New ukulele player?

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Tom

Tom

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Having had my first guitar lesson this week, I couldn't resist stopping at the Guitar Center in Concord, CA since I was just 10 minutes away. I ran into a gal who is a flute player (apparently very  good) who is thinking of switching to the ukulele in preparation for her retirement to one of the Hawaiian islands.

I was more than happy to answer her questions and refer her to my favorite music store  - LaMorinda Music in LaFayette.

We both tried playing several instruments, but they weren't in tune  :eek:  Fortunately, I had a tuner in my shoulder bag and was able to tune the instruments we looked at before playing them. While in the store I bumped into an ex-band member who plays guitar, and who is lusting after one of the Taylor guitars. We both tried to play them,but they were out of tune.

Why does any instrument store display instruments that are not in tune  ???

 
Tom said:
Why does any instrument store display instruments that are not in tune  ???
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Because it would require hiring one person to do nothing but tune all day long. It would be like washing the windows on the
Empire State Building. Once all the windows are washed you gotta start over. Once all the guitars are in tune you gotta start over. And I think anyone who had to spend all day tuning guitars would probably kill themselves at the end of the day. :(
 
Color me confused. My guitar doesn't continually go out of tune, and neither does my banjo. Ukuleles with nylon strings are more likely to drift, but I rarely have to re-tune my 'good' ones after the initial "stretch" period of new strings. I almost have as many ukes as Guitar Center has in their store display and, if tuning was a full time job, I'd give up playing. The only one that continually drifts is an el cheapo ($19) that I bought for our youngest grandson; After destroying the tuners, he used the uke as a mallet. I still occasionally re-tune it and play it.

Not a single uke or guitar I picked up in the store was in tune; Fortunately I had a tuner in my pocket. Reminds me of a boat dealer who wouldn't take the time to remove the factory-installed shrink-wrap from a new boat I wanted to buy. He's the only dealer I've discovered in many years of boating that acted that way, and he didn't sell me a boat.

Yesterday, I suggested to the lady that she visit my favorite store that has a uke display as big as Guitar Center's guitar display. I've yet to pick up a uke there that isn't in tune.

A different musical instrument store owner saw me tuning a uke and asked if I'd tune the remainder of his inventory; Seemed like he didn't know how  ???  He still doesn't, and I don't send any customers there.
 
Tom said:
Color me confused. My guitar doesn't continually go out of tune, and neither does my banjo.
Click to expand...
If your instruments were being abused by teenagers all day long they would not be in tune.

I very rarely pick up a stringed instrument in a music shop that is anywhere close to being in tune. My guitars don't go out of tune either, especially my Floyd Rose guitar. Many people go into a guitar shop and tune a guitar by ear and then it isn't even close since most guitarists can't tune by ear.
 
If your instruments were being abused by teenagers all day long they would not be in tune.
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True, although all the times I've been in such stores just happened to be during school hours, so I haven't seen  the all-day abuse by kids.
 
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