Ohana quality control query?

CGiblet

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Ok, have bought an O'Nino and when I got it home it I saw that there was glue clearly visible inside in at least 3 areas where it hadn't been cleaned off. Is that normal for Ohana? I would have thought that was a sloppy build. Have messaged Ohana Australia and waiting for a response.

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Maybe a wee bit sloppy, but if the uke plays well, I wouldn't give it a second thought.
 
Maybe a wee bit sloppy, but if the uke plays well, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

Agree with this advice. Ohana is generally a lower to mid range ukulele made in Asia that is mass produced. Shining a light into areas that you generally do not see without close inspection should be of lesser concern than how it plays and sounds. Ohana has a good reputation compared with equivalently priced ukuleles.
 
Awesome. Thanks for the replies! Another quick question about the tuning. Have seen recommendations for alternate tunings of D, F or Eb tuning. Obviously I still have the original strings on it. Do I need to change the strings to get any of those or is one of them possible with the original strings?
 
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Ok, have bought an O'Nino and when I got it home it I saw that there was glue clearly visible inside in at least 3 areas where it hadn't been cleaned off. Is that normal for Ohana? I would have thought that was a sloppy build. Have messaged Ohana Australia and waiting for a response.

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Visible glue is something that reviewers look for when they do a review. Aside from someone at the factory not taking the time to clean it up, that doesn't bother me at all. Given the choice of a gluey uke and a non-gluey uke, I'd take the one without glue showing, though. I certainly wouldn't return a uke because of glue showing.
 
Bb, Eb, G, C is probably what you're thinking. With that short scale, the tension should be about right.

Yeah, that's Eb tuning (3 half steps above gCEA) and with soprano strings, should be good on this shorty. I don't know what strings it ships with. If they feel like a "normal" tension already at gCEA, you may not want to start cranking them up
 
All I know is that they come with Aquila Soprano of some description and I haven't yet changed anything. I shall give it a go. Thanks!
 
My attitude has always been that if one looks long enough and hard enough they can always find something. Quit looking inside your ukulele, it is fine. Ohana makes good ukuleles.
 
My attitude has always been that if one looks long enough and hard enough they can always find something. Quit looking inside your ukulele, it is fine. Ohana makes good ukuleles.

This is actually really good advice. I can find flaws in my priciest ukes which cost me over $1000 if I look hard enough. I'm such a perfectionist regarding build quality that it's better just not to look that hard and accept that nothing is absolutely perfect, no matter how much money you spend. Regarding Ohana and other similar Chinese made brands, having some glue pooling inside the uke is pretty normal. I find it doesn't affect the sound one little bit.
 
I buy my Ohanas from either Mim or AlohaCityUkes. I have never gotten anything but superbly built & set-up Ohanas from either of those 2 dealers. Perhaps those 2 dealers are so "picky" that the distributor is careful as to what he sends them.
 
I buy my Ohanas from either Mim or AlohaCityUkes. I have never gotten anything but superbly built & set-up Ohanas from either of those 2 dealers. Perhaps those 2 dealers are so "picky" that the distributor is careful as to what he sends them.

Mim does sell "Seconds," but I doubt if glue would qualify.
 
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