What makes a uke's bridge suddenly explode away from the body?

[Graham Greenbag]

The uke came from Ohana direct, and it appears to be brand spanking new. You've given me good guidance and advice how to deal with this and I really appreciate it. I've watched a few videos on how to adjust action; the last thing I'm going to do is spend more money on getting it set up by a luthier (nearest one 200 miles away) or local guitar shop (guitar center).

Ohana has been righteous taking care of abusted uke albeit it came without a set up; otoh, the dealer not so much.

Live and learn, right?

Live and learn. I’m constantly surprised by how I’ve got so far whilst knowing so little, and more than a bit concerned that my remaining years won’t see me correct matters much. Oh well, for me at least, it’s a case of doing what you can with what you have.

At the moment I’d feel inclined to do two things. First politely point out to others (Ohana and your dealer) that whilst grateful for their assistance this whole experience has still cost you rather a lot, itemise your costs and itemise what you haven’t regained. I’d then put the new instrument to one side and wait to see what responses you get. Secondly I’d really consider whether you wanted to make this new instrument into a second hand one (by playing it) or whether it might be better to sell it here as new; it was by chance that you ended up playing the old one but you could now choose a different path. Just some thoughts.

I don’t like to mention dealer names but maybe you did once further up thread - you’ve been very restrained. The person that I’m thinking of is well regarded here and has a great reputation for customer service. Sometimes folk stumble, sometimes they need a hand, sometimes they’re heavily loaded and sometimes they need a reminder of who they aim to be; no judgements here but just trying to be objective.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Well shoot fire. You know what they say, experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted.

Live and learn. I’m constantly surprised by how I’ve got so far whilst knowing so little, and more than a bit concerned that my remaining years won’t see me correct matters much. Oh well, for me at least, it’s a case of doing what you can with what you have.

At the moment I’d feel inclined to do two things. First politely point out to others (Ohana and your dealer) that whilst grateful for their assistance this whole experience has still cost you rather a lot, itemise your costs and itemise what you haven’t regained. I’d then put the new instrument to one side and wait to see what responses you get. Secondly I’d really consider whether you wanted to make this new instrument into a second hand one (by playing it) or whether it might be better to sell it here as new; it was by chance that you ended up playing the old one but you could now choose a different path. Just some thoughts.

I don’t like to mention dealer names but maybe you did once further up thread - you’ve been very restrained. The person that I’m thinking of is well regarded here and has a great reputation for customer service. Sometimes folk stumble, sometimes they need a hand, sometimes they’re heavily loaded and sometimes they need a reminder of who they aim to be; no judgements here but just trying to be objective.

Absolutely. I'm going to wait for a further reply from the dealer in hopes they rectify this mess. I have indeed kept from dragging the dealer because of all the reasons you stated; however, I expect the same customer service that warrants that positive reputation. Playing it? It's very close to being unplayable.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I indeed have gotten the stellar customer service Mim's Ukes is so well known for. As soon as I emailed her regarding the unset up uke she went above and beyond to rectify the situation. I now have a completely set up pretty little Ohana pineapple concert uke with a set of Worth clears, a stand and a tuner- gratis.

Yay!!

 

[badhabits]

I indeed have gotten the stellar customer service Mim's Ukes is so well known for. As soon as I emailed her regarding the unset up uke she went above and beyond to rectify the situation. I now have a completely set up pretty little Ohana pineapple concert uke with a set of Worth clears, a stand and a tuner- gratis.

Yay!!

Great! What was the solution (aside from some free stuff)?

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Great! What was the solution (aside from some free stuff)?

Just letting her know I received a uke from Ohana that wasn't set up. She expected it to be set up and went above and beyond to fix the situation.

 

[Graham Greenbag]

I indeed have gotten the stellar customer service Mim's Ukes is so well known for. As soon as I emailed her regarding the unset up uke she went above and beyond to rectify the situation. I now have a completely set up pretty little Ohana pineapple concert uke with a set of Worth clears, a stand and a tuner- gratis.

Yay!!

I’m so pleased at this result for you. Everyone involved with this unhappy tale has suffered some loss, but when things go wrong it’s the service that one gets from suppliers that differentiates those that are worth using again from those that aren’t. I think the thread too a lesson to us all in how to clearly, fairly and (in this case) successfully interact with suppliers.

”Live and learn, right?” I think so, though in this case it seems that what we’re learned is that Mim and Ohana deserve their good reputation, well that and that things can take a little while and polite persistence to sort out. Credit to you .

 

[Keith5523]

Thanks for letting us know about the Happy Ending. I agree with others that the ones(manufacturers and dealers) given a lot of love in this forum have stepped up to the task and proven why they get so much love and are deserving of it. Everybody likes a story with a happy ending. Now you can get on with being a happy customer and enjoying your instrument.

 

[UkeStuff]

I just read through this whole saga, and what we never learned was the reason for the failure; I would have looked at the glue pattern on the failed bridge and tried to figure out if it had been glued properly.

If all looked well, I would assume the instrument dried out in my possession, and with the new model, I would check the humidity levels in my house and put a humidifier in that instrument’s case or gig bag if the humidity was lower than 45% relative humidity.

It could have been a freak accident, but it also could have been my fault in storing it in lower humidity conditions than it is intended to be.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I just read through this whole saga, and what we never learned was the reason for the failure; I would have looked at the glue pattern on the failed bridge and tried to figure out if it had been glued properly.

If all looked well, I would assume the instrument dried out in my possession, and with the new model, I would check the humidity levels in my house and put a humidifier in that instrument’s case or gig bag if the humidity was lower than 45% relative humidity.

It could have been a freak accident, but it also could have been my fault in storing it in lower humidity conditions than it is intended to be.

I had owned the uke for about a month when the bridge and nut gave way. I think the uke may have been old stock and simply dried out. No one's fault really. I could own stock in oasis humidifiers I have so many and I'm a little ocd about keeping them filled, so all ukes are cased and humidified.

Thank you guys for allowing me to work this issue out here with all of you!

Uke people = Good people!

 

[baconsalad]

Well.... my 6 month old Uma Pulse Tenor kinda did just that except the bridge split and half was pulled right off. From the looks of it, it appears to have been glued on over the varnish. I don't think that's how it supposed to be done. It was kept in my humidity controlled bedroom at 45%rh. Let's see what the dealer has to say. I'll note that my 3 less expensive Ohanas are perfectly fine.

 

[baconsalad]

Update: the Uma distro has offered a full refund without fuss, which is quite fair. I'll probably grab one of their nice looking pineapples while I'm there.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Well.... my 6 month old Uma Pulse Tenor kinda did just that except the bridge split and half was pulled right off. From the looks of it, it appears to have been glued on over the varnish. I don't think that's how it supposed to be done. It was kept in my humidity controlled bedroom at 45%rh. Let's see what the dealer has to say. I'll note that my 3 less expensive Ohanas are perfectly fine.

Ugh. Glad to hear things are working out without fuss. Pretty ukes and you remind me that I've always wanted a Uma uke! I don't know if they're sold in the U.S; I believe a fellow UU'r posted about a store in Canada that stocks them and ships free to the U.S (aint that a pip!)

 

[baconsalad]

Ugh. Glad to hear things are working out without fuss. Pretty ukes and you remind me that I've always wanted a Uma uke! I don't know if they're sold in the U.S; I believe a fellow UU'r posted about a store in Canada that stocks them and ships free to the U.S (aint that a pip!)

That was me that posted. It's playpromusic.com near Vancouver. Uma ukes seem to be universally well reviewed and they sure are pretty looking.