The One That Got Away

Stevelele

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Dipping my toe back into UU after a hiatus of about 4 years... I sold off almost all my ukes and for the most part don't regret it. But I was wondering, of the ukes that you didn't buy or sold off, which are the ones that you still think about and regret the most?

My number one regret is not buying a Kris Barnett concert -- he made only 3 ukes, I think, and he even came over to my house to compare the sound of the different ukes I had with his. He made me a tenor, but I didn't like it as much as the concert he made. I wish I had bought it--it was amazing, but he's done making ukes for good.
 
Dipping my toe back into UU after a hiatus of about 4 years... I sold off almost all my ukes and for the most part don't regret it. But I was wondering, of the ukes that you didn't buy or sold off, which are the ones that you still think about and regret the most?

My number one regret is not buying a Kris Barnett concert -- he made only 3 ukes, I think, and he even came over to my house to compare the sound of the different ukes I had with his. He made me a tenor, but I didn't like it as much as the concert he made. I wish I had bought it--it was amazing, but he's done making ukes for good.

Steve, I remember that Kris Barnett tenor. That was quite a looker. I had just about talked myself into buying that one from you, but somebody else beat me to it. I wonder where those 2 Barnett ukes are?

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I don't know but whoever has the Barnett concerts, I will happily buy them from you!
 
I have a few, though they're not crazy holy grail type instruments. They're mostly ones that slipped through my fingers because of circumstances. I don't know how much I would have actually liked them, but they stick out in my mind as missed opportunities.

Some years ago, Mim had a couple cedar/myrtlewood Breedlove tenors that were apparently prototypes. I'm not sure what they were prototypes for, since they never went into production. The current Breedlove production ukes are Chinese laminates with solid tops. They're actually great ukes for what they are, but I wish I could have gotten a hold of one of the prototypes Mim had.

A couple years ago, Hodge/Doc J put up a silver oak Larrivee baritone in the marketplace. I was recently able to track down a Larrivee baritone that I'm very happy with, but I wish he'd held onto that silver oak one until this year when I started looking for one.

Just last December someone put up a sunburst Kinnard tenor in the marketplace. I think it was up for almost two weeks. I was sorely tempted, but at the time, I didn't think I wanted a tenor, and all mahogany isn't usually my first choice of tonewoods. Still, I'm a sucker for a perty sunburst.

I think earlier this year, DJ Morgan in the UK made a purpleheart mini pineapple, but he wasn't shipping to the States at the time.

More recently, right before everything shut down around here, I was in a shop playing a KoAloha anniversary silver. I think it was tenor #003, and it was really beautiful to look at. But I wasn't sure about the sound, so I went home to think about it. Later, I got in touch with them and asked about it, but they'd sold it.

I'm still casually looking for a KTM-25. I might get one if I find one I like, but I'm okay if it doesn't happen. I found a great Larrivee baritone, so I'm not so curious about the silver oak one, and while a mini-pineapple would be kinda neat, I'm not searching for one. If the Kinnard showed up again, I'd probably end up hesitating until it slipped by again. But for some reason, I think I'm probably most interested in what happened to those two prototype Breedloves.
 
A Rebel Alchemist jumps to mind, but I was saving up for a Blackbird.

There was also a particularly fantastic sounding mahogany/spruce Pono that was just amazing. It was super resonant, but I was preparing for a move and couldn’t afford it.

But that’s about it!
 
It wasn't sexy and it didn't sing like the angels but I regret selling my starter uke, a Lanikai LU-21C. When I got it, the action was high enough to hang laundry from. I took it to a local music store to have the action adjusted and they made it play like the breeze. Compared to what I have now, it would be least in sound quality but I still found the sound to be pretty good and it had the best feel and easiest play of any uke I've played since.
 
I have a few, though they're not crazy holy grail type instruments. They're mostly ones that slipped through my fingers because of circumstances. I don't know how much I would have actually liked them, but they stick out in my mind as missed opportunities.

Some years ago, Mim had a couple cedar/myrtlewood Breedlove tenors that were apparently prototypes. I'm not sure what they were prototypes for, since they never went into production. The current Breedlove production ukes are Chinese laminates with solid tops. They're actually great ukes for what they are, but I wish I could have gotten a hold of one of the prototypes Mim had.

A couple years ago, Hodge/Doc J put up a silver oak Larrivee baritone in the marketplace. I was recently able to track down a Larrivee baritone that I'm very happy with, but I wish he'd held onto that silver oak one until this year when I started looking for one.

