Considering a Kala Baritone or Tenor Ukulele

[Tom]

... getting a new hard case for my ukulele. I have one ordered from Amazon ...

Apologies, for some reason I thought you wanted a (soft/padded) gig bag rather than a hard case; That's why I kept offering suggestions re gig bags. But there's nowt wrong with either, and I have both. I'd think the hard case could survive more bumps &/or having stuff loaded on top of it.

 

[UTTransplant]

The main reason for a hard case is to allow the humidifiers to work better in the arid areas we enjoy. I got a humidity-related crack in my uke this winter in dry Arizona. A hard case will keep the moisture in much better. This isn’t something you waterfront folks have to worry about!

 

[Tom]

The main reason for a hard case is to allow the humidifiers to work better in the arid This isn’t something you waterfront folks have to worry about!

That's only at home, although the humidity at our MidWest place is relatively high. Our summer place in WY, I'm not sure.

Hadn't realized you could get a crack due to low humidity. OTOH I did buy a bunch of desiccant thingies to place in several locations throughout my instrument cases/bags. But I don't know if/when they need replacing.

Meanwhile, I tend to have several stringed instruments (ukes, guitars, banjos) out of their bags/cases, in floor-mounted stands. They're usually not returned to their cases for 2-4 months (e.g. when we leave the house or RV). Just realized I have several wall-mounted ukes at home that never get put back in their cases; I occasionally pull one down to play, and return it to its wall hanger.

 

[UTTransplant]

The luthier I took it to for repair said he was busy every winter repairing cracks caused by central heating in our cold Iowa climate. He has a humidity chamber running at 70% to reduce the cracks before repair. Solid tops are the ones in danger, not laminates. And I guess it also depends on the interior bracing. In AZ this winter, we routinely ran at 16-17% relative humidity. That’s dry! I now keep a sound hole humidifier and an additional small bag humidifier under the neck. He said he really recommended a hard case for storage. Note that leaving the uke out of its bag for 2 months in our Iowa house that has a whole-house humidifier set to 35% resulted in no damage at all. It wasn’t until I tried the same thing in arid AZ I ran into trouble.

 

[Tom]

The luthier I took it to for repair said he was busy every winter repairing cracks caused by central heating in our cold Iowa climate. ... leaving the uke out of its bag for 2 months in our Iowa house that has a whole-house humidifier set to 35% resulted in no damage at all. It wasn’t until I tried the same thing in arid AZ I ran into trouble.

Thanks for the info.

 

[8Muddypaws]

Most of my guitars like the humidity where I live but one of them is different. It was custom built near the beach in Santa Cruz by James E Patterson. It fits in a hard case designed for a Martin D28 but the similarity ends there. It’s a beautiful instrument with an amazing voice. It was made for me in 1991-1992. It is one of his less ornate designs.

BUT! It is sensitive to humidity and temperature changes, and fragile. I have only used it for gigs 5 or 6 times in all the years I’ve had it. I occasionally used it for studio work throughout the ‘90s.

It’s the one guitar that doesn’t live on a hanger most of its life. The neck does not have a truss rod. It has a steel bar instead.

I just looked at James E Patterson Guitars for sale and they are going for 3-5 thousand bucks! None are as old as this one. That should make it worth even more, right?

Check out the inlay he did! The binding on the top and the rose in the headstock are perfect. He literally wrote the book on precision inlay

 

[Tom]

Apologies Russ, must be having a brain farte. I thought you were even a tester for D'Addario strings, and they shipped them to you by the case.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I searched for Russ' message that I incorrectly remembered the details of.

 

[Larry N.]

Beautiful guitar, Russ- thanks for sharing that.

 

[UTTransplant]

I got my hard shell uke case today. My, how heavy! But it is nicely padded inside, and it has a spot for my tuner, picks (felt and leather), and a spare set of strings. It fits so closely around the body that my strap barely fits in the case; is that normal? I would hate to have to unhook the strap each time I use it. I am getting ready for our local group’s jam tomorrow. This is only the fourth one we have had, and it will be my third. The guy organizing it is trying to generate enough interest for a regular group that will learn songs and play for organizations in the community. We are still trying to find a permanent meeting place. Our public library allows a group only 12 reservations a year, so this isn’t a long-term solution. It is fun though.

Speaking of strings, the D’Addario Titaniums lasted 2 weeks. I finally found some Aquila Super Nylgut at the Kala site and bought two sets to help me get over the cost of shipping just one set! I like the sound much better. I also managed to change the strings in about 20 minutes, much better than the hour I spent on the last set. Mine are tie-on style, and I am lousy with knots.

