have Bruce's custom builds and they say they are very happy. So I'm going ahead and ordering the custom, a tenor gypsy jazz Django/Selmer Maccaferri "Grande Bouche" style uke, to be ready in about 60-70 days. The mandolele should be done in a couple of weeks (I'm adding the tailpiece shown and a preamp/pickup).

Gypsy custom 72.jpg

Mandolele mahogany.jpg
[/QUOTE]
 
Yea, I would still sell them, but I would mark them down and make sure people knew they were defective... If it really is a different shop making these for Bruce Wei then I would like to know which ones are made by his shop and which ones aren't.

I created this thread for that reason, to inform everyone that the item numbers, UTT etc. indicate the builder and quality level.

I have one that looks like yours that I ordered about a year ago and its cracked since then, has a tailpiece and floating bridge similar to the design you asked for.

Are you talking about the mandolele or the gypsy style? My mandolele is going to have a fixed bridge, and I'm going to add the tailpiece myself. Actually, the gypsy style is also a fixed bridge. On both ukes I'm having him route the saddle space a little deeper so I can add a pickup and preamp myself, which I've done to most of my ukes.

How much would that custom tenor gypsy jazz going for?

He's charging me $780 delivered with a money back guarantee. I've researched a few other builders in North America and they're two to three times the price, and some do not match the exact look of the original gypsy jazz guitar I'm after. Here are the details (his drawing that I embellished with details, I'm a graphic designer):

Gypsy uke full drawing.jpg
 
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Considering your last situation, all I can say is this:

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Not saying this to hurt your feelings at all, but reminding you that you can't control or get much satisfaction if problems occur overseas. However, if you continue in this endeavor, best of luck to you.
 
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Not saying this to hurt your feelings at all...

It seems that you have not read all the details of my posts regarding the bad mandolele I bought NOT built by him, and the new one he is building. After multiple correspondence with Bruce about his capabilities, and feedback from other UU members who have one of Bruce's custom builds, I'm confident he will do a good job. He did give me a money back guarantee in writing. I am one who sees a half full glass of water, not a "nay sayer" type.
 
You are a brave man, brother kohanmike.

pretty sure if the builder builds in a shop where he keeps the relative humidity 35-45% the uke should not develop cracks when it gets to drier climate...as I know the humidity pretty high in Vietman
 
Mike, have you seen or heard an instrument made by Bruce? Also, how do you know it's made by him? I would hate for you to spend time and money and have no guaranties except for a money back guaranty, which you can never be too sure of, especially a foreign country
 
Mike, have you seen or heard an instrument made by Bruce? Also, how do you know it's made by him? I would hate for you to spend time and money and have no guaranties except for a money back guaranty, which you can never be too sure of, especially a foreign country
Here, here...agree. Can you imagine the return shipping costs and nail-biting about the promised refund. My heart is too weak for all that.

That said, you seem confident in Mr. Wei, kohanmike, and trust his word that he sold you a ukulele that he didn't build the first time (pray that he is taking that one back for refund, btw) and he's going to personally build you a stunner the second time, so go for it. We all--consitter nongdam, me, the others--wish you only great success. Post thoughts and photos when you get it. Cool beans!
 
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I'm actually reserving my final judgement for when I receive the mandolele. If I like it I'm going ahead with the gypsy, if not, I don't order it.
 
I doubt Bruce Wei makes anything, I think he just buys them from several different sources that make them out of small shops or homes in Saigon. Google "Bruce Wei images" and see what comes up, there is no way he could build such a variety and quantity of instruments himself.
 
He tells me he only makes the custom jobs, the already made ones sold on his eBay site are from other builders. He said he allows those builders to sell through his site, so it doesn't seem like he buys them. I believe people until they give me a reason not to.
 
pretty sure if the builder builds in a shop where he keeps the relative humidity 35-45% the uke should not develop cracks when it gets to drier climate...as I know the humidity pretty high in Vietman

Cracks can also develop if the wood isn't sufficiently dried before being used to build. kamaka dries its koa for years; KoAloha puts its wood in a drying kiln before building. If wood continues to dry after it's put under the stress of being an instrument, it will shrink and cracks will develop. This can be ameliorated somewhat by humidification, but there's a reason why the most reputable builders dry their wood before building with it.
 
I do know one person who ordered a "custom" uke from Bruce Wei. In truth, it looked like a pretty standard tenor uke that had custom inlay in the fretboard. I have no idea who actually built it (and I'm sure neither does he), but Bruce took the money. :)

In terms of quality, I would say it's comparable to a mid-priced Kala or Ohana, and the price was about the same. So you could say he got a good deal, since he got a custom uke for the price of a factory model. Or you could say he took a lot of risk for something that was no better than a factory uke.

I imagine someone will say both things. :)
 
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