Giving Advice
- Thread starter Jerryc41
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Bonanza Pete
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Jerry, I'm not sure who this person is but it doesn't ring a bell that one of my customers is having an issue.
Simple answer is for her to get ahold of us. I totally stand behind my products. But I can't fix an issue if I don't know anything about it.
Have here contact us.
Pete Mai
Bonanza Ukuleles
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Jerryc41
Well-known member
Yes, she is one of your customers. I told her to bring it back to the music shop and have the guy tune it. She did that, and now she knows that the tuning problem was all her fault.
She is brand new to ukes, and she spent months agonizing over what to buy. Tuning is new to her. I knew from the beginning that this story would not have a happy ending. Someone in our uke group described her as "high maintenance."
I love my Oreo. It's a keeper. It looks great, and it sounds great.
Being a member of a seniors uke with most over the age of 70 and first time playing any instrument, I'm constantly asked to help tune their uke because they know I played guitar for almost 50 years. But instead of tuning it for them, I teach them. Now I'm rarely asked. I also will not recommend a uke, but I do tell them to contact Mim, or HMS, or Elderly.
This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 38)
Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 38)
Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
TopDog
Well-known member
I always refuse to help someone decide which is the 'best' uke for them; I think it is purely subjective,and that one persons 'ideal' instrument, would be disliked by the next person! I will advise on tuning and setting up instruments, but only to point them in the right direction, and get them to do it themselves, rather than observe me doing it for them! Its the only way to grasp the basic principles (IMO) and not allow someone else to do everything for them.
Giving advice on pretty much any subject is a double-edged blade. On the one hand, it's good to help people who ask for advice (and asking experienced folks for opinions is not a bad way to learn), but on the other hand, it puts a degree of responsibility on you and makes you the prime target for blame if (usually: when) things don't go as expected or obstacles surface. It's hard to find the balance here and probably depends largely on the person who is asking for advice.
Rllink
Well-known member
No, not a she. Just a long time bachelor friend who likes to talk.
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I was in the NORAD Band back in the late 70s. We were loaded onto a gigantic grey painted flying thing, and sent to the air base at Sioux City, Iowa, to play at a ceremony. Enroute, a call came in saying that the commanding general wanted us to "march of the plane playing the Stars and Stripes." So, the entire 120 piece band had to break out instruments, and get into marching formation inside the plane before it landed. The pilot made a smooth touchdown. The ramp dropped. And we struck up the tune, and marched off the airplane - from the 70+ degrees inside temp to the mid February 08 degrees outside temp at Sioux City. The front half of the band was playing in the key of B, while the back half was still in Bb. It really sounded awful. Mouthpieces froze to lips, reeds cracked, and the players were shivering uncontrollably in their summer uniforms. Ah yes, typical military cluster -
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Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
I’m sure that the Bonanza Ukes are wonderful instruments but it’s a real puzzle to me why anyone who doesn’t already play and play well would spend upwards of 450 USD on a one and only Uke.
I’ve played for several years and whilst not a good player I get by quite well. Perhaps I got lucky but currently my most used Uke cost me about 20 USD second hand - but I did put ‘workshop time’ into making it into a good player and did fit decent strings too. Maybe I’ve got it all wrong but it seems to me that (after a good set-up and decent strings) the best way to make a Uke sound good is to learn how to play better - I too find that an inconvenient truth.
First Uke advice? Well expect to buy several Ukes, expect not to need to spend a lot, do expect to get your Uke’s set-up and do expect to have to put many hours of work in learning how to play - there is no easy way but it’s worth the effort. You can’t buy skill, you can buy tuition but the link between the too is exceedingly varied.
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Jerryc41
Well-known member
Yeah. She decided that she wanted one good ukulele for the rest of her life. Tough decision to make when you have no experience with them.
ripock
Well-known member
Unlike Graham, I think it is a good idea. However, if she wants something special, she has to pay for something special. I would have told her to grab at least $2000 and head on over to Beau Hannam, Jay Lichty, etc., and let them earn their money by dealing with her and figuring out what she wants.
Neil_O
Well-known member
Half the time when I type something to post, I delete the comment instead of sending it. Once I read my advice/comment I can see it from different reader perspectives, and often I decide my advice sucked or was not really advice. Delete/
I used to feel that in order to find the one "forever" ukulele requires exposure to many different instruments and experience, and that the issue is further compounded by inexpensive ukuleles not necessarily offering the tone of playability that helps with choosing a higher end instrument of the same size/material/brand.
Today, though, I question the premise. I believe that any decent ukulele (good playability and intonation) can become a lifetime instrument, if the player sticks with it and doesn't quickly believe that any obstacles they bump into is because of the instrument or its size. I went through fifteen or so higher end instruments in my first three years, and in the end, I was more confused than I was when I had bought the first. I didn't know anymore what I actually liked or wanted, and I couldn't play well enough to really bring out the potential of any of my ukes.
If I could do it all over again, I'd buy one mid-range or higher-end instrument (probably a concert) and stick with it for at least five years. I, and I'm probably not the only one, focused way too much on instruments (researching, window shopping, buying, selling, trading, string experiments for quite a bit of money) and not nearly enough on learning how to play and improve my tone (not the instrument's tone). This would have saved me a lot of money and time, and probably made me happier. (I'd probably also avoid the UU forum in the beginning, because being here when I really didn't know what I wanted strongly drove UAS.)
But this is difficult to convey to a new player who wants a good instrument, lacks experience and exposure, but wants to "get it right" and agonizes over the decision.
Neil_O
Well-known member
There's a lot of wisdom in what you say Mivo. It's easy to get caught up in the chase for an ideal uke and forget the whole purpose behind buying one.
I enjoy the exploration of different tenors and their properties. While at the same time trying to improve my playing and understanding of the music. For me, it's "two sides of the same coin."
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