Help new Koaloha pineapple Sunday has very thin crack on soundboard.

Just got my pineapple Sunday in November ,had the misi pickup installed. Didn't have a humidifier .hairline from the bridge to sound hole .below the bridge as well. Should I send it to koaloha ? Or repair it with hide glue?like the video on YouTube ???!?! Please help.

Send it to KoAloha. They will take care of it. It will look like new. This is an old thread that I started. I'm sure my damage was much worse than yours.

There was another thread recently asking the question "Kamaka or KoAloha?" This should help with my opinion on the matter.

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...-dropped-my-KoAloha&highlight=dropped+koaloha

Warranty says evidence of humidifer at time of purchase. Anyways, start humidifying right away and take it to luthier. I don't think it's under warranty and even if it was, shipping alone will be similar to the cost for a luthier to fix.

I stress about humidity and I'm about 15 miles from the ocean...I would hate to find out the average RH in Corona!! Good luck

I copied from Koaloha website:

**For the instrument built & dated prior to August 2005, our wood movement has no limitations. For instruments built after June 30, 2005, wood movement will be guaranteed with the verified purchase of an inside-case humidifier at the time of the ukulele purchase. Failure to provide this may void any wood movement claims.

It might or might nor work but until you can get it to a luthier or KoAloha, try humidifying it in a sealed case. I recently got a crack in my Kamoa uke last week. I put it in a case with a humidifier and now a week later, it is 99% resealed again. I also had some seam separations on my Kamaka and while the soundboard had to be repaired (unfortunately not 100% successfully), I did manage to completely reseal a seam separation on the bottom of the uke that way. Good luck to you - if it was mine, I would send it to KoAloha.

Send it to Koaloha. If it's new, they'll probably cover it. You may humidify and the crack will seem to disappear for some period of time, (a week to a year) but it must be repaired. But, be sure to humidify going forward.

Call Koaloha and tried to get it warrantied. Shipping USPS priority would be around $40- $45. Might send you a new uke.

Problem with trying to get a new PS is that only Pops makes them and they aren't built regularly.

I am in the same group....contact KoAloha and have them fix it.

I forgot to mention, I have a friend that damaged a KoAloha with a bad crack and took it to a local luthier, and to be honest while it was functional it wasn't really aesthetically perfect. Compare that to Ronnie Aloha's KoAloha, which they did an amazing job on fixing at KoAloha, you would never know anything had ever happened to it.

It will cost you money in shipping, true. But they might cover it under warranty, and even if they won't, the repair might cost the same as with a luthier. But nobody will do as good a job fixing it as the people that built it.

another vote here for contacting koaloha & getting their thoughts first.

then go to a luthier if you have to. but my guess is that they will offer to fix it up right for you.

you'll have to pay to ship there and they'll probably pay to ship it back.

Thank you very much for the info! I will contact Koaloha 1st to see what they say.i did however put a wet sponge in a ziplock with holes in it.and put it in there this morning when I noticed it.it was fine in my gig bag.but I recently got a Ameritage silver case for it thinking it would protect it better.and I think it dried it out a bit.its barely noticeable ,but enough to give me heart attack.lolbeung that I just bought it new a few months ago.i also put actual pineapple pieces in a ziplock and put it in the case as well

Also I had just planned to sell it ! So that puts a damper on it .ive had a ohana tk300 g for years with no humidifier(recently signed by Jake ) lol and it's fine.once again just kept in a gig bag not in a air right case like my Ameritage for the pineapple Sunday .

Also I just bought a humidifier from UU .a tad to late though.lol

I gotta jump in and comment about the "send it back" responses. I would not agree in this case, just because I'm looking at it from a possible different perspective.

The OP acknowledges the the warranty is void, so the only reasonable conclusion I can come up with for that recommendation is the track record of KoAloha CS. Well, there comes a time when track record in CS turns into "take advantage of the seller/builder/etc" then it becomes a lose money proposition to them.

If I was KoAloha, Kamaka, whomever, I would cringe each time I see recommendations like this. As a businessman, I cringed at each recommendation/suggestion/hint to send it back under warranty/free shipping/free repair because of the loss involved for KoAloha. Don't get me wrong, the company could be Kamaka, Kanilea, whomever, & I'd feel bad for them.

Will they address it? Of course they will.

