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

I've given a lot of thought to Kekani's post. I agree completely that to abuse a warantee is wrong. To expect Koaloha to honor their "better than the weather" warantee when a customer didn't keep their part of the bargain is a disservice. (I do believe, though, that Koaloha's warantee will eventually prove unsustainable. But, that's a story for another thread.) Eventually such abuse will cause harm to the company and in turn to the industry. That hurts us all. We, in this forum should never recommend abuse, as it has been described in this thread.

That being said, I stand by my original post, in which I said "Send it to Koaloha. If it's new, they'll probably cover it."

Here's why. Koaloha, who builds among the very best instruments coming out of Hawaii, has an obligation to their customers. If Tomahawk bought one of Koaloha's High end instruments, he must be able to expect some amount of assurance that Koaloha backs it up. The "better than the weather" thing is an added bonus for us Koaloha owners when we play by the rules. But, any reputable builder must stand by their work. When Koaloha sells a Pineapple Sunday and it develops a crack within a few short months, it shouldn't require the "better than the weather" feature. It is my opinion that they should repair the instrument, unless they believe it suffered some abuse.

The other end of the spectrum would be Tomahawk going to Koaloha twenty years from now and asking them to repair the same ukulele having still never humidified it, or demanding they repair it for free when it broke because he left it on top of the car and drove off. There's a lot of potential for abuse, but expecting a year of service out of one of the manufacturer's top instruments doesn't qualify as abuse.

If I was in Tomahawk's shoes, I would surely send it back. I would pay to ship it and wait to see what Koaloha agrees to do. If they charge for the repair, oh well. Live and learn. But I still think they'll probably take care of it.

Let me clarify what I mean by recommending you send it back...yes, they may cover it for you, which would be wonderful. But even if they don't, and charge you, I would still send it to them. I paid Kamaka $100 for the repair to my uke seam separation, and paid my own shipping costs of another $90. Even though the repair wasn't 100% successful, I still am glad I sent it to them instead of a local luthier. Whether KoAloha charges you or not, I would still send it to them. If it was my Pineapple Sunday I would't even consider letting someone else repair it.

I did email them.and told them I would pay for the shipping .not a problem. And asked what they thought about the whole situation. The crack is so small it just looks like a scratch in the koa .should be an easy fix.i just want it done right .and I feel Koaloha would be the best people to do so even if they charge me.i would post a pic.but my computer is down.just using the iPhone lol.but you can barely see it unless your looking real close.that being said I'm glad the Aldrine Guerrero Kanilea I ordered comes with a humidifier in the case plus the new oasis one I ordered will be here soon.
Also I'm starting to think when I put the koaloha in the shop to have the mi-si installed,since they wouldn't take my case.they just hung it up on the rack for a week or so.and who knows the humidity inside there shop ! Lol I knew I had a bad feeling leaving it there..all alone ..without me haha .could have affected it to

Still waiting for a reply from Koaloha .but after putting my 2 homemade humidifiers in the case for a couple days.the line seems virtually unnoticeable .looks like part of the grain.unless I glare at it up close.i was thinking...and forgive me thinking this..but..is it possible the shop sold it to me like this? I mean I only had it from the middle of November .and she did offer me a price of 1250. On a 1500 uke.without any haggling on my part.which I love to do.lol .i just admired it.and played it a bit...could it be possible they saw through my inexperience with high end ukes.and just wanted to get rid of it ? After all I did ask them if it was a Kamaka.haha and I was just there to buy my girlfriend a beginner uke. I've had my Ohana tenor koa for years and it's in perfect condition .drug it around with me all over in the gig bag(never had a humidifier!) feel like I may have been had.

Tomahawk said:

I mean I only had it (never had a humidifier!) feel like I may have been had.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't spend much time on that train of thought. $1250 is a fair street price for the uke. I've never dealt with Island Bazaar but I'd bet most retailers trying to maintain a business and reputation aren't in the practice of deception. Chalk up it up to "things happen", it's wood, karma, whatever. But questioning ethics without much proof isn't healthy for you or fair to, my impression, a hard working business.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Well your right they probably didn't intend to. But I realized I took pictures of it the first day I bought it.so pulled them up.and it's as I thought.when I zoom in on it you can see the line in the same spot on multiple pics I think I'm going to take it back to island bazaar and explain the situation .and show them the pics.hopefully we can work something out.

Tomahawk, my future fear--if it wasn't repaired--is that it would split further along the soundboard, sort of like a car windshield with a chip will eventually develop a long crack. Additionally, it may vibrate and "buzz" if it opens further.

Now I feel like such a clown for posting this thread.i should have inspected the thing with a fine tooth comb before purchase.i guess I was just to excited about the deal .i have multiple really nice guitars now since about 1996.and I'd say I'm pretty good at taking care of my things.i should have know I didn't have a brain fart on my favorite new instrument.haha I'm just hoping it isn't going to be a hassle.they really did seem very cool people.keep your fingers crossed for me.and thanks again for all the input everybody.

Don't feel bad for seeking advice. Contacting the seller seems reasonable. Good luck.

