Can we talk plastic ukes again? Or very cheap laminates perhaps?

[Mivo]

Perhaps the way to go is to buy a nice-playing USED laminate for cheap. Then if and when the glue fails from the environmental stress, buy another nice-playing USED laminate for cheap.

For myself, I think I'm somewhat decided to give up that quest. I have a number of good quality ukuleles that I enjoy playing, and I don't actually want to spend recreation time on ukes that are just about adequate, but that don't really speak to me. I mean, I don't have to have a ukulele sitting around wherever I am. There is plenty of other things I could do that'll help my ukulele playing, e.g. rhythm practice with a metronome app, visualizing the fretboard, finger stretching exercises, etc.).

But I also don't travel much, so I spend a great deal of time at the house where the good quality ukuleles are. If I did spend a lot of time away from home (my office is in my house, so no commuting), I'd either get a mid-range uke with a solid top and laminate side, pretty much what you plan, or I'd go overboard and buy a Blackbird Clara as you get high quality and high resilience in one package.

 

[jollyboy]

... or I'd go overboard and buy a Blackbird Clara as you get high quality and high resilience in one package.

Honestly, if I bought a Clara I would never let it out of the house

All of this has got me itching to buy a beater myself now. I live right by the ocean and keep saying that I should take a uke with me down to the beach. I'm thinking a Kala long-neck soprano...

 

[Rllink]

You specifically highlighted the line about gotaukulele in your reply.

So I did, my bad. Didn't intend to point my finger at anyone in particular. All the same, there are a lot of internet experts that don't know what they are talking about.

 

[igorthebarbarian]

It's the Internet - we're all Experts! haha!

So I did, my bad. Didn't intend to point my finger at anyone in particular. All the same, there are a lot of internet experts that don't know what they are talking about.

 

[Booli]

So I did, my bad. Didn't intend to point my finger at anyone in particular. All the same, there are a lot of internet experts that don't know what they are talking about.

Methinks that hands-on with over 200 ukes, spanning across at least a 10 yr period, it is IMHO that Baz has the qualifications and experience to tell us if a uke is junk or worth our time and money.

I find his reviews balanced and informative.

Maybe your own personal bias is completely opposed to his and that is why you cannot appreciate his reviews?

 

[Booli]

It's the Internet - we're all Experts! haha!

It's all fun and games until someone's good reputation gets damaged by a careless off-hand comment.

Then it becomes a war-zone.

As UU members age into-and-beyond elderly status, I am more frequently seeing signs of dementia here and there. Not a pandemic, but the edges are starting to fray...ld:

 

[Mivo]

Methinks that hands-on with over 200 ukes, spanning across at least a 10 yr period, it is IMHO that Baz has the qualifications and experience to tell us if a uke is junk or worth our time and money.

I'm sure the Waterman that he reviewed would have been worth my time and money. The Waterman I bought after watching the review however was utter junk and not worth my money and time. Referring to the previously linked thread, that wasn't an isolated experience.

I don't blame Baz for this, since it's clear that the instrument he played in the review was usable. But what I take from this is that I can't use other people's reviews to base purchase decisions on, especially if the reviewed instruments were supplied by the manufacturer or a store (I don't know if that's the case, here).

 

[Booli]

... But what I take from this is that I can't use other people's reviews to base purchase decisions on...

For me, a review is merely one of several data points. If it is your ONLY data point, then methinks you'll be dissatisfied more often than not.

...especially if the reviewed instruments were supplied by the manufacturer or a store (I don't know if that's the case, here).

Baz has openly stated that he refuses compensation or to give shill reviews. Some ukes he reviews he has purchased himself, others are on loan from a local store, such as Omega Music or SUS, and others are sent directly from a distributor/manufacturer...

it's all a mixture, there's no conspiracy afoot that I can tell, in order to send him 'perfect specimens' all the time

- what he DOES say all the time, is that with CHEAPO ukes, and those that are never touched by human hands after sealed at the factory, is that quality control varies WIDELY...and that the unit in HIS hands may NOT be indicative of the unit sent to YOU...(or something to that effect)

He has said this more times than I can count since watching his reviews going back as far as 2012.

The take-away is CAVEAT EMPTOR.

I personally would never buy a Waterman or any other uke that has only 12 frets. I have songs I've written that require at least 16 frets, and would be unable to play them with a shorter fretboard.

I played a Waterman last year and was unimpressed. Other than the so-called 'tribute' that Kala has done to the Macaferri and TV Pal plastic ukes of yesterday, I dont see the point other than as a throw-away for a toddler to bash around with and MAYBE be somewhat playable.

