Bonanza Homestead Line

I’m excited! Shelley just called that mine is ready. She’s going to wait until after Christmas to ship to avoid problems in the crazy (I’m more than good with that). She said she keeps an eye on the weather to try to ship on warmer days to prevent sitting in super cold depots as much as possible, but that she packages things really well and her concern is more that FedEx can lose things in the Christmas rush.

Out of curiosity, when did you place your order?
 
I’m excited! Shelley just called that mine is ready.

Mine, too! She said it it go out on Monday, after giving the finish a bit longer to dry.

I ordered a Homestead cherry concert cutaway on November 10.
 
Mine, too! She said it it go out on Monday, after giving the finish a bit longer to dry.

I ordered a Homestead cherry concert cutaway on November 10.

I ordered the same thing, a cherry concert cutaway (with silver/black sealed gear tuners)! If your timeline holds true for me, mine should be ready in early to mid-January. Along with playing it, I'm looking forward to seeing how the cherry darkens and how the look will change over time.
 
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Mine, too! She said it it go out on Monday, after giving the finish a bit longer to dry.

I ordered a Homestead cherry concert cutaway on November 10.
I also ordered on the 10th. Mine’s a walnut baritone. Did you order a case? She may have wanted to hold mine past the holiday rush because I didn’t. The case would give a bit more protection in transit. I was kind of fuzzy between excitement and sleepy - I think she forgot about time zones and called a bit early and woke me up. Pretty good wake up call though!
 
Hi everyone.
Yes the Homestead ukes are rolling out the door.
I will be taking Christmas week off for a much needed rest. It has been quite the busy season.
My thanks for the support you have shown.
Remember, if you are a Bonanza owner to join us on our Bonanza owners Facebook group as well. "The Ponderosa".
 
I’ve had my homestead cherry cutaway concert for about two weeks now and here are my thoughts.

Pete and Shelly Mai are great. Shelly posted a video of her playing the uke just before sending it out. That’s a nice personal touch.

It’s fairly quiet compared to my Eddy Finn travel uke with which I’d hoped to replace with the homestead. It is comfortable to hold, and will be getting much more playtime than the Finn, but it won’t be able stand out when played in a large group.

The string action was too low. There was a slight, but noticeable to me, fret buzz on the first 4 frets or so. I hastily ordered a string action gauge to measure it - 2.25 mm at the 12th fret. I have raised the saddle with several thin pieces of card stock to bring it closer to 3mm.

The nut and saddle are both made from corian which is typically used for countertops. It is a very hard material, rather like granite. The saddle top is v-shaped, not u-shaped like all my other ukes. I note this only because I am concerned that the relatively sharp edge may weaken the strings prematurely.

My current plan is to replace the saddle, and perhaps the nut, when it is time to change out the strings. It came with clear fluorocarbons vs my favorite Fremont Blacklines.
 
I had to raise the action on my Homestead Tenor as well. I prefer a wound low G and it sounded almost like a rattlesnake! Nice sweet tone albeit on the soft side.
 
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