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TapTheForwardAssist posted:For an affordable electric that sounds good amped (that sounds just okay unplugged) a lot of folks like the Appaluse for $149 or so. I hear good things about these, but I just can't get over the way they look. I just find them incredibly hideous. Same for a lot of the other electric and a/e ukes - they may sound great, but I just can't see myself playing one in public pretty much ever. I'd really rather get one that has a pickup pre-installed, but I may just get a good one and put a pickup in if I can't find one that I like. I'll look into the Ohana and Bushmas, thanks! Edit: Wait, was that supposed to be "Bushman"?
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Dec 9, 2007 06:50
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Actually the Ohana on the bottom of this page speaks to me. Hmmmmm. drat, the Kala koa uke on the same page is pretty hot too. Double drat, musicguymic has that same Kala uke for $10 more with free setup, shipping, and hardshell case. I wrote to him to ask if he could get the Ohana I'm interested in, but if not I may get the Kala. mofolotopo fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Dec 9, 2007 |
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Dec 9, 2007 07:20
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My friend's a Uke player and I tried his out a few weeks ago and was surprised at how quickly I could string chords together and jam with him while he played his guitar, so I was thinking about getting one anyway. This thread inspired me further! I just bought a beginner's uke from ebay (UK though, so couldn't use the recommended dealer). No idea what it will be like; but hey, as long as it makes a sound it will be fun! Thanks for the inspiration!
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Dec 9, 2007 19:22
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Well I got all of my tuning issues sorted out and I'm happy to say that I've been practicing about an hour a day for the past few days. I decided to start learning my first song. I chose "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel. It seems like a really easy song (4 chords with an easy progression). I'm really enjoying this so far! I encourage any of you on the fence to go ahead and pick one of these up! Helpful sites: Chord chart A basic chart with a tab to show you how to form each chord. http://nfo.net/usa/uke2.html Interactive chord finder This site is awesome. You can use the buttons on the bottom to form any chord and strum the virtual ukulele to hear what each one sounds like. http://www.sheep-entertainment.nl/ukulele/index.html Newbie lessons Going through these helped me gain enough confidence to try to play my first real song. http://ssrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/wdobson/lessons.htm
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Dec 11, 2007 00:23
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Happy Holidays to me! I just ordered a Kala 15-S. Couldn't quite afford the Kala-S but I'm sure I'll be plenty happy.
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Dec 11, 2007 02:10
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Ehud posted:Well I got all of my tuning issues sorted out and I'm happy to say that I've been practicing about an hour a day for the past few days. Most motivational! What was the problem with your tuning? Even if it was a silly mistake, it'd be good to get some common mistakes discussed here to that folks know what to expect. As mentioned before, another really common noob problem is fingers bumping into adjoining strings. For many chords, you have to kind of arch your fingers up and then down to come cleanly down atop the string.
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Dec 11, 2007 04:58
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This thread has helped me pick out which instrument I want to pick up and learn as a New Year's resolution. I just had a question. I've pretty much decided to get a tenor uke, but I wanted to know if I should go with a Kala like this one http://tinyurl.com/3csj96 or a Leolani like this one http://tinyurl.com/2rh4ha since the price difference is only about $10 and I don't know which one would be better.
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Dec 11, 2007 13:04
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Most motivational! What was the problem with your tuning? Even if it was a silly mistake, it'd be good to get some common mistakes discussed here to that folks know what to expect. Really, the main issue was the tuner I bought. I took it back and bought: http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/kogadiacelgu.html The other issue is that I'm not experienced enough to get in tune by ear. For me, it's difficult to match up the tone of my ukulele to the tone on a tuning website at this point. Using the electric tuner has helped me a lot and has been a big step toward tuning by ear. Also, it helps a LOT to know people with musical experience. My roommate is sort of a jack-of-all trades (picked up my uke and immediately started playing songs) and is good for general knowledge. Then MY GIRLFRIEND is helping me understand the basics of reading music and keeping the correct rhythm.
