UKE Republic

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I have purchased two ukes from the Republic: A Pono ATD and a Ko'Aloha KTM-00. Both arrived very quickly (less than 10 days)) and were both well set up.

I have also purchased a lot of Living Waters tenor strings form him. They usually arrive in less than a week.

Sorry you had a bad experience Allen S.
 
AQUATOPAZ said:
I do have 2 qualms about their website. The first is that models always seem to "coming soon", and the second is that, unlike Mim, laminates are listed as the species of wood, with no mention of them being laminates. Yes, we all know that only solid means not laminated, but not everyone does. A buyer should never be surprised by receiving a laminate when they don't now how they are labeled.
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I would agree with this. There was a hard to find uke I really wanted that was "coming soon". Mike was very nice and communicative the whole time but "coming soon" turned into more than 9 months. I gave up when I finally found the uke from another vendor. My thought is that if a uke is not in stock, it shouldn't be listed for sale. At the very least, if you are going to list something as "coming soon" you should be certain that it will be in stock in 1-3 weeks. That wasn't the only time I was interested in a "coming soon" uke from their site. The laminate listing thing is something multiple dealers are guilty of so it's not unique to Uke Republic. I'd list a 3rd qualm which may just be a personal thing but I don't like the scattered way the ukes are shown and how you have to scroll down the page to the blank space wondering if any more listings are going to show up or not.

On the good side, I did order a uke that was actually in stock and the communication was great, it was shipped very quickly and it was set up very nicely. I couldn't have been happier with the whole experience. I'd order from them again if I was in the hunt and they had what I wanted in stock.
 
I think my tendency is to praise in a public forum, and to offer criticism directly to the individual/company. To date, I have purchased a few things from all of the big vendors, and am waiting on the Hydra to show up from Ortega at Uke Republic (Ortega pulled most of if not all of the first batch due to quality control issues). I feel bad about the couple of bad experiences that others have had--it's been nothing but good for me.

But herein lies the fact that we are blessed to have a few good ukulele-only companies, including Uke Republic, Mim's Ukes, and The Ukulele Site (not to mention Southern Ukulele Store in the UK). At the same time, there have been a few public complaints about each of these stores here on UU. I would guess that each of these companies just have to do their best and accept that they aren't going to make everyone happy all the time, even if they offer a customer their money back.

And in the light of the current thread, I agree that Uke Republic's website (particularly the storefront) could benefit from a redesign, and that the clear leader in that aspect is The Ukulele Site...but you wouldn't want to (and probably couldn't...there's just too much content) copy that site, either. When I search for a ukulele, I want to be able to search by company, scale, wood construction, and cost. Uke Republic's seemingly never ending flow as I scroll down just isn't a very efficient way for me to search for a ukulele. To be fair, searching by brand on Uke Republic is fine most of the time (except for Kala, which has 18,000 models), but it could be better--in my opinion.
 
My experience echoes Choirboy's. I've purchased ukes from many of the major online sellers. The majority have been excellent, with a few duds. The duds were all returned with no hassle. I'd feel good recommending any of the major online sellers that I've dealt with (Mim, HMS, Uke Republic, Elderly). I've also made two purchases of used ukes from Reverb that were positive.
 
I also agree with Choirboy, if there is a problem then consult directly with vendor. Did you thank them for their repair attempt and try to return it with your complaints? Those are expensive! At least give them a chance to respond. This is a repeat customer industry and am sure they are not trying to piss anyone off on purpose.
 
Alan S said:
I am going to have go contrary to the general opinion on UKE republic. The Kiwaya KTS4 I bought from them was very badly set up with loads of problems. Lots of buzzing throughout the instrument, weak tone and volume (saddle set to low). It was pretty much unplayable.

