Kala Elite 2 Koa Tenor for cheap

YogiTom

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No affiliation, but I came across this while window shopping the used section at Elderly.

https://www.elderly.com/collections/category_ukuleles-used/products/kala-elite-koa-2-tenor-ukulele-2016

I don’t know how much work or $$ would be needed to fix a backbowed neck, but $300 for an otherwise good looking uke like this seemed too good to be true, so I thought I’d share here. :shaka:

Edit: I’ve done a few of these posts now (e.g., “hey, look, a great uke for sale!”), and have opted to post them here in the Uke Talk section rather than in the Marketplace, since I’m not the one selling them. If anyone—moderators or fellow users—thinks these should instead go in the Marketplace, please feel free to chime in! I’m sure it isn’t a huge deal, but I don’t want to clutter the wrong forum section unnecessarily. :)
 
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I've posted a few "hey, look!" threads here too, (Uke Talk), and figured that was the right place, since I was just talking about the ukes, not buying or selling them, and had no affiliation with the actual sellers. I'm guessing more people will see the thread here, and that not everyone checks the Marketplace all the time, unlike some of us who are hooked on window shopping. (No affiliation with Windows.)

And, in this case, it might be interesting to hear what people think about what is needed to fix the neck on the ukulele, too.

I wonder why Elderly didn't fix the neck, (refret is needed according to the website post), instead of selling it as is.
 
I've posted a few "hey, look!" threads here too, (Uke Talk), and figured that was the right place, since I was just talking about the ukes, not buying or selling them, and had no affiliation with the actual sellers. I'm guessing more people will see the thread here, and that not everyone checks the Marketplace all the time, unlike some of us who are hooked on window shopping. (No affiliation with Windows.)

Thanks for the “second” for where to post.

It’s funny, you mentioned people not checking the Marketplace as often, but when I am using the site, I’m typically looking at the “What’s New?” search to see new posts and threads since my last visit. I rarely go into a specific section unless I’m doing a deep dive search for something.
 
I can't even wrap my head around what's required here.

But nice uke. :(
If Kala Elite has a truss rod, does that mean it's a bolt on neck where a new neck could be installed?
Why doesn't the warranty kick in here for Elderly?
 
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Just to be clear, it looks like a used 2016 instrument, likely on consignment from the current owner (would be my guess), who may not be the original owner either.

Either way, Kala’s warranty doesn’t cover anything beyond a year, if I’m not mistaken, and only for the original owner.
 
I can't even wrap my head around what's required here.

But nice uke. :(
If Kala Elite has a truss rod, does that mean it's a bolt on neck where a new neck could be installed?
Why doesn't the warranty kick in here for Elderly?

I have a 1KOA-T and it definitely doesn't have a truss rod. All Elites do have bolt on necks as far as I know. Both my soprano & tenor are bolt on.

Just to be clear, it looks like a used 2016 instrument, likely on consignment from the current owner (would be my guess), who may not be the original owner either.

Either way, Kala’s warranty doesn’t cover anything beyond a year, if I’m not mistaken, and only for the original owner.

On their Elite ukes they do a 2 year warranty, but if it's a 2016 build then that wouldn't matter anyways.

I wonder how much Kala would charge to replace the neck since they are bolt on?
 
Interesting that it has a backbow to the neck. I guess all you would need is a set of steel strings and that backbow would be gone...lol. Probably lose the bridge first.

I took a look at the pics on the link. I’m not saying Elderly is wrong but at a 90 degree view, I can’t see any backbow. The strings look super high above the 12th fret. The only way to know how bad, (and where it is, which is important), is to put a straight edge on the fretboard. If the big gap above the 12th is where the bow is, (it may be okay up to the 12th), then it is up to the buyer to figure if it is worth it.

If you don’t play up there who cares, as long as the action up the the 12th is good. And it may only need a partial re-fret, over that section of the fret board. The fret board will need to be planed down to take the bow out. Either way, anyone interested should find out how much how and where.

John

Edit added: I sent a few questions to Elderly to see how bad and where it is.
 
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So I got this back...

Hi John,

Getting back to you on that Tenor Ukulele. I could barely find the position when I went and grabbed the instrument ---> however, I took the instrument down to our shop to have the guys down there measure it. Our head of shop used the term that the instrument was set "Dead-Flat" with no relief. The amount of space left about a .001" of an inch at the first fret; this being the reason why we will be selling this instrument as an AS-IS instrument ----> there is work that needs to be done to it.

Let us know if there is anything else that we might be able to assist with. Thank you for your time and we hope that you have a good day.

Kurtis Young

I realize that no neck relief can be an issue, and probably is based on the discounted price. I am tempted none-the-less as normal ukulele relief is only about .003-.004. I might be able to add enough relief by just dressing the frets slightly. And over time, and under string tension, I imagine the neck will naturally bend slightly. I have no idea if this will solve any of the issues, which may go beyond just the neck, so I couldn’t encourage anyone to jump on this.

After some thought, I just can’t justify buying another koa tenor; especially since a bigger part of me wants to take on the challenge than wants to own a Kala Elite.

I just wanted to pass the info along.

John
 
So I got this back...

Hi John,

Getting back to you on that Tenor Ukulele. I could barely find the position when I went and grabbed the instrument ---> however, I took the instrument down to our shop to have the guys down there measure it. Our head of shop used the term that the instrument was set "Dead-Flat" with no relief. The amount of space left about a .001" of an inch at the first fret; this being the reason why we will be selling this instrument as an AS-IS instrument ----> there is work that needs to be done to it.

Let us know if there is anything else that we might be able to assist with. Thank you for your time and we hope that you have a good day.

Kurtis Young

I realize that no neck relief can be an issue, and probably is based on the discounted price. I am tempted none-the-less as normal ukulele relief is only about .003-.004. I might be able to add enough relief by just dressing the frets slightly. And over time, and under string tension, I imagine the neck will naturally bend slightly. I have no idea if this will solve any of the issues, which may go beyond just the neck, so I couldn’t encourage anyone to jump on this.

After some thought, I just can’t justify buying another koa tenor; especially since a bigger part of me wants to take on the challenge than wants to own a Kala Elite.

I just wanted to pass the info along.

John

Thanks for doing that legwork, John! It certainly is tempting for an aspiring amateur luthier as a learning project...but I won’t own another Kala, so sadly won’t be me taking on the challenge, either.
 
There are a few things that can remedy buzzing due to low relief issue. One of them is fret dressing. Another (in rare cases) a slight lifting of a nut. The question would be: was a fret dressing done already? You can only shave so much fret's height before you just need to re-fret.
 
There are a few things that can remedy buzzing due to low relief issue. One of them is fret dressing. Another (in rare cases) a slight lifting of a nut. The question would be: was a fret dressing done already? You can only shave so much fret's height before you just need to re-fret.

It’s not my uke. I don’t know the history. It is being sold AS IS at Elderly at a greatly reduced price because the neck lacks relief. I’m only guessing it buzzes.

One thing that really keeps me from buying it is not the neck relief that I understand is .001 (my KLOS has little relief) but the angle of the strings and string height past the 12th fret. To me it just looks like the neck angle might be off and there is not enough saddle to fix it. I have no measurements, only the picture on Elderly, so I don’t know, but something doesn’t look right and that is what concerns me.

It is an instrument that probably needs to be assessed in person.

John
 
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