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Dec 11, 2007 14:01
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Ok, I'm very close to buying my first uke. I've found an Australian seller on ebay that has some Kala concert ukes for what seems to be a pretty decent price. I'm unsure whether to get a regular mahogany for AU $139.95 or one with a solid spruce top for AU $176.5. I prefer the look of the mahogany but if the solid spruce top will give me something beneficial I might consider it. These are the links to the ebay pages if it helps: http://tinyurl.com/2yksvr http://tinyurl.com/2gltub
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Dec 11, 2007 14:26
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Beasticly posted:Ok, I'm very close to buying my first uke. I've found an Australian seller on ebay that has some Kala concert ukes for what seems to be a pretty decent price. I'm unsure whether to get a regular mahogany for AU $139.95 or one with a solid spruce top for AU $176.5. I prefer the look of the mahogany but if the solid spruce top will give me something beneficial I might consider it. I'm guessing that at that price point the mahogany uke has a laminate top. Having a solid wood top should, in general, produce a better sound. There's a lot of variation there, though, and there are laminate ukes that sound pretty darn good. That said, the spruce one appears to be the model I have, and I love it.
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Dec 11, 2007 16:02
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I just talked to the people at Bushman on the phone, and they confirmed that they just completely stopped making electric Jennies. He said that, since the ukes are solid wood, about one in six would split when they tried to install the pickup and electronics, and that they just couldn't take it. Not that they couldn't make it profitable, just that it was too painful to see a uke that they'd put that much time into building be destroyed by adding electronics. Sucks, because that's actually the uke I really wanted.
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Dec 11, 2007 17:23
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mofolotopo posted:I just talked to the people at Bushman on the phone, and they confirmed that they just completely stopped making electric Jennies. He said that, since the ukes are solid wood, about one in six would split when they tried to install the pickup and electronics, and that they just couldn't take it. Not that they couldn't make it profitable, just that it was too painful to see a uke that they'd put that much time into building be destroyed by adding electronics. Sucks, because that's actually the uke I really wanted. Yesterday I went to two music shops and tried a variety of ukes. I'd really been hoping to try out a Bushman Jenny, but Dusty Strings had sold all their stock. They said it was a good-selling line. I did get a chance to try out the Lanikai cutaway tenor at Trading Musician. The overall fit/finish was good, tone was a little lacking acoustically (thought I didn't get to plug it in). Main downside was that intonation was rougher than on my Kala. Not so much difference that I'd say to upgrade from a Lanikai to a Kala, but enough that I'd still prefer Kala over Lanikai based on the limited pool of both that I've tried. I took some pics of the higher-end models at Dusty Strings, will post those up shortly. Out of all the pricier ukes I liked the Kamaka tenors the best, though there were pricier ukes there. Not sure I'd buy one, but they had some really cool Kamaka 8-strings and 6-strings, wherein two (on the 6) or four (8) strings are doubled in contrasting octaves. Gives it a very rich sound on the strum, although harder to finger-pick.
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Dec 11, 2007 17:34
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There's a little store I found near SF that says online that they have a Jenny concert with pickup and EQ. When they open today I'm going to call and confirm that, and if they really do have it I'm going to try to get down there and play it within the next couple of days. The electric concert Jenny seems just about perfect for what I want. In other news, musciguymic said he was going to let me know two days ago about the a/e Ohana I was interested in, and he still hasn't said a word about it despite repeated emails. That's a little irritating, since I want to buy one within the next day or two and told him so.
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Dec 11, 2007 17:40
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mofolotopo posted:There's a little store I found near SF that says online that they have a Jenny concert with pickup and EQ. When they open today I'm going to call and confirm that, and if they really do have it I'm going to try to get down there and play it within the next couple of days. The electric concert Jenny seems just about perfect for what I want. Okay, the SF store's inventory was lying, and musicguymic got back to me. Looks like the Ohana a/e ukes aren't available now, so I guess I'm getting the Kala koa a/e concert. I can't wait!
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Dec 11, 2007 20:07
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Loving the uke thread -- I'm a fancy froo froo classical guitarist who's eagerly wanting to pick up a uke. The complete lack of pretension in this instrument is amazing. Everyone should go check out all of the videos by these two youtubers. My mind was blown, several times. wwelti does primarily simple classical guitar pieces transcribed for ukulele. http://www.youtube.com/user/wwelti ukulelezaza seems more focused on 30s-40s pop tunes. http://www.youtube.com/user/ukulelezaza They both get amazing tone out of their instruments and are worth a look just to see the amazing things you can do with 4 strings and ~12 frets
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Dec 11, 2007 20:39
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Galin posted:Loving the uke thread -- I'm a fancy froo froo classical guitarist who's eagerly wanting to pick up a uke. The complete lack of pretension in this instrument is amazing. Those are really cool!