After a number of email exchanges (and pretty bizarre advice from Mike) I sent it back to get fixed. Mike claimed all was well and even sent a seven second video clip to prove it. It wasn't, and after more email exchanges they replaced the saddle with a new Kiwaya saddle at the factory set height. When I received it back it was better... but only about half fixed. I have a strong suspicion they also screwed up the nut and that was not fixed. A point of interest is I had Martin M600 strings on it when I sent it back to UKE republic and when I received it back it was strung up with generic no name nylon strings with the Martin M600's in a bag (or course the Martins are unusable as they where already cut). That made me very suspicious about the nut. In one of the emails Mike claimed I was using strings that with too thin of a gauge (which pretty much means no fluorocarbons can be used). I'm guessing they screwed up the nut by cutting the slots too wide (and possibly to low) and they strung it up with thicker gauge nylon to cover it up. I will give fluorocarbons another try in the next week or two with some worth clears (on order) but I fully expect bad things to happen. Things are already getting worse on the G string as the nylon stretches out.

There set up was a complete amateur hack job. I have pretty much given up on UKE republic actually fixing what they broke.I will have to try and find someone local to build a new nut. I certainly will not be a repeat costumer.
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Alan,
that sucks. I don't blame you for not going back. I've met Mike and Donna many times, but have never purchased from them. I heard that he was kind of rude to Mim, and that tore it for me. Mim and I are friends. (I'm one of about a thousand friends she has, LOL)
I do know several people who have ukes from Republic, and he treated them all pretty well.
 
Alan S said:
I am going to have go contrary to the general opinion on UKE republic. The Kiwaya KTS4 I bought from them was very badly set up with loads of problems. Lots of buzzing throughout the instrument, weak tone and volume (saddle set to low). It was pretty much unplayable.

After a number of email exchanges (and pretty bizarre advice from Mike) I sent it back to get fixed. Mike claimed all was well and even sent a seven second video clip to prove it. It wasn't, and after more email exchanges they replaced the saddle with a new Kiwaya saddle at the factory set height. When I received it back it was better... but only about half fixed. I have a strong suspicion they also screwed up the nut and that was not fixed. A point of interest is I had Martin M600 strings on it when I sent it back to UKE republic and when I received it back it was strung up with generic no name nylon strings with the Martin M600's in a bag (or course the Martins are unusable as they where already cut). That made me very suspicious about the nut. In one of the emails Mike claimed I was using strings that with too thin of a gauge (which pretty much means no fluorocarbons can be used). I'm guessing they screwed up the nut by cutting the slots too wide (and possibly to low) and they strung it up with thicker gauge nylon to cover it up. I will give fluorocarbons another try in the next week or two with some worth clears (on order) but I fully expect bad things to happen. Things are already getting worse on the G string as the nylon stretches out.

There set up was a complete amateur hack job. I have pretty much given up on UKE republic actually fixing what they broke.I will have to try and find someone local to build a new nut. I certainly will not be a repeat costumer.
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Alan, If it didn’t meet your standards why didn’t you just send it back for a refund. This falls more on you than Uke Republic.
 
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tomthebaptist said:
Alan, If it didn’t meet your standards why didn’t you just send it back for a refund. This falls more on you than Uke Republic.
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Some people are just really nice and try to have faith problems can get fixed. If Alan had to pay return shipping after having it "fixed", I can understand why they would choose to take it to a luthier instead. That would in no way make it "on them". The cost and hassle of returning things which are not up to snuff can dissuade many, and doesn't lessen a retailer's responsibility to have gotten it right to begin with. Mistakes do happen, and it is the retailer's responsibility to make it right.
 
AQUATOPAZ said:
Some people are just really nice and try to have faith problems can get fixed. If Alan had to pay return shipping after having it "fixed", I can understand why they would choose to take it to a luthier instead. That would in no way make it "on them". The cost and hassle of returning things which are not up to snuff can dissuade many, and doesn't lessen a retailer's responsibility to have gotten it right to begin with. Mistakes do happen, and it is the retailer's responsibility to make it right.
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Several years ago I purchased and received a concert ukulele fro UR. It didn’t meet my expectations I returned it and Mike made full refund and even offered to include shipping.
 
