billbarol
Well-known member
This one’s a bit of a mystery, and I got swept up in that aspect of it, but then found that I wasn’t playing it very much.
So who was Unis? Chuck, the guy who answers questions at Flea Market’s Uke Yak, has had good things to say about them (search Uke Yak for “Unis” at https://www.fleamarketmusic.com/uke-yak/uke-yak-search.asp and you’ll see what I mean). Even he doesn’t know much about them, though. It may be an island uke; it may have been made on the mainland for sale in the islands. It may have been a hotel giveaway. The label and body shape suggest the teens to the '20s. It was fun and sort of startling to research this one, considering how much good historic info is out there. Unis is just one of those makers about whom nobody seems to know very much.
It was sold to me as a Koa uke. It may be, but the luthiers at McCabe’s here in Santa Monica felt it was more likely a figured mahogany. It’s a lovely wood in any event, and in very good shape, with two caveats: There are a couple of shallow splits on the back, although neither appears to my ears to affect playability; there's also a small amount of crazing, consistent with a uke of this age.The tuners have been replaced with modern ones. I put new Aquilas on it. It’s a nice player, and it really has that '20s-era charm.
$149 takes it, inc. shipping to CONUS only.
UPDATE 8/13/14: Price reduction to $129. Also, pics vanished from this original post at some point, so I reposted them below. Take a look, and feel free to PM me with any questions.
So who was Unis? Chuck, the guy who answers questions at Flea Market’s Uke Yak, has had good things to say about them (search Uke Yak for “Unis” at https://www.fleamarketmusic.com/uke-yak/uke-yak-search.asp and you’ll see what I mean). Even he doesn’t know much about them, though. It may be an island uke; it may have been made on the mainland for sale in the islands. It may have been a hotel giveaway. The label and body shape suggest the teens to the '20s. It was fun and sort of startling to research this one, considering how much good historic info is out there. Unis is just one of those makers about whom nobody seems to know very much.
It was sold to me as a Koa uke. It may be, but the luthiers at McCabe’s here in Santa Monica felt it was more likely a figured mahogany. It’s a lovely wood in any event, and in very good shape, with two caveats: There are a couple of shallow splits on the back, although neither appears to my ears to affect playability; there's also a small amount of crazing, consistent with a uke of this age.The tuners have been replaced with modern ones. I put new Aquilas on it. It’s a nice player, and it really has that '20s-era charm.
$149 takes it, inc. shipping to CONUS only.
UPDATE 8/13/14: Price reduction to $129. Also, pics vanished from this original post at some point, so I reposted them below. Take a look, and feel free to PM me with any questions.
Attachments
Last edited:
