Who is into Ukulele?

[cpmusic]

Originally Posted by guitarlancer

Kamaka makes a wonderful ukulele and is authentic to Hawaii.

There are also the other "K" brands which are hand-made in Hawaii: Ko'olau, and KoAloha. They don't come cheap, but they are not imported.

[RazorbackRough]

I haven't been bitten by the uke bug...yet.

I've seriously considered pulling some strings to get Santa to bring one each for my five year old daughter and myself, though. I thought it might be something fun for us to learn together.

Of course I will have to go for something less expensive in a fun color for her.

I guess we will just have to see what the big man in red has planned.

[cu4life7]

I enjoy it, but only intermittently. I would love to really learn some material so I can use it for travel, camping, the beach, etc. I currently have a keli'i that is my wife's grandmothers. Just borrowing it, and she wants it back. Currently eyeballing the new deering banjo uke. It is more up my alley tone wise and I love the tone and vibe of these banjo ukes. The 11in pot is a revelation compared to the competion.

If money was no object, I would have a collings concert of some sort and beansprout.

[Neal]

Originally Posted by guitarlancer

Kamaka makes a wonderful ukulele and is authentic to Hawaii.
There's plenty of others too outside of Martin Collings etc.

Hawaii's American?! . Doh!

[Br1ck]

I got to play a soprano Kamaka once. It was a beautiful, if rediculously tiny, instrument. Very happy with my Pono MT. Not too expensive, but very high quality. I'd go tenor as a first Uke.

[cpmusic]

Originally Posted by cu4life7

I would love to really learn some material so I can use it for travel, camping, the beach, etc.

Start by bringing over some songs you play on guitar. It'll feel and sound odd at first, especially with re-entrant (high 4th string) tuning, but it can bring some fresh air into songs you know well, and it will help you find your way around the ukulele.

Also, there are a lot of instructional videos on YouTube to give you a boost, so you can get a feel for the instrument before you spend any money on instruction books and videos.

I recommend going no smaller than a concert scale. A lot of folks play sopranos, including some of the world's best ukulele players, but I find that short scale cramped. The concert scale isn't much longer by the ruler, but it's a lot easier to handle.

[CaffeinatedOne]

My friend Kevin Crossett of Montpelier Vt. builds ukes one at a time and sells them as Kepasa Ukes. You can find his website by doing a google search. Here are some Youtube vids of Kepsas.

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by guitarlancer

Kamaka makes a wonderful ukulele and is authentic to Hawaii.
There's plenty of others too outside of Martin Collings etc.

I have bought two high-end guitars this year, but have to admit that at the same time my Gretsch tenor uke has evolved into my main instrument (though it's China made). Set up with low G it's just much easier to sing along than with a big guitar, but has a nice chunky neck which is perfect. And yeah I would love to have a Kamaka tenor ...

[JCave]

Originally Posted by merlin666

And yeah I would love to have a Kamaka tenor ...

Playing guitar, this baritone Riptide does have it's advantages. The great instruction book I bought is for Tenor, strings, fingering etc are all different than the baritone. Thanks to the net I've found help for baritones. Then maybe a tenor uke is in my future? Lots on CL to choose from. Building a kit over the winter could be cool.

[Twilo123]

Here's some pics of my Uke fam
When first researching Ukes I found there are 4 sizes and wanted to try them all so I wound up with 1 of each size.





Guitar Player

[cu4life7]

Originally Posted by cpmusic

Start by bringing over some songs you play on guitar. It'll feel and sound odd at first, especially with re-entrant (high 4th string) tuning, but it can bring some fresh air into songs you know well, and it will help you find your way around the ukulele.

Yeah, this is good advice. I guess I always seek something that sounds uke-ish like Jack Johnson and the like. But I should really give more material a try, and see how it goes. Most of my guitar playing is in the americana/roots genres where twang is the norm, so the thought of carrying that over to the mellow uke seems strange. Thus the search for banjo uke...

[cpmusic]

Originally Posted by cu4life7

Yeah, this is good advice. I guess I always seek something that sounds uke-ish like Jack Johnson and the like. But I should really give more material a try, and see how it goes. Most of my guitar playing is in the americana/roots genres where twang is the norm, so the thought of carrying that over to the mellow uke seems strange. Thus the search for banjo uke...

I know what you mean. But you'd be surprised what you find on a regular uke when you give it a chance, especially since the chord shapes and sounds are different on the uke for the keys you're used to. You can change the tempo, rhythm, and attack. You can even change the key. If a song you like is especially high or low for you, use the same chord shapes you know on the guitar. It took me a while to get there, but now I'm having fun re-discovering songs I haven't played for a while.

For example: The other day someone posted a video of Neil Young performing "Old Man" recorded some 40-45 years ago, and while it was running I picked up my handy uke and started playing along. I've since been playing around with it, and it works. Young's high tenor is a bit of a stretch but that's always been the case, so I'll try a different key next.

Here's the video:


Here's a good starter: If you know "Here Comes the Sun" on guitar, you can transfer it to the uke without any chord changes, since Harrison capoed up the fretboard on guitar (he went to the 7th fret, but the uke is only two half-steps lower at the nut). The re-entrant (high g 4th string) may sound odd at first, but I approached it fingerstyle instead of flat-picking, and it works well.

[Blueshoes]

My local community center offers lessons so I thought why not.
Started learning about 6 months ago lots of fun.
Thanks Lance you offer some great tips.

[Br1ck]

The ukulele is a very interesting instrument. I've taken to recording it in place of a mandolin, which I don't happen to have, on some of my songs. Fills up the high frequency spectrum without stepping in the vocal range.

I've also started to practice frailing on it, as I have the tenor strung high G, doing the old timey banjo thing on it.

I can record electric bass with treble rolled off, acoustic guitar, dobro, uke, and vocals and get a credible Americana thing going. Add a parlor in with a dread for a denser mix.

For a cool use of uke, google Adele singing her mega hit Hello wit Jimmy Fallon and the Roots. Uke, melodica, kazzos, banana shaker, tambourine, bongos, tom toms, and wood blocks. Brilliant, and they are having so much fun.