Since I bought this guitar to experiment on, I was trying to go for the authentic old-school paper-and-oil caps. Maybe I’ll try a bumblebee cap next.
I did it. I succumbed. I bought a tenor Uke. I got it from a friend who got it off ebay. I think she thought it was a tenor guitar and she didn’t end up playing it a lot. I didn’t pay a lot of money. (Thank god, or my husband would’ve killed me.) It has tons of these beautiful inlays and stuff. It plays and sounds great, like a regular uke, only lower. I’ll post pics later!
…and so it begins.
We look forward to the pics!
And another two telemasters wander past my field of view. Not cheap, either. First ones I’ve seen besides mine with a compensated bridge.
How the heck can it cost two grand for a tele-style guitar, though? It’s a plank.
I received my $50 Strat body today, and I’m shocked and amazed that it isn’t perfect.
But it is very light, so I’ll swap bodies for the time being and keep an eye out for something better. I should just learn my lesson, give up on exposed wood, and go for basic black. Can’t go wrong with black. It’s just, you know, black Strat, boooooooooooring.
Well, the Lollar pups are worth a few hundred. It’s possible to get good pickups for cheap, but it depends on what you want from a pickup. And people like Jason Lollar (or Curtis Novak) know what they’re doing. Pickups are very important, and those guys are expert craftsmen.
Another expensive thing about that guitar is the finish:
Now, it is my considered opinion is that the “nitro-finish” fad is complete woo-woo superstitious magical-thinking nonsense. But people who believe in it are willing to pay big money for, basically, snake oil. So there you go: you have to render down quite a few snakes to get enough finish for a guitar body, that stuff’s expensive. The target market for that particular plank is people with more money than sense.
An Xaviere + decent hardware and electronics will sound pretty much identical to the $2000 plank, so don’t worry about it.
Ok, here’sa pic. The strings that on are it now seem, I’m not sure how to describe it exactly, almost too loose? So the first thing I’m going to do is change the strings to new ones, because as I understand it, she never changed them. I’m also considering using a low G string, to give myself a bit more range. I may try it, see how I like it.
In other news, I may have an opportunity to buy a used Blueberry parlor guitar, as my friend never plays his, and he bought a dreadnought recently, and likes it a lot better. Do you think I should do it? I’m seriously considering it.
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That is a very pretty uke. I would love to know how it plays - some cheaper ukes, guitars, etc. get all this fancy inlay work in the Far East but are only so-so players. But I love the look of it. Can I ask how much it was?
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I have no basis to judge parlor guitars, or specifically Blueberry - a brand I don’t know. I Googled them and they seempretty darn pricey- which means that they should have a clearly-established rep you can research. But that also means that I should’ve heard of them
and I haven’t; hmm - started by a Canadian guy but I get the impression that they are made in the Far East…yeah, I would really check this maker out from top to bottom.
**Shakester **- good luck with your new body; more to experiment with. And if anything goes wrong, you can paint the new body black with some Schwinn bicycle paint. It worked for Eddie Van Halen.
As for your restatement about nitro - yeah, I hear you. I guess I would say that it is another example of Correlation Not Causation; i.e., folks have come to associate nitro with guitars that cost a lot because they are vintage or current and custom made. I definitely prefer a thinner finish on my solidbodies, and have gotten used to the way nitro dings, crazes and shows wear - kinda like an old pair of jeans - whereas my poly-finished guitars didn’t grow old as gracefully (turns milky white; doesn’t craze but breaks, etc.) - but that’s just a visual thing…
I paid $120 for it. It sounds pretty decent to me, like a regular Uke, only lower in tone. I’m pretty sure the strings are either shot or are of very low quality. So I expect it to sound better when I restring it next week. Maybe. I hope. It might need the action lowered a bit too. Seems a touch high. I’m a noob, I don’t know how one tells these things?
As for the Blueberry, he’s offered it to me for $800.00 So I’m tempted to take it. He has a LOTof guitars, and I helped he and his wife thwart a large development that was going up down the street from them. (I actually know one of the city counsellors personally.) So I think he’s actually trying to give me a break on price. Anyhoo, I have yet to try it out. We’ll see. If I do get it, I’ll post pics.
Make sure your new uke is tuned to the correct key - it may need to be tuned up a note or two across all of the strings, so they are at a higher tension. Action should be checked by a tech, but ultimately it comes down to playability, and if you find it is a tad too high to your tastes, that is worth checking out.
