My new Bruce Weiart Uke is here!...

[GKK]

The mailman just delivered my new Solid Acacia Tenor ukulele from Bruce Weiart on ebay!..

One word, AWESOME!...

This Uke is Beautiful and the construction is of very good quality! Sound is very bright (with the Aquila strings), volume and sustain average. Action at the nut is 1.5mm and 3mm at the 12th fret (I'll lower the action .5mm/1mm and it will be good to go). The Satin finish is also, very smooth and polished looking!

After all the mediocre reviews on Bruce's uke's, I was expecting to see a lot of flaws but, this uke is just Amazing!...

$139 shipped from Vietnam to California in only 11 days is also, very fast!

I don't know if Bruce's quality has improved or I just received a good one but, all I can say is, I've hit the jackpot!

 

[GKK]

Side by side with the Pono Slothead.

 

[Mandarb]

Glad to hear you are happy with your uke - enjoy.

 

[Skitzic]

That sure is pretty! I oogle his ukes all the time. Maybe someday I'll pull the trigger.

Congrats!

 

[snunez]

never heard of these, but it looks awesome! congrats

 

[roxhum]

Very attractive uke. You were lucky and got your self an amazing good deal. Congratulations

 

[UK Paulie]

Yep, congrats! I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that the volume and sustain are good. How does it compare with your pono? Hows about a sound sample?

 

[PoiDog]

Congrats on getting a pearl.

I went the Bruce Wei route once about a year ago and will never do so again. The only good thing I can say was the resolution to the problem was satisfactory: I got my money back (including shipping). But only after making it clear that I was very displeased and would raise a huge stink if I wasn't refunded in full.

The problems?

Many many many major finishing blemishes from glopped on varnish to not enough to a 1/2" scratch penetrating to the wood
Blobs of glue where the fretboard and soundboard meet
Completely unplayable with an action so high it was almost impossible to fret the strings at the first two frets
Uneven frets
A crack in the bridge
Unsanded rim along the soundhole
The string post for the E was mounted at an angle

I took it to one local SaMo shop and the luthier flat out said he wouldn't work on it. Another luthier at a different local shop said he could give it a go, but the cost would run over $300.

I understood that it wouldn't be a Hawaiian made uke, but good grief! It was horrendous.

The worst part is that it didn't even make a good wall hanger. I ended up gifting it to a local goodwill (after making it clear it was for decoration only).

Maybe Bruce has got his act together now. But I am of the belief that as a consumer I will only be burned once.

 

[Shazzbot]

WooHoo! What a nice looking uke GKK.
You made a great choice.

PoiDog, I can see why you slam Bruce Wei. You got a lemon.

I sure love my acacia tenor and may buy another Wei uke if I find one like Tudorp's carved concert.

 

[Tudorp]

Glad ya got a good one. I think he has picked up the ball a little bit with QA during our dealings. I was buying/selling his ukes, and he made it a point to send me good ones which I appreciated, but also got him to look closer to his QA across the board. I also talked him into supplying his ukes with Aquilas. He used to use some really crappy cheapy strings. I finally convinced him that Using Aquilas aren't that much more expensive, if any buying them in bulk. He finally started making them standard. He has moved in the right direction over the past couple years.

On the carved one. last time I talked to Bruce, I asked him if he had any of the carved concerts like that planned for build. At that time, he didn't, and wasn't sure if he was going to continue them, which is the reason I hung onto mine so tight. He did tell me if I placed an order of 20 or more, he would build them for me, but I wasn't in the position to order that many at that time. I would love to see him bring those back.

 

[GKK]

Thanks everyone.

I'm still just really surprised at the quality!

Frets are also, level and well dressed, Tuners are very smooth and are not a cheap cast set.

I'll try and make a sound sample but, it'll be next week or so, since I still have to lower the action and the Aquila strings still have to settle in.

I'm looking for another hard case so, I can monitor the humidity levels.

 

[GKK]

How does it compare with your pono?

This Solid Acacia Uke with Aquila strings, sounds surprisingly very good but, in a less refined way compared to my Tenor Pono with Fremont Blacklines!

I'll post a sound sample sometime next week.

 

[bombbuddy]

Looks beautiful!! Enjoy!

 

[Nickie]

Congrats! Very unique looking uke. And solid acacia for that price! Zounds!

 

[The Big Kahuna]

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?64770-Bruce-Wei-Art

Congrats on ending up with a nice instrument. Have you thought about buying a lottery ticket this week ?

 

[mds725]

Congratulations! It looks wonderful!