Just last December someone put up a sunburst Kinnard tenor in the marketplace. I think it was up for almost two weeks. I was sorely tempted, but at the time, I didn't think I wanted a tenor, and all mahogany isn't usually my first choice of tonewoods. Still, I'm a sucker for a perty sunburst.

I think earlier this year, DJ Morgan in the UK made a purpleheart mini pineapple, but he wasn't shipping to the States at the time.

More recently, right before everything shut down around here, I was in a shop playing a KoAloha anniversary silver. I think it was tenor #003, and it was really beautiful to look at. But I wasn't sure about the sound, so I went home to think about it. Later, I got in touch with them and asked about it, but they'd sold it.

I'm still casually looking for a KTM-25. I might get one if I find one I like, but I'm okay if it doesn't happen. I found a great Larrivee baritone, so I'm not so curious about the silver oak one, and while a mini-pineapple would be kinda neat, I'm not searching for one. If the Kinnard showed up again, I'd probably end up hesitating until it slipped by again. But for some reason, I think I'm probably most interested in what happened to those two prototype Breedloves.

I miss that Larrivee Silver Oak baritone, too. I agree with you. I should’ve held onto that one. I wish Larrivee would make more ukes.
 
I remember someone selling a couple Santa Cruz concert ukuleles in the marketplace, and I wish I had bought one of those to try.
 
The only thing that comes to mind is a Southern Cross banjouke. I really would love one, but they aren't cheap.
Probably why I want it.....
 
A few years back Chuck Moore agreed to make me a ukulele. That was a dream come true, curly koa and a headstock inlay of my own design. He even agreed to do a radius fretboard for me, that was the icing on the cake. Then CITIES came down with all those new restrictions before he got started. With me living in Canada Chuck didn’t not want to risk shipping it to me. We talked about him shipping it to my sister in California, me flying there to pick it up then bringing it home only to have it confiscated at the border. There were horror stories of that happening and I wasn’t comfortable in risking a VERY expensive instrument being taken from me. So unfortunately I had to cancel the order.

The good news was it freed up a lot of money and I was able to purchase some ukuleles that I still own and absolutely love. There is a silver lining in every cloud
 
There was a KoAloha Mango/Walnut tenor at the uke lab I had be drilling over but sold a while ago. There's some used ones out there but they don't have the grain this one had.
 
The only thing that comes to mind is a Southern Cross banjouke. I really would love one, but they aren't cheap.
Probably why I want it.....

'Cause you can't have one?

Actually, if you contact Dennis he might be willing to make one for you. But then again, he may have hung up his luthier's hat for good. They are very nice banjo ukes.
 
Way back in 2018, I saw a Pono cedar/mahogany Master MTSH-C-MS tenor that I really liked. I bought it from HMS and it was in setup for several weeks when I got a phone call from the tech that was doing the setup.

He told me that in the process of doing the setup he discovered a crack in the body by the neck. It was small, barely visible, but they couldn't guarantee that it would remain small. So they pulled the order and contacted Pono about getting another one.

After two months, Pono told them that no more would be made. The only one they had left in stock was an Acacia Master which I didn't want because I already had a Pono spruce/rosewood tenor.

I was incredibly impressed that the HMS tech could reject an instrument for a small flaw like that. Especially since I was still pretty green and most likely would never have spotted it.

So I bought a Koa Kanile'a tenor I had my eye on. And only thought about the one that got away once or twice a week.

About 8-9 months later I was browsing the HMS site, and lo and behold, they had a Pono cedar/mahogany Master MTSH-C-MS for sale!

I jumped on it. I asked to see a photo of it and they sent me several. The grain of the mahogany wasn't anything special. But they assured me that there were no flaws in the body or the neck. I bought it and it's great! I still like my spruce/rosewood cutaway a little better. (It's still one of my favorites.) But the cedar/hog is right up there.

One of the few times the stars aligned and I came up with a royal flush.

Pono Spruce & Cedar.jpg

Spruce/Rosewood left; Cedar/Mahogany right
 
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It wasn't sexy and it didn't sing like the angels but I regret selling my starter uke, a Lanikai LU-21C. When I got it, the action was high enough to hang laundry from. I took it to a local music store to have the action adjusted and they made it play like the breeze. Compared to what I have now, it would be least in sound quality but I still found the sound to be pretty good and it had the best feel and easiest play of any uke I've played since.

I still have my first, a Lanikai LU-11, don't play it much, but it sounds and plays decent!
 
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