The Great Cordoba Heist

As some of you may or may not already know, I used to play the drums.  Awesomely.


Alas, the last time I touched a set was the infamous Virgil Q's Dixieland Kazoo Revue show, the night before I graduated from Western Michigan (at 8am... that was rough).  Anyway, two months after flying out to Africa and beginning my stint of service with the Peace Corps, my set was stolen out of a storage unit and I haven't played the drums since.

I still cry a little whenever I see a drum set.

Ovation Balladeer LX

Anyway, I tried picking up guitar for awhile, and played the hell out of it while in Africa.  And while it was easier than the drums, I never really got all that excited about it.  Nowadays we have three acoustics lying around the house collecting dust (if my instruments were kids, my guitars would be those emotionally-scarred, forgotten children from a previous marriage).

Michael Kelly F-Style Mandolin

Well, when I got back from the Peace Corps I decided it'd be a good idea to try out a new instrument, and made the genius move of dropping $600 on a fancy mandolin (not my wisest purchase by any means)... only to realize later that learning the mandolin was about as hard as translating the Rosetta Stone (i.e. nearly impossible).

The Uke-ular Arsenal

Finally, in 2008, I picked up the ukulele, and took to it like a hobo to crack (or bottom shelf gin, depending on the hobo).  Since inheriting my grandpa's old Harmony concert uke, I've slowly been adding to my 'Uke-ular Arsenal' (much to the wife's dismay).  I've acquired a few sopranos and another concert, but have really been wanting a tenor-sized ukulele (they have a longer fretboard and a deeper, richer sound).

Cordoba 25TK Koa Tenor

So, over the course of the last few months, I've conducted some intense research - both online and in music stores.  Eventually, I settled on the Cordoba Tenor 25TK - their top-of-the-line, solid koa wood ukulele.  Check it out.  It's gorgeous, but, at $400, not something I could get away with spending on myself with Christmas coming up.

Then, one day, as I sat in my office at work during my planning period, I decided to check something out on Amazon.  When I opened up my account page - BAM!! - I noticed that the Cordoba 25TK had dropped down to $176... and there were only three left.

Immediately, I crapped my pants...

 

Then, after driving home from work, I checked online again.  One of the three had already sold.  So, throwing caution to the wind, I signed up for one of those Amazon credit cards and pounced on the uke.

Minutes later, the price sky-rocketed back up to $302.


So, as I'm an Amazon Prime member, I received the instrument with free two-day shipping.  Upon tuning the instrument, I realized there was some rattling going on when playing the C and E strings.  At first I thought it was the nut, but there was something metal rattling about in the headstock whenever I shook the instrument.  I had no idea what the hell this was.

In the past, I've had great customer service from the local Guitar Center luthier - he's fixed a couple of my ukes in the past - so I took it in to him to have a look over it.  He, too, at first had no idea where the rattling was coming from, but eventually figured it out:  turns out that two of the tuning peg plates was loose, causing the vibration whenever the strings were played.  At $15, not a huge deal at all.

Nevertheless, I wasn't pleased I had to drop $15 on an instrument right out of the box - even if it was already 70% off the list price.  I wrote Amazon a pointed letter, citing poor product oversight on their part in their shipping the product to me in such a state.  Within hours, they notified me that they no longer had the instrument, and that it was sold through a third-party seller.  To satisfy me, the disgruntled consumer, they offered to refund me 30% - $65!! -  for my trouble.

Taking all this into consideration, this meant that I was able to score a beautiful, new ukulele that normally costs $400 for a mere $115.

The lesson to take away from this whole ordeal?  Use Amazon for everything. Everything possible.  Definitely doing so for Christmas this year.

Holy Jebus do I love that site...

- Brian