I don't know what to make of this--help!

[Rude_Mechanical]

I received a Koa Kalane ukulele about a week ago and have played it every day since then. When not playing it, I have kept it in a case with a Boveda 49% humidifier.

Today, after practicing, I noticed that the seam between the two halves of the top looked like it might be swelling. I hadn't noticed it before. I have attached a couple of pictures of it.
So, what do you think? Is this catastrophic? No big deal? Just a cosmetic flaw? Aside from this, the ukulele is great: good looks, good tone, nice setup, etc. What do you think I ought to do with this?

 

[kkimura]

That happened to me recently too. Uke always in a case with a boveda pack. Jake Wildwood told me not to worry as the joint is backed by a strip of wood. He said his Kamakas all do that over the Winter and close up in the Summer.

 

[Rude_Mechanical]

Well, that eases my mind. I have never seen this before, so I was concerned.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Wiggy]

I too had a problem with a Koa Kalane (now Koa Kaleo) soprano I purchased shortly before the new year. It arrived with a back-bowed neck and a concave top so severe that clearance at the 12th fret was barely 1mm. After several e-mails to get it replaced (I offered to pay shipping) there was no attempt by them at resolution. There was somewhat of a language barrier. They finally stopped responding to my e-mails. It was "only" $114 +shipping so I wrote it off as a bad choice. It was unsalvageable.

Purchased: 27 Nov, 2023
From (direct): KoaKalane.com
Hawaii Ukulele Soprano All Solid Acacia Koa The Famous Pineapple Style

 

[Pyewacket]

That should not happen, and would not happen if the sound board was one piece. Using 2 pieces (not for decorative purposes) does make the instrument cheaper to make, and it still shouldn't do that. Also winter everywhere I have ever lived (including Puerto Rico) is the "dry season" (as in less humidity). Swelling should not occur in dryer humidity. I would wonder what that is going to look like in summer when the humidity comes rolling back in. With increased humidity I would be concerned about more swelling.

If its swelling then try swapping taking out the Boveda pak or leave it out of the case longer and see if that helps.

The finish on that doesn't look that great either.

I had 2 wooden guitars for years, had a wood mandoline for awhile, none ever swelled in the winter (no Boveda paks back then). They were one piece tops, as far as I know - for sure never saw any sign of a seam on the top like that (or anywhere else). Actually they didn't swell in summer either. They just didn't swell (or shrink) that you could tell by eye.

With modern AC, it might actually be just as dry indoors in summer nowadays. So if you don't take it outside for extended periods possibly you could see the same thing year round. eg it might not quit when winter ends. Possibly made with overly dry stock?

Current owner of 2 harps and 3 Native American flutes. I keep the flutes well oiled.

Yet another reason to stick with HPL. Now if only I could find an HPL Baritone ...

 

[Rude_Mechanical]

I had heard about problems people have had, and also that Koa Kalane had been doing better of late. So I took a flyer to see what would happen. I figured if I received a disaster, I'd use the protection policy from my credit card. By and large, I'm happy with the instrument I received.

So long as this issue remains minor, I guess I made out ok.

 

[Wiggy]

Wow, what crap customer service. If they have a language barrier, they should not sell into those countries. I've considered these over the years, but not any more. Let's see if the owner steps up to do a mea culpa here. I'm not holding my breath.

Koa Kalane is located located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It shipped from HONOLULU HI DISTRIBUTION CENTER.

They appear to be a family-run business, I didn't intend my post to be an attack, just an experience. The e-mails I received from them were polite but my request for replacement was misunderstood.

 

[Rude_Mechanical]

I'm not trying to bad-mouth them either. They do seem to be a very small company and not a large manufacturer.

 

[EDW]

While I don't have any stake in this, it shouldn't matter how small your business is or how cheap the item is, a company should stand by their products. Imagine the people here who will now hesitate about purchasing an instrument from them based on this thread. Now consider the positive vibes if the company made everything right with a replacement, repair or other fix.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Koa Kalane is located located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It shipped from HONOLULU HI DISTRIBUTION CENTER.

They appear to be a family-run business, I didn't intend my post to be an attack, just an experience. The e-mails I received from them were polite but my request for replacement was misunderstood.

Family- run or not, “language barrier” sounds to me like a convenient excuse for not treating customers properly. Customer service should exist at every price point. If not, vote with your feet. Money is too hard to earn for any of us to pass it along in exchange for substandard products and services. We’re already forced to do just that when paying income taxes, FCOL!

 

[chris667]

In practice, that isn't going to affect the instrument. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Rude_Mechanical]

I get it. It could be better, I agree. I'm just unwilling to go scorched earth based on my little bit of experience with them.

