my first uke, old Hawaiian type

hi all

i bought this lovely looking uke the other day from an antique shop

he wanted £75 pound for which sounded alot, but couldn't resist.

apart from a chip in the nut, seems in good shape

any info, advice appreciated.

desperate to get it playing, so advice on strings/tuners woukd be helpfull

many thanks

I'd say you did extremely well to get that uke for £75-, Charlie C! If it were mine, I would try to replace the missing tapered tuning pegs, but it might be easier and quicker for you to fit a set of friction peg tuners. My own choice of strings would be Worth Brown Mediums, but that is purely a personal preference.

To judge from the photos, it would not take much to get the uke sorted out and playing as it should. If you have no experience of this kind of work, it would be better to find someone reliable who has done it before. Most uke clubs can point you to someone who can help.

Best of luck in your quest! Do let us know how it works out!

John Colter (West Midlands, UK)

thanks for your reply john

its nice to suck it to an antique dealer !!

cant wait to get it set up.

ive been playing a plastic selcol one for a while, so hopefully this one will be nicer

could i use a violin peg, for the missing tuner, i quite like the mismatch look

charlie cheswick said:

thanks for your reply john

its nice to suck it to an antique dealer !!

cant wait to get it set up.

ive been playing a plastic selcol one for a while, so hopefully this one will be nicer

could i use a violin peg, for the missing tuner, i quite like the mismatch look

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violin pegs were the original tuners on that uke...no problem there. Too bad you weren't nearer, I've got plenty of old violin tuners, and the tools to shave them to the proper taper, and ream the peghead to the matching taper so they fit perfectly.

thanks for the info mate, interesting stuff

thinking i might go for the friction tuners now, for the time being

im suprised at some of the prices being asked for these ukes, glad i went with my gut instinct !

if it sounds nice, id doubt id ever sell it , more like enjoy it !

Congrats on your find! How does it sound? Will you show us more pics after you get it fixed up?

hi nickie, yes absolutely, once its set up, i will report back !

hi all

finally got it set up with some friction tuners and Aquila nylgut strings

the friction tuners were cheap, but couldn't find any mid price decent ones

to be honest, at first i wasnt very impressed at all with the uke, thought about selling it on

but now the strings have settled, and im getting used to it, it now plays like a dream, wonderful sound

i've found a sweet strumming spot above the soundhole, and now reallllly like it

thanks mate

i love playing the old classics like, as time goes by, everytime we say goodbye, someone to watch over me

they seem to play so well on the uke, almost like they were made to play on one !!