incoming NUD

[grim83]

So I couldn't resist Sweetwater has had a sale going on and I went ahead and grabbed a kohala kine'o concert uke. This is my first forray and I'm a wee bit excited to have another instrument to mess with. Will post pics when I receive it.

[Carmel Cedar]

Congrats in advance! Look forward to pic's and your initial impressions when it arrives.

[Twilo123]

Congrats man! i jumped in and got my 1st uke about a month or so ago and haven't looked back since. after playing my 1st for a day i read up on them and found there are 4 main types so i picked examples of the other 3 up. 3 things i have come away with so far from uke's (at least for me anyways).

1. good to practice strumming techniques
2. any cover i find on guitar for a song i find on uke even easier for the most part.
3. i think this is a great entry piece to guitar especially for kids. i wish i had a uke as a kid. the chords tend to be easier, nylon strings are easier, strumming requires less surface attack and wrist movement, etc. all in all just a bit easier to learn/play basic stuff.

[grim83]

Thanks guys and nice collection twilo. I bought this for two main reasons

1. To have something similar to a guitar to mess with and be easy to travel with.

2. My nephew always trys to "help" me play guitar and I think in another year or two it would be a nice easy instrument to get him started on and have an excuse for spending time together. Our large extended family is a musical bunch so it would be nice to bring him into the fold so to speak.

Plus if you've seen Jake shimbakuru (sp?) Play as my guitar gently weeps how can you not want to mess with one.

[darylcrisp]

string it with a low G string on top and you have a similar tonal range of the guitar.

this lady plays with a low G:







and this young fellow uses the high G top string



lots of Kalei on youtube

enjoy the Uke, its a whole other world of great music
d

[grim83]

Aaaaaaaand it has arrived. Very quick shipping from Sweetwater. I have no clue what about ukuleles but the action feels a little high and the strings are junk bit other then that it's a pretty sweet little 40 dollar uke and it's not made from plastic lol. Sounds like you'd expect a Ile to but I have no idea how that compares against Nicer ones. This will fill the need I have nicely. Btw I love how the concerts look like a Gibson l00. I'll add pics later when I get a chance.

[Earl49]

Grim, welcome to the world of ukulele. You might want to peruse my website: www.boiseukulelegroup.com for chord charts and other free stuff.

Think "capo at the fifth fret" and removing the two bass strings from your guitar, and you have the uke. So the D chord shape from guitar becomes the G chord for uke. Just add three whole letters to every chord you know, and forget those pesky 5th and 6th strings. Many of us use a low G string to get some extra lower notes, much like the guitar. The classic uke sound is the high G re-entrant tuning. Either way works.

[grim83]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Grim, welcome to the world of ukulele. You might want to peruse my website: www.boiseukulelegroup.com for chord charts and other free stuff.

Think "capo at the fifth fret" and removing the two bass strings from your guitar, and you have the uke. So the D chord shape from guitar becomes the G chord for uke. Just add three whole letters to every chord you know, and forget those pesky 5th and 6th strings. Many of us use a low G string to get some extra lower notes, much like the guitar. The classic uke sound is the high G re-entrant tuning. Either way works.

Thanks I was noticing the 3rd string was thicker than the fourth thought the factory had a slip up. Spent all night playing it pretty fun little box. I think I'm going to get another set of strings and maybe file the saddle down a tad. Overall I'm pretty impressed for 40 bucks with a gig bag and it's not made of plastic so that's a win lol. I just have to find some songs that are not so hokey sounding on it and I'd care to play so far I have found wagon wheel is a fun one for it. Not really sure how to transpose my usual blues playing over yet but I'll figure something out.

[Earl49]

If playing alone, just play your normal stuff on the uke. It won't be in the key you are used to, so if playing with others you -- or they -- will have to transpose. Uke can do nearly anything, and complex jazz chords become quite easy with only four strings to worry about.

I fingerpick "Stairway to Heaven" on my uke regularly, and play songs like "Nights in White Satin" and other rock & roll tunes all the time. My uke goes to bluegrass jams regularly since it occupies the same tonal range as a mandolin. If the jams has several guitars and no mandos, I switch to uke to fill that space. If it is a heavy mando night, I go back to guitar.

[grim83]

Originally Posted by Earl49

If playing alone, just play your normal stuff on the uke. It won't be in the key you are used to, so if playing with others you -- or they -- will have to transpose. Uke can do nearly anything, and complex jazz chords become quite easy with only four strings to worry about.

I fingerpick "Stairway to Heaven" on my uke regularly, and play songs like "Nights in White Satin" and other rock & roll tunes all the time. My uke goes to bluegrass jams regularly since it occupies the same tonal range as a mandolin. If the jams has several guitars and no mandos, I switch to uke to fill that space. If it is a heavy mando night, I go back to guitar.

I noticed the mando comparison has me thinking I need to learn copperhead road. Definately a lot of things that are difficult on the guitar seem to be much easier with a uke. One day with it and I'm already thinking about buying another (dear Lord never let the misses see that).

[muzz76]

I got bitten by the uke bug in the last year. Portable, quite easy to learn (especially crossing over from guitar) and the well built ones are great sounding.