Also had issues, but once I got through to them (it took a few tries) they rectified the issue. I have no problem buying from them again.
 
tomthebaptist said:
Several years ago I purchased and received a concert ukulele fro UR. It didn’t meet my expectations I returned it and Mike made full refund and even offered to include shipping.
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I have purchased from them and had no problems and speedy shipment and if I had received a ukulele with problems I too would have asked for a refund rather than be as kind as Alan ad allow them to fix it. I can't be bothered with a back and forth.However, Alan, apparently being more patient and gracious than me, did try to have the unsatisfactory uke fixed rather than just asking for a refund. It is COMPLETELY absurd to suggest that, because he gave them a chance to fix it rather than just saying give me a refund, it now "falls more on him".
 
tomthebaptist said:
Alan, If it didn’t meet your standards why didn’t you just send it back for a refund. This falls more on you than Uke Republic.
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I did send it back. They found a small nick in the head stock. I never saw it and didn't even know it was there. I have no idea if it was there when I got it or if it was done on my end. Several people did play it in the few weeks I had it before it got sent back. it is a pretty small nick and I would have probably never seen it if it hadn't been pointed out to me, but it appears that was enough for UKE republic to refuse a refund or exchange (I had requested a refund or an exchange for a new instrument with no set up on there end, which is probably good advice for any instrument moving into the professional range).

The end result is I paid a good amount of money for an instrument that still has problems, even after a fix by UKE republic, and they are taking no responsibility for it.
 
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Alan S said:
I did send it back. They found a small nick in the head stock. I never saw it and didn't even know it was there. I have no idea if it was there when I got it or if it was done on my end. Several people did play it in the few weeks I had it before it got sent back. it is a pretty small nick and I would have probably never seen it if it hadn't been pointed out to me, but it appears that was enough for UKE republic to refuse a refund or exchange (I had requested a refund or an exchange for a new instrument with no set up on there end, which is probably good advice for any instrument moving into the professional range).

A big problem I have with UKE republic is Mike simple refused to actually admit there was a problem and that they screwed up the set up. They did, but for him it was all subjective and personal preference. It's not. Weak tone with low volume and lots of string buzz (which is how I received it) means the strings are set to low. His advice not to use standard fluorocarbon strings because they are to small of a gauge tells me they screwed up the nut (that's the part they didn't fix and is much harder to fix then simply replacing the saddle). If you can't admit a mistake you never learn and you certainly can't really fix mistakes.
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Since there is only one side of the story being heard I'll address this for the complete story.
When we received the first email I was certainly concerned and wanted to find the best solution because Alan expressed that he liked the instrument but was having buzzing. We set the instrument up before shipping with no buzzing so I wanted to check on some of the more obvious reasons you would get a buzz post set up.

The advice I gave was that Alan change his attack on the strings, he might have been playing hard and Kiwaya KTS-4 is a wonderful very responsive instrument. Alan also had changed to Martin fluoro strings that are a narrower gauge than the stock strings. Thinner strings in a nut slot originally meant for thicker strings(Factory Kiwaya strings) can buzz so I recommended changing strings.( Not all fluoro carbon strings are the same gauge. The nut on this one has not been altered despite Alan's suspicion.

Alan didn't want to do these things and wanted to return for exchange or refund. Uke Republic paid the shipping with a return label. Alan returned it with an obvious nick on the back of the headstock so we can't replace or refund when an instrument is damaged.

I tested the instrument playing various attack, heavy, medium and lite. The buzzing could only be heard if I played hard over the sound hole from the E string. I recommended once again changing strings but he declined but wanted to have it set to standard factory saddle instead and so we did. Guess what? It still buzzed when played hard on the E. strings were too narrow. I didn't offer to fill the nut slot and file so it could accommodate his thinner string as he only wanted factory settings - no setup.

I decided to replace the strings he had installed with closest to original strings Daddario Titanium strings. Result- No buzzing on Alans Kiwaya.

I've never felt a fault with volume as Kiwaya makes beautiful full sounding sopranos.

Conclusion: Alan may require a differen't set up to use certain strings, Alan might want to try a less aggressive attack when playing.
The instrument once again played great with the string change and we paid to ship it back to him in a new box.

Why would we set up a premium instrument like a Kiwaya some may ask? Generally instruments are shipped from all over the world (Kiwaya are made in Japan) using a cargo vessel, trucking and plane then stored in a warehouse. The varying effect of so many environmental changes can include, frets moving, strings going bad, tuners coming loose and more. We as professionals at Uke Republic take the time time to address, remedy and dial in the tone by means of a set up. This is done to insure a great playing ukulele.