And you are right--a bit of outreach could begin to repair negative impressions.

 

[Rude_Mechanical]

In practice, that isn't going to affect the instrument. I wouldn't worry about it.

One reason I'm uncomfortable being too negative about the company. The instrument I got seems like it will be fine.

 

[chris667]

One reason I'm uncomfortable being too negative about the company.

I would also be annoyed - they haven't exactly covered themselves in glory by not replying to you. But realistically it won't stop you enjoying the instrument for years to come. So it's up to you really. I just didn't want you to worry about it!

 

[Rude_Mechanical]

I would also be annoyed - they haven't exactly covered themselves in glory by not replying to you. But realistically it won't stop you enjoying the instrument for years to come. So it's up to you really. I just didn't want you to worry about it!

I just wanted to mention that they responded to me this evening, about 24 hours from my email to them. I will see what they have to say, but they have replied fairly quickly for a company 5 time zones away from me.

My main question to the forum was about how serious of a problem this issue was for the instrument, and it seems the majority take is that it is not great but also not catastrophic. I do appreciate your help with my questions

 

[Canada Jim]

That should not happen, and would not happen if the sound board was one piece. Using 2 pieces (not for decorative purposes) does make the instrument cheaper to make, and it still shouldn't do that. Also winter everywhere I have ever lived (including Puerto Rico) is the "dry season" (as in less humidity). Swelling should not occur in dryer humidity. I would wonder what that is going to look like in summer when the humidity comes rolling back in. With increased humidity I would be concerned about more swelling.

If its swelling then try swapping taking out the Boveda pak or leave it out of the case longer and see if that helps.

The finish on that doesn't look that great either.

I had 2 wooden guitars for years, had a wood mandoline for awhile, none ever swelled in the winter (no Boveda paks back then). They were one piece tops, as far as I know - for sure never saw any sign of a seam on the top like that (or anywhere else). Actually they didn't swell in summer either. They just didn't swell (or shrink) that you could tell by eye.

With modern AC, it might actually be just as dry indoors in summer nowadays. So if you don't take it outside for extended periods possibly you could see the same thing year round. eg it might not quit when winter ends. Possibly made with overly dry stock?

Current owner of 2 harps and 3 Native American flutes. I keep the flutes well oiled.

Yet another reason to stick with HPL. Now if only I could find an HPL Baritone ...

I have a number of mandolins, guitars and ukuleles and none of these have one piece tops except for a mahogany uke. The guitars are Martin, Gibson, Levin-built Goya and Yamaha. The mandolins are Washburn, Eastman and a Trinity octave. All of these have solid 2 piece book-matched spruce or cedar tops.
Ukuleles with spruce or cedar tops are usually 2 piece, but those of mahogany or koa are often one piece.
While finding larger pieces of wood would be more expensive, building a 2 piece top is more labour intensive than a one piece

 

[Pyewacket]

My guitars were ca 1960/1970. The mandoline was ca 1990. I couldn't tell if it was a single piece or not as it had that really opaque finish that mandolines have sometimes that hides the grain. Possibly my guitars were also not a single piece - I mean it has been several decades.

Regardless, I never saw any kind of separations or cracking or whatever that is in the OP.

 

[chris667]

Regardless, I never saw any kind of separations or cracking or whatever that is in the OP.

It's not a separation (where the glue has failed), and it's not a crack (because the join is between two separate pieces of top, therefore it isn't cracked). Those are both structural defects.

This is purely cosmetic. If it hadn't been finished with an open pore type finish you would be very unlikely to be able to notice it.

It also strikes me that the maker isn't here to defend themselves, so it is not fair of you to make claims that something is really defective if it isn't. I mean, they've even got back to @Rude_Mechanical now. So maybe it's worth giving them the benefit of the doubt?

 

[Keith5523]

In general, and unrelated to this specific issue, I've always found "communication problems" and "language barriers" occur when you're asking someone to do something they don't really want to do.

 

[Pyewacket]

It's not a separation (where the glue has failed), and it's not a crack (because the join is between two separate pieces of top, therefore it isn't cracked). Those are both structural defects.

This is purely cosmetic. If it hadn't been finished with an open pore type finish you would be very unlikely to be able to notice it.

It also strikes me that the maker isn't here to defend themselves, so it is not fair of you to make claims that something is really defective if it isn't. I mean, they've even got back to @Rude_Mechanical now. So maybe it's worth giving them the benefit of the doubt?

Nope. I consider that a defect. The instrument may or may not fail eventually - only time will tell. It may be "only" a "cosmetic" defect, but defect it is, nevertheless.

And seriously - if it is already swelling IN THE WINTER, when the environment is generally at its driest, what's going to happen when summer rolls around? More swelling may be in the offing.