For the same money the Makala Dolphin and Shark ukes have been getting much better feedback, ONLY after the proper setup such as provided by Uke Republic and others.

Another member also previously said here in this thread how the Dolphin/Shark ukes allow the end-user to tweak the nut and saddle, and like you and other said previously the Waterman, being all-plastic, not so much.

So, instead of preaching to the choir, or regurgitating what others have said...I'll just let this be. :shaka:

 

[Mivo]

But I'm not accusing him of being a shill or being compensated by those supplying the instruments. I like Baz, I enjoy his videos, and I appreciate the work he puts into the site. He's also entertaining and fun.

What I do consider is that companies might have a vested interest in providing him, or any reviewer, with properly set up instruments or ukes of a production model that were handpicked. It could have been luck, but I find that less likely an explanation for the rather glaring discrepancy between what he reviewed and what I, and apparently others, bought. To me, this isn't about Baz, but about reviews of instruments that weren't bought in a random store. The review just didn't tell me what is worth my money or time, but it's really a general issue with reviews of "things" whose quality may differ from item to item.

I wasn't disappointed with Baz, just with Kala -- and I won't buy or recommend their products again. In the end, it was just a loss of €45, which isn't a terrible price for a lesson that may save me much more down the road. (And I knew better than buying a plastic uke anyway.)

 

[manfromtexas]

I also have a Waterman that was tossed aside in frustration sitting in my closet right now.

The Bugsgear concert ended up being the eventual replacement and it's been everything that I was hoping the Waterman was going to be. It's a good un for its purpose.

The Kala Ukadelic series is another good beater laminate option along the lines of the Shark/Dolphin. I have a well traveled one that I would pick up and play just as readily as the Bugsgear.

 

[Booli]

But I'm not accusing him of being a shill or being compensated by those supplying the instruments....

Sorry if what I had said inferred or made you think that this was how I read your previous comment. I do not have the opinion that you called him a shill, but I was just putting it out there (and shooting it down) since it's not too far a leap...

I agree with most of what you had said above, with the exception about Kala in general.

My first uke that I 'bought' was a Kala KA-T that I got at local retail. It was fine out of the box, save for the action being a bit high, which I remedied by replacing the saddle with a shorter one. Intonation was +/- 5 cents which until I got a Flea, had no idea was bad. After the Flea with it's near-perfect intonation and getting my ear used to that, I could not play the KA-T as it was shipped. It was like nails on a chalkboard with the intonation being off.

I adjusted the nut slots each individually LOWER with a hacksaw blade, and ever since (this was over 2 yrs ago) the intonation's perfect up to the 10th fret, and +/- 1 cent beyond that. Now very close to my Flea and Fluke ukes.

Later on, I even installed a Mi-Si pickup in the KA-T. I've had no issues with it whatsoever. Now, nearly 3 yrs later it seems to have 'opened up'. This was my ONLY uke for about 6 months, and I played on that thing for at LEAST 2 hrs per day for those 6 months.

Also MANY other folks, who are not professional reviewers, but mere plebian UU brothers & sister here have bought plenty of $100+ Kala ukes and been VERY happy with them. most notable are the Cedar/Acacia/Padauk models 'KA-ATP-xx', which coincidentally are purchased from HMS, Mim, Uke Republic, and do a full inspection and setup before shipping of each instrument 'for free'. Folks have consistently said that these ukes both sound and play WAY above their pay-grade.

I played the tenor version of the KA-ATP last year, and if I had the cash I would have taken it home with me right at that moment.

SO, my point is that there may be a difference between lets say a random Kala bought off ebay or Amazon vs. one of the aforementioned vendors, vs. one that was cherry-picked and sent to someone famous for doing reviews, but I think it's unfair to write-off the entire brand when there is tons of evidence that in fact MOST of their ukes are not a waste of time and money.

Sorry you got burned on your Waterman. But to me, buying such a non-adjustable uke is truly the luck of the draw - no different than playing blackjack at a Casino. Some you win, some you lose. I dont enjoy such risks where total failure has a 50% or greater chance of kicking my ar$e. YMMV

 

[Rllink]

Methinks that hands-on with over 200 ukes, spanning across at least a 10 yr period, it is IMHO that Baz has the qualifications and experience to tell us if a uke is junk or worth our time and money.

I find his reviews balanced and informative.

Maybe your own personal bias is completely opposed to his and that is why you cannot appreciate his reviews?

Booli, I said that I did not intend to point the finger at anyone in particular. What else do you want me to say? Sorry I got mixed up and highlighted his site. It was a mistake. But that does not change my opinion that there are a lot of people on the internet who claim to be experts, who don't know what they are talking about. Do you disagree? So you think that anyone and everyone who gets on the internet knows what they are talking about and we should blindly accept them as experts in whatever field they chose to pontificate on?