No offense to the OP, but when I tell my clients don't keep the instrument in the car (for whatever reason), I don't expect to see it come back for heat damage. Yes, I do understand the heartache of the crack, and I do sympathize with you.

I also know this - with instruments, you get what you put into it. If you have bad mana, you get bad stuff that comes back. Hmmm, that's a good topic for a thread. . .

Aaron

Point well taken, Kekani.

Curious, OP, did you buy it new in Nov from KoAloha? If so, the warranty info that nongdam copied from their website--and I recall seeing it on there, too--is telling: if anyone buys a KoAloha from them, by all means, buy a humidifier from them. Even if you have a dozen already, it's a good faith gesture, and if someone buys one, they are more likely to use it. Particularly as it is specified in the warranty (can buy it anywhere, but shows that it was purchased if get it at the time of the uke purchase). I know this sounds a tad preachy, and I don;t intend it to be. That's just a wicked sweet uke, and everyone knows solids should be humidified (unless you live in a rain forest in Costa Rica), and the warranty is very specific about that point. That said, you owned up to it, and that's more than most would do. A+ for honesty, my fellow uker. And I recognize from your original post that you, personally, are not suggesting to send it to Koaloha.

So, what Kekani said is a reasonable consideration.

When I was a dumb 18 year old (as opposed to my current dumb 48 year old self), I bought Ray Ban aviators from LL Bean. They have a return policy: any reason, any time, for any product bought new from them that fails to meet up to the standards the purchaser expected from the product,no questions asked.

Well, I sat on the sunglasses. Put them on the couch, and a few minutes later, turned right around and sat my haunches directly on them. Mangled. I returned them. I guess my expectation was that a pair of wire framed aviators ought to support over 165 lbs. unscathed. LL Bean refunded my money, no questions asked. I feel very guilty about it to this very day. I was dead wrong. I never did such a thing again. I guess this follows along with what Kekani wrote. I'm sorry I did it.

What would I do: call KoAloha, or write them a nice letter, be as honest as you have been here, and let them decide who pays for shipping one or both ways, and how much they'll charge to repair it. Then, you have no guilt, and they will make it right, and even if it costs you some coin, you can sleep at night (unlike me and the sunglasses, which obviously still bothers me for what I did). They may surprise you in what they'll do for you, Tomahawk. But, even if they pay for shipping one way (e.g back to you), that's above and beyond considering the warranty. Cheers, all.

I agree with the last two posts. I don't think it would be right to expect the repair to be free. I recommended KoAloha to ensure the repair was done right based on my experience.

I know another luthier once posted that KoAloha was setting a bad example for other luthiers but this is a consideration in my purchases. Its the reason I purchase items from Costco too. I believe Nordstrom's also has a liberal return policy. Of course when I see people taking advantage of these stores I realize it costs me money in the long run.

Case in point. I watched a mom and her kid (kid was probably 10 or so) try to return a bike that had been trashed by years of abuse. She was returning it because one of the brakes had broken. She had the receipt that showed they purchased it three years before.

The person at the counter called a manager and he looked over the bike and said it was three years since the purchase but the lady really expected him to refund her the money. He reluctantly agreed and I was upset about it since I knew it would cost me eventually.

As long as the OP doesn't expect the repair/exchange to be free and is honest with KoAloha then it's fine. I think it differs slightly from the sunglasses story because that it is at least arguable the sunglasses were covered by warranty. KoAloha's warranty was actually voided.

Tomahawk said:

Also I just bought a humidifier from UU .a tad to late though.lol

Click to expand...

Lol I work at Costco ,know what u mean. And I don't care if I have to pay for shipping and all.i just want it done right you know..especially since I plan to sell.anyone know how long it takes for repairs from them.i know they are backed up.and busy with new as well ?

And no,I bought it from Island bazaar in huntington beach. Wish they would have tOld me to buy one then .i would have.not heir fault.i bought it out of the blue.drove down to get the girlfriend a beginner Uke for x-mas. And it was so purrrty lol.and great deal.wish I would have waited though

Based on your posts, and the way you write and your general tone, you seem like a young, honest and sincere guy, Tomahawk. I know I speak for us all when I say, best to you in the repair, and let us all know through a new thread how they repaired it and how it all turned out for you. Cheers, man.

Thanks man.i just sent them an email.and told them everything.ill post when they reply