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Dec 11, 2007 20:43
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grrr, I got my uke and I've been having fun strumming some chords on it, but the tuning head for the G-string keeps slipping so it's always flat. Is there any simple trick for stopping them from slipping?
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Dec 11, 2007 20:50
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Whitefish posted:grrr, I got my uke and I've been having fun strumming some chords on it, but the tuning head for the G-string keeps slipping so it's always flat. Is there any simple trick for stopping them from slipping? There are two major possibilities: a) the string is brand-new and still stretching out to its eventual size b) the peghead itself isn't tight enough and is rotating under tension. Look on the back of your pegs: is there a little screw there? Does tightening said screw help it stay in tune? quote:Okay, the SF store's inventory was lying, and musicguymic got back to me. Looks like the Ohana a/e ukes aren't available now, so I guess I'm getting the Kala koa a/e concert. I can't wait! Most groovy. I eagerly await your video review, especially if it includes your hacked DDR platform idea. Oh, did you get that dulcimer up and running? Is it a decent enough instrument for the $70 I paid for it?
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Dec 12, 2007 03:13
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Will I destroy my ukulele or something if I try to screw an end pin into it?
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Dec 12, 2007 03:24
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mofolotopo posted:I'm guessing that at that price point the mahogany uke has a laminate top. Having a solid wood top should, in general, produce a better sound. There's a lot of variation there, though, and there are laminate ukes that sound pretty darn good. Argh, I emailed the uke supplier and asked if there was a possibility of getting a kala tenor uke in. They replied rather swiftly and said no, but if I'd like I could have the sprucetop concert with free freight which puts the difference between the two at only $20. I hate decisions! I've listened to some of your tunes that you uploaded to get an idea of the sound of the sprucetop, but to me they sound less like a uke and more like a guitar? I'm not exactly sure why though.. It'd help if anyone has (or knows of) any clips of the kala concert that I could have a listen to, to compare. Thanks muchly!  ps: Sorry for spamming the thread with my noobie questions! Weatherproof fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Dec 12, 2007 |
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Dec 12, 2007 04:19
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Beasticly posted:I've listened to some of [mofolotopo's] tunes that you uploaded to get an idea of the sound of the sprucetop, but to me they sound less like a uke and more like a guitar? I'm not exactly sure why though.. It'd help if anyone has (or knows of) any clips of the kala concert that I could have a listen to, to compare. No need to apologize, helping noobs is the entire point of this thread. I'm listening to mofolotopo's Latin clip (spruce-topped Kala concert), and playing along a little with my da's Kala tenor. It's hard to judge given I'm hearing it through speakers, but his tone seems a little richer, and that's about the only difference. I don't know if it's an audio illusion, or if it's the spruce top making way more of a difference than I thought, but his sounds great. $20 extra for spruce isn't bad at all, and it'll probably hold that $20 increase if you resell it later to upgrade. I'd say bite the bullet and get the spruce concert. There isn't a particularly huge difference between those two variants. The reason mofolotopo's piece might sound "guitar-like" is because it isn't tinny, and most people associate tinniness with ukes. quote:Will I destroy my ukulele or something if I try to screw an end pin into it? If you google up "ukulele strap" you'll get various posts discussing this. Apparently it can be done safely on most models. Maybe use a bit of mirror to peer inside and make sure you're drilling into the endblock? Definitely pre-drill a hole slightly smaller than your screw so you don't crack the wood. Or if you don't want to mess with that, a "ukulele thong" is a rubber-coated hook which goes under the body, comes up and hooks on to the soundhole, so requires no mods. I have one and am pretty pleased with it. There are one or two models on eBay for $10ish, or you could rig up a cheap imitation at home with some wire, string, and duct-tape to coat the wire so it won't scratch. TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Dec 12, 2007 |
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Dec 12, 2007 04:31
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:The reason mofolotopo's piece might sound "guitar-like" is because it isn't tinny, and most people associate tinniness with ukes. Ah, that's probably it, but what if I like the tinniness?  edit: Oh, are you saying that other clips are tinny because of the way they were recorded?
