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).
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).
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