$800 is a lot of money, IMHO. Much past a $150 guitar like E-Sabs and squeegee buy and mess with, I want to know I am getting value for money. Sure, they sell for $2,500 on eBay - but that can mean that they are “furniture ukes” - i.e., fancy woods and inlays driving up the “craftsmanship” price but they are klunkers as players - or they could really be, oh, $5,000 instruments and you are getting a steal. Best of luck…
I…am a dumbass.
I tuned it to G3 C3 E3 A3 rather than G4 C4 E4 A4.
DURRRRRRRRR
The “looseness” problem is now gone, but they strings that are on there won’t stay in tune very well. I think they’re either dead or crap strings, (or both.)
I would say, (after I tuned the damn thing correctly!) I’m not a “real musician” but I think it sounds pretty good. Not great, but it was only $120 bucks. I’m going to change them next week when my new strings come in. (They were out of stock on tenor Uke strings.)
I could always put up a youtube video of me strumming it, if you wanted an idea of how it sounds. (Although you would have to listen to my sucky playing.)
I’m going to go check out the parlor guitar tomorrow. Will report back. 
That’s better than the time I restrung and tuned my brother’s guitar when I was in Grade 8. I’d only been playing for a couple of weeks, and I got mixed up. I tried to tune the 1st string to an E5 instead of an E4. It snapped spectacularly around the ‘A’… Lucky thing I started with the top instead of the bottom - coulda cracked that bugger in half if I’d got it anywhere near in tune.
I just bought the Creedence “play along” dvd and learned that one of my favorite songs “Bad Moon Rising”, is tuned down to D. Hell, no wonder it never sounded right!
So for the first time ever, I’m doing an alternative tuning. Y’all pray for me! 
Thanks
Q
My final thoughts from a G.A.S. perspective: only pay the money if you can absorb the loss; i.e., end up with a guitar that, for whatever reason, ends up more as a lesson learned instead of a tool in your arsenal.
My last thought on parlor guitars: I dig 'em. There are a number of sub-genres, some very pricey, but some very inexpensive because they were meant to be a low-priced instrument and collectors haven’t quite caught up to them. A few-hundred-buck vintage parlor that sounds like a cool cigar box guitar on steroids could be a perfact match to that fun Kay uke.
Link to Vintage Parlor Guitars website.
‘sall I’m sayin’
If you remember, back when I first got the cheap stratocasteralike, the first or second time I restrung it, I had a slight fever… and strung it backwards. The strings were in the right place, I just tuned the high E to low E… and verse vica. I coulda killed someone!
Yeah, that’s kinda how I’m starting to feel about the tenor uke I bought. It sounds decent, but not great. That may change once my strings come in, I dunno. My one rule is, I need to see it in person, or I don’t buy it. I think I was seduced by all the inlays and stuff. But, on the flip side, I only paid $120 for it.
Ohhh that’s a nice site. The reason why I want to buy a parlor sized guitar is that my current guitar, a Yamaha FG300 is one of the dreadnought styles, and it is HUGE. I’m 5 feet tall and 100 pounds soaking wet, and I kinda feel a little hunched over it. It sounds great, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a little uncomfortable to play. Someone suggested I try out a parlor guitar.
That site looks great, but I’d have to find one locally, either that, or take my chances on EBay.
Exactly. If you are okay with feeling that way over an $800 purchase, either soon after or as along as a year down the road, then go for it. If that much money might make you think differently, you should consider that.
My suggestion: get a Baby Tayloror Little Martin. Simple, dependable, well-made and smaller in size for travel or smaller hands. The equivalent of getting a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla - something dependable you can live with for a bit and see what you like and don’t like about it. You can get all “parlor-guitar-eclectic” AFTER you’ve gotten a feel for this category of guitar…
My $.02
PS: That Vintage Parlors website has a great rep on The Gear Page. Steve, the owner, hangs out and weighs in on threads like any other poster. I get the impression that he would walk you through a purchase and have a reasonable return policy (kind of a must for a reputable online dealer, since we have to play the gear as part of checking it out). But, again, don’t start getting GASsy for a funky parlor until you’ve lived with a simple Martin or Taylor…IMHO.
I tried a Little Martin in the store a few years ago, and I really did not like it. It seemed to be super cheaply constructed. For that money, I could get a nice vintage Yamaha. I love the vintage Yamahas, but I have trouble finding them in my region.
It’s definitely something to think about though.