Thanks everyone for all your positive remarks and support- Mike
 
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So good to hear your side of the story Mike. I know I purchased an RC Replica in Los Angeles, and they have a low action. It buzzed while I learned how to play that action - much less buzzing now with more practice.
 
I've purchased a couple of instruments from Uke Republic, and both were great. I've visited the Uke Republic store in Austell, GA on multiple occasions and have always been welcomed there more like a friend than a customer. I've known Mike and Donna for half-a-dozen years now, hung out with them on the field at UWC and at Summer NAMM in Nashville, and I'm proud to count them among my friends. They're good folks and they work hard to provide good service. Sometimes things can go wrong, but I know they'll always do their best to make things right!
 
Uke Republic said:
Since there is only one side of the story being heard I'll address this for the complete story.
When we received the first email I was certainly concerned and wanted to find the best solution because Alan expressed that he liked the instrument but was having buzzing. We set the instrument up before shipping with no buzzing so I wanted to check on some of the more obvious reasons you would get a buzz post set up.

The advice I gave was that Alan change his attack on the strings, he might have been playing hard and Kiwaya KTS-4 is a wonderful very responsive instrument. Alan also had changed to Martin fluoro strings that are a narrower gauge than the stock strings. Thinner strings in a nut slot originally meant for thicker strings(Factory Kiwaya strings) can buzz so I recommended changing strings.( Not all fluoro carbon strings are the same gauge. The nut on this one has not been altered despite Alan's suspicion.

Alan didn't want to do these things and wanted to return for exchange or refund. Uke Republic paid the shipping with a return label. Alan returned it with an obvious nick on the back of the headstock so we can't replace or refund when an instrument is damaged.

I tested the instrument playing various attack, heavy, medium and lite. The buzzing could only be heard if I played hard over the sound hole from the E string. I recommended once again changing strings but he declined but wanted to have it set to standard factory saddle instead and so we did. Guess what? It still buzzed when played hard on the E. strings were too narrow. I didn't offer to fill the nut slot and file so it could accommodate his thinner string as he only wanted factory settings - no setup.

I decided to replace the strings he had installed with closest to original strings Daddario Titanium strings. Result- No buzzing on Alans Kiwaya.

I've never felt a fault with volume as Kiwaya makes beautiful full sounding sopranos.

Conclusion: Alan may require a differen't set up to use certain strings, Alan might want to try a less aggressive attack when playing.
The instrument once again played great with the string change and we paid to ship it back to him in a new box.

Why would we set up a premium instrument like a Kiwaya some may ask? Generally instruments are shipped from all over the world (Kiwaya are made in Japan) using a cargo vessel, trucking and plane then stored in a warehouse. The varying effect of so many environmental changes can include, frets moving, strings going bad, tuners coming loose and more. We as professionals at Uke Republic take the time time to address, remedy and dial in the tone by means of a set up. This is done to insure a great playing ukulele.

Thanks everyone for all your positive remarks and support- Mike
Click to expand...

Well crap, talk about a tall tale...... where do I even start......

First off I do hope it is true that you didn't do anything to the nut, but after reading the above post your ability to tell the true is somewhat suspect.

First off, I pretty much never play over the sound hole so that part of the story is of no value.

Something I very much understated was just how weak the tone and volume was when I received it, and this is an instrument noted for its tone and volume. I have played entry level Ohana's that sounded better. I was not familiar with the strings in came with so after a week changed the strings to the Martin M600's. It was a string set I was familiar with so I thought I could get a better handle on what was happening. Still very weak tone and volume along with some extra string buzz. That is when I contacted Uke republic. This thing wasn't working.

What I got initially was a whole lot of run around (I have all the emails saved). Eventually they took the instrument back to take a look at it. Of course at first they claimed all was good along with a seven second video to prove the point. Even from a the very short video I could hear the signature weak tone. I simply refused to accept their evaluation. What they did do (after refusing a refund or exchange) is change the saddle to the original factory setting, and the tone and volume are much better. The difference is pretty dramatic. Yes it is not as easy to play, especially up the neck, but that is expected on a professional level instrument. I have been playing stringed instruments for over fifty years, at times professionally (though on a Mandolin) so I know how things work.

Uke republic didn't just tweak it out a bit from possible changes when shipping, they significantly changed the string height which killed the tone, and then refused to admit there was a problem. Getting them to fix it was something akin to having a root canal.