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Dec 12, 2007 04:42
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Beasticly posted:Ah, that's probably it, but what if I like the tinniness? Not totally sure what mofolotopo did. Dude: any insight on why your uke sounds really rich through even my crappy speakers? If you want something tinnier, going soprano would definitely help. I like mellow, so more tenor for me. Concert is in the middle, and for whatever reason mofolotopo's sounds great. The Flea soprano ukes aren't tinny, quite to the opposite they're actually a little muddy. I still have one, since they look awesome and they're durable (so I can carry it around all day and not freak if it gets knocked over). My electric Risa uke, however, is shrill as hell unless I use fX pedals on it.
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Dec 12, 2007 04:52
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:There are two major possibilities: a) the string is brand-new and still stretching out to its eventual size b) the peghead itself isn't tight enough and is rotating under tension. Yes! I totally didn't see those screws last night. Serves me right for playing in a poorly lit room! Thanks!
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Dec 12, 2007 12:49
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How do you play an E major? My fingers won't work that way!! I can't get a good sound out of the three top strings without messing up my bottom string.
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Dec 12, 2007 13:55
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Flipping coin between the Concert package http://cgi.ebay.com/KALA-BRAND-KA-C-Mahogany-Concert-Ukulele-Case-Setup_W0QQitemZ250194557064QQihZ015QQcategoryZ16224QQcmdZViewItem and the Soprano package http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Kala-KA-S-Mahogany-Soprano-Ukulele-STARTER-PACK_W0QQitemZ250196248274QQihZ015QQcategoryZ16224QQcmdZViewItem Either way it's my Christmas gift to me 
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Dec 12, 2007 15:12
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Whitefish posted:How do you play an E major? My fingers won't work that way!! I can't get a good sound out of the three top strings without messing up my bottom string. Took me forever to get this. My first few years of playing I just used my thumb but when I realized how hosed up I was doing it and how much more difficult it made it in the long run, I forced myself to play it properly. It's just one of those things that only repetition is going to help.
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Dec 12, 2007 16:09
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Jesus Christ I don't have stubby meaty fingers why can't I hold the frets properly. This is frustrating ahhhhhhh. Any tips anyone? (And how does that IZ guy do it? His thumb is the size of my wrist!) themongol fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Dec 12, 2007 |
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Dec 12, 2007 17:19
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Oh, did you get that dulcimer up and running? Is it a decent enough instrument for the $70 I paid for it? I did indeed, and am enjoying it quite a bit. At first I felt a little limited by the fact that it's not chromatic, but then I realized that I could play slide a string at a time using a tablespoon while the rest of the strings were left open to drone, and since then I've been wailing away at it. I don't have the ability to record and post video, but I'll put an audio track up soon. I'd like to figure out an actual song to record with it before I pass it on, but if you have someone else waiting on it I'll send it whenever. I'll probably buy my own soon. Thanks again! TapTheForwardAssist posted:Not totally sure what mofolotopo did. Dude: any insight on why your uke sounds really rich through even my crappy speakers? Part of it is probably the Kala Red strings; they've got a much more mellow tone than most uke strings. The rest of it is the magic of EQ and reverb. It was sounding more tinny to me in the recording than it does live, so I just boosted the lows and mids. I like the tinny uke sound myself for some applications, but for solo instrumentals it just sounds a bit too thin.
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Dec 12, 2007 17:22
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themongol posted:Jesus Christ I don't have stubby meaty fingers why can't I hold the frets properly. It helps to spend a little time very deliberately forming the chords which give you trouble. Look at the fretboard, bring your fingers down one-by-one. Ensure: -finger is in the right place -finger isn't ON the fret or WAY behind the fret, but is placed just a little bit to the headstock-side of the proper fret. -finger is only affecting the string(s) you intend, not interfering with its neighbor. Fingers too far back, or right up on the fret are common mistakes. Likewise on the more complicated chords you need to really arch your fingers so you're coming straight down from above, so that you don't bump the neighboring strings. If you hit some frustration, just knock out some really easy chords for a bit and just work on your strum/rhythm. I'd say go with C and Am a bunch of times. Sounds exotic, and they only use one finger each: C: 0003 Am: 2000
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Dec 12, 2007 19:54
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I'm having trouble holding it right. I'm trying to push my right (strumming) arm against the uke so it holds it into my body, but I can't seem to do that without it shooting out away from me. Finding it tricky to change chords without it slipping down.
