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Wicked GAS for...a Ukulele????


chiro972

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Seriously. Does anyone play a Uke? Can you recommend a good starter that sounds good and is reasonable??

 

I would like something that actually has a real fretboard and is decently made. I'll have to mail order it since the local guitar shops only carry crappy toys.

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Lanikai (by Hohner) aren't bad.

Martins are great.

Kamakas are even better.

 

In the used market, 50's-60's all-mahogany Harmony ukes sometimes come up for reasonable prices.

 

You owe it to yourself to play a good uke for a basis of comparison. It is freaking amazing how much gorgeous angelic bell-like tone comes out of that little box when you play a Martin or Kamaka.

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I bought a tenor Lanikai from Musician's Friend a couple weeks ago, and a case to go along with it. I'm pleasantly surprised. It certainly sounds and feels good enough for me to want to play it and continue playing it. I've spent hours at a time with that thing already. And I genuinely believe that it helps with guitar since you actually have to think about which notes you're playing. It's a challenge to transpose on the fly.

 

Go for it. You won't be disappointed.

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Originally posted by chiro972

Ouch man. That hurt my eyes!!


Seriously, there are some amazing Uke players out there and I'd like to try one.


Most of you have seen it already, but if you haven't, check out this vid:


Amazing Uke player

 

 

WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!

 

That was seriously one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard :cry:

 

I am stunned at this guys talent :eek:

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I had a Uke, the bass on the outside took a bit of getting used to, but its cool. Ive no idea where its gone now though, I think I'll have to get another one.

 

Having any extra instrument is always real cool, but uke's are just awesome. Dont let their small stature fool you at all, they rip.

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Originally posted by bcjames

I had a Uke, the bass on the outside took a bit of getting used to, but its cool. Ive no idea where its gone now though, I think I'll have to get another one.


Having any extra instrument is always real cool, but uke's are just awesome. Dont let their small stature fool you at all, they rip.

 

Bass on the outside?:confused:

 

Tenor and bari ukes are tuned and fingered/chorded just like the high four on a guitar, and in that order D-G-B-E.

 

Soprano and concert ukes have the same relative tuning, except up a fourth G-C-E-A.

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went to a Jimmy Buffett concert recently. He had a guest uke player from Hawaii. The guy was amazing. I had never really paid much attention to the uke before him, but that changed my mind.

 

Oh yeah, and there's always Brother Iz as well... if you don't have his records, well... you should! :D

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Originally posted by BlackHatHunter

went to a Jimmy Buffett concert recently. He had a guest uke player from Hawaii. The guy was amazing. I had never really paid much attention to the uke before him, but that changed my mind.


Oh yeah, and there's always Brother Iz as well... if you don't have his records, well... you should!
:D

 

There is no doubt that the uke is a bona fide instrument, with true virtuosos. In the 1920's-1940's, it was arguably more popular than the guitar for hobbyist string players (and it IS portable!)

 

Bruddah Iz (the late :cry: ) is one artist who invariably makes me tear-y: gorgeous voice, sweet arrangements, honest, innocent, angelic.

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Originally posted by jerry_picker



Bass on the outside?
:confused:

Tenor and bari ukes are tuned and fingered/chorded just like the high four on a guitar, and in that order D-G-B-E.


Soprano and concert ukes have the same relative tuning, except up a fourth G-C-E-A.

 

When i got mine I had the two low strings on the outside and the two high ones in the middle. I thought that was normal. I restrang it as you said just then in a guitar style, I didnt think that was proper uke'y.

 

me = :freak:

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Originally posted by bcjames



When i got mine I had the two low strings on the outside and the two high ones in the middle. I thought that was normal. I restrang it as you said just then in a guitar style, I didnt think that was proper uke'y.


me =
:freak:

 

The tuning is the same as strings 1-4 on a standard tuned guitar.....barred at the 7th fret

 

A-D-F#-B

 

:cool:

 

You want beautiful, badass Uke playing

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000JFG3/103-2324162-4875814?v=glance&n=5174

 

 

Scroll down and listen to his arrangement of 'Somewhere over the rainbow / Wonderful World :eek:

 

Actually, the entire CD kicks ass.

 

RIP IZ:(

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1) an easy soprano tuning is G C E A

see

http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/e-tuner/

 

http://www.ukuleleworld.com/uw_tune.html

 

 

2) I have a Lanakai Pineapple. It does feel a bit toyish, but sounds ok. Intonation isn't great but I figured I'd wait on a Bushman or Martin until I could swing a few songs on it. Got it a few weeks ago, and my girlfriend took it to play it! Remember, the strings have to stretch a bit so it might go flat easy at first.

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I saw Jake Shimabukuro when he toured with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The kid just absolutely rips and is super melodic as well. When he played his solo, it was like nobody was paying attention at the beginning, but were all on their feet with jaws on the floor by the end. Cool.

 

jake.jpg

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Originally posted by BlackHatHunter

looks like something you'd stick up a bird's behind to roast it over an open flame!
:D

 

 

The story I've heard is that the Kook-a-la-le (and its companion instrument, the 3-stringed Treholipee) was designed to be played on the beach, with the extra-long, pointed neck to be stuck in the sand when the player wanted to go and "catch a wave" (quotation marks in homage to Brian Wilson).

 

I've seen a photo of Nancy Sinatra holding a Kook-a-la-le, but a Google search was unable to locate it.

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