Just curious... do you know about when the uke was made? Is the pineapple texture embossed or laser-cut on the soundboard? On the PS (and Sceptre, I think) Koaloha doesn't make establishing dates easy although you can estimate based on design choices like bridge, tuners and top treatment.

bdukes said:

On the PS (and Sceptre, I think) Koaloha doesn't make establishing dates easy although you can estimate based on design choices like bridge, tuners and top treatment.

Click to expand...

Or, in my case, I called KoAloha with a question, and was put through to Brian immediately. I told him where and when I bought my Sceptre, and he told me what month it was made. he knew right off the top of his head when Smiley and Janet at Ukulele source had received the Sceptre, and answered every question i had, without hesitation.

And told me to come visit, the next time I make it to Hawaii. (Hopefully I'll make it back...)

Embossed ?not really sure what that means. Which I could upload pics from my I phone.my computer is down

Tomahawk said:

Embossed ?not really sure what that means. Which I could upload pics from my I phone.my computer is down

Click to expand...

The embossed feels like it is carved onto the wood, the laser etching is a finer cut and more even. Sorry for not having a better description. Here is a photo to describe what I mean, embossed on the left, etched on the right.


I don't think that Island Bazaar would have ripped you off. They are a very reputable seller and that doesn't think like something they would do. Good luck to you in getting everything fixed though.

hmmm. my uke looks more like the darker one on the left,but id say its laser etching like like on the right. def. doesnt feel carved.. but my bridge is dif. from both of them? its rectangular like the lighter one.but has crown shapes of the sides.. yeah and your right,im sure they werent tryin to rip me off. but still they did sell me a faulty Uke...like i said the line is so small it could pass as the grain. i my self didnt notice for months till i recently changed the strings.if held from a slight angle you cant really see it at all.and im 34 and have perfect vision..they probably just didnt notice either. but man good thing i took pics when i bought it..plus i believe i bought insurance on it if memory serves. im sure they will be cool about it..what sucks is even if they refund my money. or alow me to trade for something close.. i now loose out on my Mi-Si pickup which was 220 to install with the volume n tone controls. and the Ameritage case i bought online for about 200 as well.because being that the uke was damaged at the time of purchase.idont want to have spent 1670.on a refurbished Uke! lol right ... i mean who would.. id rather just get most of my money back and sell the case.just take a hit on the Mi-Si...or take atrade for a nice tenor uke with case.even if their not as collectable as the pineapple sunday. because i doubt they will have another one...would be cool! but very rare.haha.think im going to call out sick and go see them tomorrow..this is just bothering me to much to wait.if i was daddy warBuicks i could deal with it better . lol

Tell us what you find out in person. And, don't punch anyone in the kisser over it.

Lol no punching.im a lover not a fighter.and since I've spent about 2gs there since November (multiple visits ) I don't think they would want me to take my business elsewhere

O.k so here what happened! I took it back to island bazaar. And showed them the pics,told them everything.they inspected it and they lady Sally thought it could be from the pickup because the line was in the center.and adding the pickup voids the warranty ...also they pics I took of it originally had no date on my phone and the pics don't show the bottom of the uke.so you can't see the pickup wasn't there. ... So I was almost s.o.l. ..However ! I also had the volume and tone controls installed w/the pickup. And it was very clear in the pics.that you couldn't see the knobs from the volume and tone controls.on the pics I have after the pickup.they are present!!
Soooo she had Her Personal !pineapple Sunday there !and offered to trade ! Can you believe that ! I told them I didn't want a refurbished uke if koaloha fixes it. That's when she offered hers. I really felt bad about her giving up her personal Ukulele.and offered to just take a trade of a different Uke !but she said it would hurt her inventory .and she never plays the thing.they asked me about the pickup.and I told them I didn't care about it.id just rather have an unaffected uke. .so I took her up on the new P.S ! I give Sally and Island Bazaar ! 10 thumbs up if I had them !!! Sally is amazing!
I did make sure I emailed her the picks I had so that she could show them to Koaloha! Who by the way still hasn't responded to my emails..this time I don't plan to install a pickup. Thank you to Sally from island bazaar !! They are Awesome!!

I'm glad it all worked out for you, that was above and beyond for Sallly. BTW, the KoAloha guys are in Japan right now. That could be why you haven't gotten an email back yet.

Thank the gods I put the volume and tone controls in right !

Not so wicked woman,
I have always been curious and since you own both: how does the body size of the PS compare to the Koaloha tenor?

wickedwahine11 said:

I'm glad it all worked out for you, that was above and beyond for Sallly. BTW, the KoAloha guys are in Japan right now. That could be why you haven't gotten an email back yet.

Click to expand...

Yes it was amazing for her.even gave me a new set of worth browns to replace the new strings I put on ! I really did try to talk her out of it though.and just grab another uke from the wall.that was relatively close to what I paid.i even stayed there for about half an hour.telling her I felt to bad about.taking hers. But she didn't want to effect her inventory.which I understand . So yeah. They are getting all of my business from now on.and I'll refer everyone I know to Island Bazaar !!