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Dec 12, 2007 23:16
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Whitefish posted:I'm having trouble holding it right. I'm trying to push my right (strumming) arm against the uke so it holds it into my body, but I can't seem to do that without it shooting out away from me. Finding it tricky to change chords without it slipping down. Have you tried playing in your lap or on your knee, just to avoid that problem temporarily while you work on your other skills?
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Dec 13, 2007 00:29
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I guess I could try that out.
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Dec 13, 2007 01:01
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Whoop, just bought the Kala concert spruce top with an extra set of Aquila strings that were recommended by the lady I was emailing. Hopefully I'll get it by Christmas and be back to bug you all with more questions. Thanks to everyone that helped me out so far! Oh, and I found a really awesome jazz ukulele player browing the web the other day. Here's his rendition of the Sesame Street song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfcpRW0wgv0
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Dec 13, 2007 08:50
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I never knew the ukulele sounded so good, sure I heard the Guitar Gently Weeping but I thought that was just an anomaly. But I love the ragtime-y song that mofolotopo posted, ragtime rocks and it sounds really nice. I have been playing the guitar for about seven months and I tend to focus on classical/fingerpicking songs, and while my right hand can usually get the songs pretty fast my left hand takes a while to catch up. It looks like a ukulele would be perfect for me since a lot of the chord fingerings are simpler than guitar and because there are only four strings I can keep my hand in one place while playing. For songs though, is it difficult to translate guitar tabs to ukulele tabs? I looks at some of the sites posted here and while there are some popular song tabs it would be great to transcribe music from songs I already know on the guitar to the ukulele, for backing or melody. Would it be a good idea to get the baritone so it's closer to a guitar or would it be worthwhile to get one of the smaller ones that have the weird tunings and learn those? It seems like getting the smaller ones would be more fun. Also, is using your thumb only the usual way to play the ukulele or will being able to play each separately help a lot since it seems like a lot of the tabs I see are strumming chords or have few overlapping notes?
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Dec 13, 2007 08:54
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Sindow posted:[transcribing tab questions] Folks strum in different ways. I usually stroke down with the back of my middle finger and up with the back of my thumb. I also finger-pick a fair bit, and believe that finger-picking uke is pretty common these days. Re: transcribing tab. I really wouldn't bother transcribing at first, just play the exact same fingerings you would on guitar (though you're "missing" two bass strings), and just be aware that you're playing four keys higher than you would be on guitar. I would definitely recommend any of the smaller (GCEA) ukes over a baritone. A baritone would be very similar to a small classical guitar, whereas any of the other sizes would be much more distinctive.
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Dec 13, 2007 09:12
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Ordered one of musicguy's concert Kala's last night. Exciting!
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Dec 13, 2007 19:04
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I am so glad this thread prompted me to get a uke. Learning guitar chords was really hard for me for some reason. If I memorized a couple of chords to play a song (which took forever), if I went back the next day I would have already forgotten them or have taken a really long time struggling to remember. If I tried to do more than 3 or so at the same time, I'd keep mixing them up. It's the complete opposite on the uke! I'm learning the chords without even trying, I can't believe how easy it is/how much fun I'm having. I just spent the last 3 hours messing around playing random songs, and I'm already better than I ever was on guitar. If anyone in this thread is still on the fence, hop over and get a uke.
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Dec 13, 2007 21:26
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I will vault over. I played guitar for a year. (and sounded like someone who has played 1/8 of that time) I took lessons and burnt out on practicing. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I never had fun playing guitar. Reading this thread and the positive responses therein, I feel like I could give the uke a shot and have a blast.
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Dec 14, 2007 00:35
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Corsair Canard posted:It's the complete opposite on the uke! I'm learning the chords without even trying, I can't believe how easy it is/how much fun I'm having. I just spent the last 3 hours messing around playing random songs, and I'm already better than I ever was on guitar. Is it just the smaller quantity of strings and the shorter reach to form chords that's making the difference to you? Is it that the action is easier (easier to press strings down to frets)? I'd be curious to hear what's making the difference for you. For what it's worth, after spending lots of time playing uke/mando/bozouki/dulcimer, etc., I don't feel very comfortable chording on a full-size steel string guitar. I can do melody work on it fine, but I just don't dig strumming on it. String tension is pretty high, for one thing.
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Dec 14, 2007 04:37
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