 

[Booli]

Booli, I said that I did not intend to point the finger at anyone in particular. What else do you want me to say? Sorry I got mixed up and highlighted his site. It was a mistake. But that does not change my opinion that there are a lot of people on the internet who claim to be experts, who don't know what they are talking about. Do you disagree? So you think that anyone and everyone who gets on the internet knows what they are talking about and we should blindly accept them as experts in whatever field they chose to pontificate on?

No, in general I do not disagree with you. I did not mean to put too fine a point on this topic and sorry if it came across that way. Please accept my apology, I do not want to create friction here.

I think that Baz is 'one of the good guys' and since all his effort is due to his love of ukulele, and he makes consistent and meaningful contributions to the ukulele community.

It upsets me when some folks seem to misunderstand him or say bad things about him and his contributions.

I feel that he deserves some merit and recognition without being lumped in with the 'so-called' or 'self-proclaimed' experts who have in fact done little-to-nothing to have such a label.

Yes there are many folks on YT that will speak for 45 minutes or more, pretending to be 'experts' but after watching said videos, the take-away is nothing more than feeling like you got sucked into a black hole, with nothing to show for it but lost time, and no education or information that is actually useful.

I wont name names, but there are many more of these folks than there are 'actual' qualified experts, so I can truly see where you are coming from...

So Rollie...I am grateful for the civilized discussion, but I have no intent of further harping on this point. No worries, ok brother?.

 

[jollyboy]

On the subject of Baz - has anyone else noticed that he has exactly the same voice as James May?

 

[cml]

On the subject of Baz - has anyone else noticed that he has exactly the same voice as James May?

Captain Slowkulele?

 

[TheCraftedCow]

Is this thread about different plastic ukuleles or about different raters of plastic ukuleles? Both? Eddy Finn is about to unleash two different sizes in four different colours upon the world . The soprano will have a semi cut away body and the sound hole off centered so the A string has no hole under it and is fretted up to a 19th fret. They also have a padded nylon gig bag. I would imagine the back view to show an open backed geared tuner set. My dealer's introductory price is $25 each for four at a time in one of each colour. The slot headed concerts have the same cutaway body shape, but the sound holes are really differently shaped and placed. There is a very gracefully shaped violin-like F hole on the G string side from the pinch of the waist to almost the front of the bridge saddle..... except for the muted orange on which is shown with the entire f further down the G string s ide so that the bottom curl of the design is even with the bottom of the bridge saddle. The other side of them has a sound hole shape which looks like a pick guard. My into price is one of each colour for $160,plus shipping to me. The colours are a dark blue; a pretty sort of lime green; a subdued orange that does NOT look like a roadside caution sign and a nice darker shade of red which is what looks like the red lines running above and below the box I am writing in my "quick reply". How's the sound-fit-finish? I will let you know when I get them They are pitched to me as Plastic and Fantastic. We shall see soon, they say.

 

[Booli]

Is this thread about different plastic ukuleles or about different raters of plastic ukuleles? Both? Eddy Finn is about to unleash two different sizes in four different colours upon the world . The soprano will have a semi cut away body and the sound hole off centered so the A string has no hole under it and is fretted up to a 19th fret. They also have a padded nylon gig bag. I would imagine the back view to show an open backed geared tuner set. My dealer's introductory price is $25 each for four at a time in one of each colour. The slot headed concerts have the same cutaway body shape, but the sound holes are really differently shaped and placed. There is a very gracefully shaped violin-like F hole on the G string side from the pinch of the waist to almost the front of the bridge saddle..... except for the muted orange on which is shown with the entire f further down the G string s ide so that the bottom curl of the design is even with the bottom of the bridge saddle. The other side of them has a sound hole shape which looks like a pick guard. My into price is one of each colour for $160,plus shipping to me. The colours are a dark blue; a pretty sort of lime green; a subdued orange that does NOT look like a roadside caution sign and a nice darker shade of red which is what looks like the red lines running above and below the box I am writing in my "quick reply". How's the sound-fit-finish? I will let you know when I get them They are pitched to me as Plastic and Fantastic. We shall see soon, they say.

Sorry, but

- got a photo?

- got a link?

 

[thaidye39]

Sorry, but

- got a photo?

- got a link?

From a quick look on their website, they look strangely similar to the bugs gear ukes:

http://www.eddyfinn.com

 

[VoiceofTJ]

I have a Waterman. Bought it on Amazon, one of the clear ones, paid $49. Great little beater, played it in the shower just because I could. Made $90 in 3 hours of busking with it, put a glow stick inside, and everyone was fascinated. Love it!