CPG
Well-known member
So last Friday I saw this concert ukulele on Ebay that no one had bid on that was about to expire. The starting bid was lower than you usually see these things ($595) likely because between a good bit of crazing and some repaired cracks it's not as nice an example as some people would want. That said the ad said the cracks in the back had been professionally repaired by Portland Fretworks which appears to be a very reputable luthier, the seller had sold similar items before with good feedback, and while the crazing seems to be in a lot of areas the finish appeared to be staying intact. So anyway, I put in a couple bids and ended up getting it for $550 ($583 with tax).
And here it is.
It just got delivered to my office. All in all I think I did alright? My god is it light. Maybe even lighter than my Takumi concert. In normal lighting the crazing is barely visible. It really lights up if you take a picture with a flash or in raking light, but just looking at it you can't even tell its there. It really looks very nice; much much nicer than I expected. I looked inside and the repairs look well done; all the cracks appear to be cleated. The fretboard, frets, nut, and saddle all appear to be in good shape as well, and the neck seems nice and straight. I haven't played it yet, but its 3mm at the 12th. That's a half mil higher than my ideal but but totally acceptable to me. It looks well setup, and my hope was that since they bothered to get it repaired by a luthier that it would have gotten a setup too. Of course, I'll have to play it to know for sure. Oh yeah, they also replaced the tuners with Gotoh UPTs. I'm not sure whether that increases or decreases the value for most people, and its not something I personally would have bothered to do, but since this is a player not a collector uke they'll be nice to have on there. Came with a hard case too. Nothing fancy, just one of the generic tweedy no-name amazon/ebay cases but it seems totally decent.
The only concern I have is that there is one check in the finish on the front, below the bridge that looks like it might be more than that (see 2nd photo). I noticed it in the photos on Ebay and think it just in the finish and since they repaired the other cracks I would hope they would have checked it, but who knows. Anyway, I think its just in the finish and that the fact that runs down a grain line just makes it look like it might be more. Hope I'm right.
This was listed as 1940s. Curious what you all think? Do concerts generally follow the same dating guidelines as sopranos? It came with the friction tuners that had been on it. They were listed as the "orignials" but I have no way of knowing if that is the case (see photos). It has the logo on the front of the headstock, no stamp on the back of headstock, a stamp on the inside, and t-frets. I know that puts it as post WWII, but I don't know how to tell if it's actually from the 40s. Thoughts?
And here it is.
It just got delivered to my office. All in all I think I did alright? My god is it light. Maybe even lighter than my Takumi concert. In normal lighting the crazing is barely visible. It really lights up if you take a picture with a flash or in raking light, but just looking at it you can't even tell its there. It really looks very nice; much much nicer than I expected. I looked inside and the repairs look well done; all the cracks appear to be cleated. The fretboard, frets, nut, and saddle all appear to be in good shape as well, and the neck seems nice and straight. I haven't played it yet, but its 3mm at the 12th. That's a half mil higher than my ideal but but totally acceptable to me. It looks well setup, and my hope was that since they bothered to get it repaired by a luthier that it would have gotten a setup too. Of course, I'll have to play it to know for sure. Oh yeah, they also replaced the tuners with Gotoh UPTs. I'm not sure whether that increases or decreases the value for most people, and its not something I personally would have bothered to do, but since this is a player not a collector uke they'll be nice to have on there. Came with a hard case too. Nothing fancy, just one of the generic tweedy no-name amazon/ebay cases but it seems totally decent.
The only concern I have is that there is one check in the finish on the front, below the bridge that looks like it might be more than that (see 2nd photo). I noticed it in the photos on Ebay and think it just in the finish and since they repaired the other cracks I would hope they would have checked it, but who knows. Anyway, I think its just in the finish and that the fact that runs down a grain line just makes it look like it might be more. Hope I'm right.
This was listed as 1940s. Curious what you all think? Do concerts generally follow the same dating guidelines as sopranos? It came with the friction tuners that had been on it. They were listed as the "orignials" but I have no way of knowing if that is the case (see photos). It has the logo on the front of the headstock, no stamp on the back of headstock, a stamp on the inside, and t-frets. I know that puts it as post WWII, but I don't know how to tell if it's actually from the 40s. Thoughts?