 

[Tom]

I got my hard shell uke case today.

Congrats. Yes, they're heavy.

It fits so closely around the body that my strap barely fits in the case; is that normal? I would hate to have to unhook the strap each time I use it.

That's what I did for a long time, but eventually figured out how to 'thread' the strap inside the case. But I shudder every time I do this, and hope I don't scratch an instrument. It's one reason why I leave instruments on a stand while at home or in a fixed location in the RV. But I have no choice when I head to weekly band practice.

I finally found some Aquila Super Nylgut at the Kala site and bought two sets ... Mine are tie-on style, and I am lousy with knots.

Hopefully Russ can help with a good/easy way of doing the knots. Some of my instruments have knots, and my restrings aren't pretty. Some use pegs, much easier. One of my ukes is a little different from knots and pegs, kinda in between.

 

[Larry N.]

It fits so closely around the body that my strap barely fits in the case; is that normal?

Both of my guitar hard cases and my banjo case all need the strap removed, then I roll it up and put it in the small compartment for picks, etc. Only takes a few moments. I suppose if the strap were tied on instead of "button-holed" it might be different.

 

[Tom]

I suppose if the strap were tied on instead of "button-holed" it might be different.

Larry, if the strap is not button holed or tied, how is it attached to the guitar?

 

[Larry N.]

Larry, if the strap is not button holed or tied, how is it attached to the guitar?

It IS button holed, Tom, thus it's quick to put on and take off. I think you missed "instead of."

 

[UTTransplant]

The knots aren’t hard for normal people - just a quick overhand then a double back through. But I am generally knot challenged! The wrapped strings were easy, but those nylons kept slipping out! I did get them done, and they look neat and tidy. I really need to remember to bring my needle nose tweezers up from the sewing room. They would have made the job much easier.

As for straps, one end of my strap is a button, but the other is tied on. Actually it is more of a slip knot. Guess I will have to get faster at getting it knotted back. The strap is fabric with a light batting inside for stiffness. I may just have to do some adjusting with my sewing machine to get the buckle in the right place. Without the strap I have a tendency to hold the uke parallel to the ground instead of more upright - too much guitar! And there are ukulele straps that clip onto the sound hole. I never considered one of those - too worried about scratching. But it is nice to be confident my instrument will be at a better humidity level in AZ this winter.

 

[Tom]

It IS button holed, Tom, thus it's quick to put on and take off. I think you missed "instead of."

Thanks Larry. Got myself all tied up in knots.

 

[Tom]

And there are ukulele straps that clip onto the sound hole. I never considered one of those - too worried about scratching.

A bigger problem with those is that, if you let go of the uke, it will fall off the clip and promptly head to the floor!

 

[Tom]

A bigger problem with those is that, if you let go of the uke, it will fall off the clip and promptly head to the floor!

A little explanation ...

The strap/string is around your neck and comes down behind the uke, and up the front to just below the sound hole. The clip on the end of the strap hooks on to the uke at the bottom of the sound hole.

The weight of the uke pushes down on the strap, and the hook is held firmly in place. If you let go of the uke, it wants to roll away from you and, when it has rolled through 180 degrees (or before), the uke slips downwards out of the clip.

 

[UTTransplant]

Interesting. I hadn’t seen one in real life, and I just assumed the clip was placed at the top of the sound hole, though that would have a similar issue. I went looking, and all the pictures show exactly what you said. Silly idea!

 

[Tom]

Silly idea!

It's for folks who don't want to drill one or more holes for a button.

I have one uke that I don't want to drill a hole in - the body is a thermoplastic; So I cobbled together a strap with a self-adhesive velcro attachment on one end to the plastic body. The other end (top) of the strap is tied.

Some folks cringe at the idea of a "plastic" uke, but the top is wood and the uke has a decent tone. It's the red one (concert) on the left in the photo.

 

[UTTransplant]

It is the top that is the tone wood, or so I have been told. The rest of the body doesn’t matter nearly as much to the tone. And have you seen the 100% carbon fiber ukuleles from Enya? People rave about their tone. Made on order in Salt Lake City. I would love to see one in person. Talk about a ukulele that is climate proof! No worrying about humidity with one of those. But the price tag is significant. Not as bad as some of the custom hand made ones with koa tone wood and beautiful inlays, but significant. I wouldn’t get the benefit out of a fabulous ukulele, so I guess I will stick with my Kala spruce top.

Oh, and one of the women in the Quartzsite uke group has the ugliest ukulele I have ever seen. It is a rectangular box without nice edges or joins, and it sounds just like it looks. But she has such a smile on her face when she plays it that nothing else matters.