Hi, Ed1 ~
Thanks so much for your note; I do hope you’ll hear back from Joel at HMS in that they find a concert that will work for you.
As I wrote earlier, I can completely relate to what you’re dealing with, and I know how it can be a tough road to travel finding a uke that will allow one to play with minimal pain due to the various hand issues one can face (mine is arthritis and wrist tendonitis).
For me, again, in 10 years of playing uke (and trying all kinds of ukes (sizes, brands, strings, etc), I learned that the radius fretboard is THE only way to go for me to minimize pain and to enjoy longer periods of play time without issues of pain. Of course, as Contrails mentions, radius fretboards, sometimes, make no difference at all to a player, and actually, I’ve also heard some people say that they flat out don’t like radius fretboards.
We all have to find the path that works best for us. Thank Heavens for this UU community where we all can convene so that we can share ideas and figure things out together.
Happy strums and keep us posted on what you decide to do.
All the best to you...
- Chelle