Hey Mike, I really didn't want to take it this far. I made one post and answered one question that came up and as far as I was concerned that was the end of it. Your post forced my hand.
 
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Alan S said:
Well crap, talk about a tall tale...... where do I even start......

First off I do hope it is true that you didn't do anything to the nut, but after reading the above post your ability to tell the true is somewhat suspect.

First off, I pretty much never play over the sound hole so that part of the story is of no value.

Something I very much understated was just how weak the tone and volume was when I received it, and this is an instrument noted for its tone and volume. I have played entry level Ohana's that sounded better. I was not familiar with the strings in came with so after a week changed the strings to the Martin M600's. It was a string set I was familiar with so I thought I could get a better handle on what was happening. Still very weak tone and volume along with some extra string buzz. That is when I contacted Uke republic. This thing wasn't working.

What I got initially was a whole lot of run around (I have all the emails saved). Eventually they took the instrument back to take a look at it. Of course at first they claimed all was good along with a seven second video to prove the point. Even from a the very short video I could hear the signature weak tone. I simply refused to accept their evaluation. What they did do (after refusing a refund or exchange) is change the saddle to the original factory setting, and the tone and volume are much better. The difference is pretty dramatic. Yes it is not as easy to play, especially up the neck, but that is expected on a professional level instrument. I have been playing stringed instruments for over fifty years, at times professionally (though on a Mandolin) so I know how things work.

Uke republic didn't just tweak it out a bit from possible changes when shipping, they significantly changed the string height which killed the tone, and then refused to admit there was a problem. Getting them to fix it was something akin to having a root canal.

Hey Mike, I really didn't want to take it this far. I made one post and answered one question that came up and as far as I was concerned that was the end of it. Your post forced my hand.
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In all fairness, you did leave out some significant details in your original post. You returned the uke after 2 weeks (most retailers will only accept return requests within a week, despite this they still sent you a prepaid label, and the returned uke had a nick in the headstock (which retailer would accept a damaged uke for a return or exchange? What are they supposed to do with it? Sell at a discount?). Uke Republic paid shipping 3 times and shipping supplies twice. You sent back a damaged uke. Objectively, who do you think really sounds more sympathetic?
 
Uke Republic said:
I tested the instrument playing various attack, heavy, medium and lite. The buzzing could only be heard if I played hard over the sound hole from the E string. I recommended once again changing strings but he declined but wanted to have it set to standard factory saddle instead and so we did. Guess what? It still buzzed when played hard on the E. strings were too narrow. I didn't offer to fill the nut slot and file so it could accommodate his thinner string as he only wanted factory settings - no setup.
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Why Uke Republic has not brought it back to factory set up straight away? That is simple. Because Uke Republic has changed action. And Kiwaya's set up and quality control is very good reputation here in Japan. Why Uku Republic need to check buzz, tone and volume, string and attack? The ukulele had been changed action by Uku Republic, and customer has claimed. We need it back to factory set up first. It is not only ukulele but also Macintosh, Windows and even smartphones. Why not? These inspections may bring them big argument.
 
Alan S said:
Hey Mike, I really didn't want to take it this far. I made one post and answered one question that came up and as far as I was concerned that was the end of it. Your post forced my hand.
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Alan, I have to admit that I like all of the super dealers, including Uke Republic. But I also think you need to be honest about your intent in posting--which was to publicly complain about Uke Republic. You restarted discussion in a threat that had been inactive for four months, and at the time, I believe you only had one other post on the forums...so if you're honest, the entire intent was to bring negative attention to Uke Republic.

You have every right to do so, I guess--but others certainly have the right to state their opinions on the matter (it's a forum), and if the company wishes to respond, as Mim, Mike (Uke Republic), and Andrew (Ukulele Site) will do from time to time when a customer makes a complaint in a public forum. And it's pretty clear that when they do, the person that posted about the issue is never happy about the fact that the company responds in a public forum.

At this point, I'd simply ask Mike if he will take back the ukulele, and order your Kiwaya from another dealer, because I don't think Uke Republic is going to be able to make you happy. This happens in life...people make mistakes and some relationships just don't work out. Move on, and find that aloha spirit again.
 
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