sesame
Member
Hi all,
I'm buying my first ukulele and have decided on a Kala KA-T. I'm located in LA and am debating getting it from McCabe's or Island Bazaar, which have it for a similar price. There are a couple key differences which come down to initial set up, warranty, and trading it in for an upgrade, and I don't feel like I know enough about the uke to weigh these.
My main concern is the set up. Which store would have the better set up and would this set up compare to HMS? Island Bazaar says they set up the action on each instrument in advance but I'm not sure how much effort goes into this. McCabe's has a repair shop and I could possibly request the repair guys to look at the set up, although so far when I asked about set up, someone who said they hadn't played a uke in about 15 years played the Kala out of the box for a minute and said it was fine to take home as is. I called McCabe's a different time to ask about set up, and they said I could bring the uke in after owning it for a bit to have the set up adjusted based on my preferences, but I doubt I'd know if something was off.
Other differences:
McCabe's:
- Gives 70% of the purchased value for trading in and upgrading later.
- Smaller selection with higher prices if I want to upgrade (unsure if they will still negotiate/discount prices if you are upgrading).
- 3 year warranty with repairs done by their repair team.
Island Bazaar:
- Gives 100% of the purchased value for trading in and upgrading later.
- Larger selection with cheaper prices if I want to upgrade in the future.
- No store warranty on the uke (1 year limited from Kala - possibly paying return shipping?), although they said they'd make it right if something happened close to the time of purchase.
Any feedback, particularly on the set up and need for warranty, would be great! Is the KA-T one that I would likely want to upgrade in a couple years if I play regularly? Thanks!
I'm buying my first ukulele and have decided on a Kala KA-T. I'm located in LA and am debating getting it from McCabe's or Island Bazaar, which have it for a similar price. There are a couple key differences which come down to initial set up, warranty, and trading it in for an upgrade, and I don't feel like I know enough about the uke to weigh these.
My main concern is the set up. Which store would have the better set up and would this set up compare to HMS? Island Bazaar says they set up the action on each instrument in advance but I'm not sure how much effort goes into this. McCabe's has a repair shop and I could possibly request the repair guys to look at the set up, although so far when I asked about set up, someone who said they hadn't played a uke in about 15 years played the Kala out of the box for a minute and said it was fine to take home as is. I called McCabe's a different time to ask about set up, and they said I could bring the uke in after owning it for a bit to have the set up adjusted based on my preferences, but I doubt I'd know if something was off.
Other differences:
McCabe's:
- Gives 70% of the purchased value for trading in and upgrading later.
- Smaller selection with higher prices if I want to upgrade (unsure if they will still negotiate/discount prices if you are upgrading).
- 3 year warranty with repairs done by their repair team.
Island Bazaar:
- Gives 100% of the purchased value for trading in and upgrading later.
- Larger selection with cheaper prices if I want to upgrade in the future.
- No store warranty on the uke (1 year limited from Kala - possibly paying return shipping?), although they said they'd make it right if something happened close to the time of purchase.
Any feedback, particularly on the set up and need for warranty, would be great! Is the KA-T one that I would likely want to upgrade in a couple years if I play regularly? Thanks!