Mossimo
Member
I was lucky to own a cuban from Timms. Unfortunately I did not hold on to it and now regret it loosing it.
WTB: Ken Timms CUBAN Mahogany Soprano
- Thread starter E.Z.
- Start date
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E.Z.
Well-known member
I sure did. Thanks.
Mee too, except I don't miss it that much. Wonderful uke, meticulously crafted but playability wasn't on par with some of my other sopranos.
How so- just out of curiousity?
It just didn't accommodate my fast paced playing style like my other sopranos. I can't exactly remember what it was, all I can remember is that I would get tangled with the strings constantly when playing. Maybe it was high action or maybe it was a shorter scale length than my other sopranos (15.5 inches) making the strings too floppy. A high action would obviously be fixable but Ken Timms uses ebony saddles - like those old Martins - and I don't know how comfortable I'd feel sanding something like that down. Certainly wouldn't want to mess with it. Neck profile was also not as shallow as some of my other ukes like Kiwaya or aNueNue, although certainly not chunky either.
They have a wider neck than the most Sopranos. The action is a bit below 3mm. Not high, but also not low.
Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
The Cuban Timms currently on eBay has a little over a day to go and is at £600 in the auction process. The exchange rate really favours the $ at the moment so a Timms has become cheaper to our North American cousins …
Mossimo
Member
By the time it arrives to the States side...it will be close to 850 dollars...
Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
It’s true that something in the region of £700 isn’t unheard of for a special Timms but I wonder why you might say that and also what successfully bidders have found - besides delight at owning a Timms and a fractionally lighter bank balance.
The current price is about $700 dollars. Of course the price might rise a bit further, it’s in an auction, but the pound is currently down against the dollar so the advantage is with our North American cousins.
As far as I know the auction end price is what folks in the USA pay …
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Neil_O
Well-known member
There's no VAT from Brittan?
I am in the US- and have ordered twice from Matt- at World of Ukes (AMAZING guy to deal with!) and his response regarding taxes on my first order with him was
"There is no tax or duty when it arrives - it'll sail straight through as it is under the ceiling for any to apply. My price does include some tax here, but as it is an export I don't need to give it to the government... so instead I use it to pay for shipping, so that works out well all around."
For me, it depends on how bad I want that particular uke. Cost is irrelevant when it comes to special instruments such as a Cuban 'hog Timms.
Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
As far as I know there is no VAT charged in Britain when exporting to the USA and no / negligible import charge. Import into the EU from Britain is different and we don’t need to go into why.
The auction has just a few hours left to run, I wonder who will win.
Rooting for Esteban!
That looks a real beauty. Love that straight grained timber.
Go, E.Z.!
Go, E.Z.!
I’m not sure there’s a schedule. He’s retired, and builds new ones when he feels like it, which is his privilege.
I think he tends to build more than one at a time, but as far as a predictable output, I think not.
Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
No, I don’t think that anyone does. Ken builds for fun and maybe the cash is a nice bonus. He’s in his 80’s and works in his garden shed - a lot less gets done over the winter.
If I really wanted the Uke on auction just now I’d have to dig deep because there may well not be another like it for a long time … if at all.
Certainly brought a nice price! If I hadn't just bought another Soprano- and have a LoPrinzi on order...
