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N8UD: 8-string Uke

Stackabones

By Stackabones
in Acoustic Guitars

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Stackabones Newbie

Stackabones

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I got it used off a forumite over at Ukulele Underground. Lanikai O-8E, 8-string tenor with electronics.

 

Tuned kinda like a 12-string, the 8-string uke is tuned in octaves, octaves, unison, unison: Gg Cc EE AA. The original owner had a slightly different arrangment for the A string -- octaves, octaves, unison, octaves, Gg Cc EE Aa. The lower sounding G and A strings are actually wound, while the rest are plain nylon.

 

I've used it a few gigs and it gets a lot of attention. :)

 

Didn't get a pic before sending it up to my tech for setup (and get the other strings on it), but I did get a recording to capture how it sounds with the previous owner's string arrangement. I'm using a felt pick.

 

Mysterious 8-string uke

 

fyi, I recorded this song for a previous VOM on my Kala Arcthop Tenor, which is the same size uke but only four strings.

Mysterious 4-string uke. (strummed with fingers)

 

270782.jpg

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Stackabones Newbie

Stackabones

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Your recordings always sound nice and clean. What are you using to record?

 

Thanks! Zoom H4n. I've used the Zoom H4 in the past, but I sold it to hypcollector so that I could upgrade to the H4n. This recording was uke & vox on one track. Dumped it into GarageBand to boost the levels just a bit and cut some time off the beginning (you know the clicking and settling in sounds). You'll notice the motorcycle at the end. It was so perfectly timed that I just had to leave it in.:)

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Stackabones Newbie

Stackabones

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Wow! What a cool sound. I was expecting it to be like a 12-string with a chorus-type effect, but it sounds like there's more than one uke playing. Can I ask why the felt pick? Is that standard for uke?

 

 

Yeah, the felt pick is a bit more common among uke players when using a pick, though other kinds of course are used (fingerstyle is the default). Felt is a little softer sounding than other picks I've used, which have tended to make my ukes sound a little too bright and brittle. Not sure about the 8-stringers and what they use, for there's not too much info out there.

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gull12 Newbie

gull12

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Beautiful sound. Beautiful instrument. If I'm not mistaken, the people in Hawaii refer to the eight-string uke as a 'taropatch', and they seem to be used a lot by the slack-key groups over there.

 

My grandfather had a Martin T28 tiple for many years, tuned Gg cCc eEe AA.

I spent many hours playing that tiple and the sound that came out of that little box was amazing. Very full and mellow.

47t28ful.jpg

Thanks for sharing that........great find.

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Stackabones Newbie

Stackabones

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My grandfather had a Martin T28 tiple for many years, tuned Gg cCc eEe AA.

I spent many hours playing that tiple and the sound that came out of that little box was amazing. Very full and mellow.

47t28ful.jpg
Thanks for sharing that........great find.

 

That's a gorgeous instrument. :love: I had no idea the tiple was so similar. The only mention of one that I remember was in the instrument credits on the XTC album Skylarking.

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masterbuilt Newbie

masterbuilt

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TAROPATCH


Also the nickname of the uke. This may help clarify.



or


 

 

More properly, the ukulele tuned slack-key, open G was called taropatch and often eight-string ukes were used, but not always. Ten-string ukes became known as "tipples" and Martin made some that are now often collected.

 

Even though I am the publisher of Ukulele Player Magazine, I really don't get into slack-key playing in the Hawaiian tradition. There are blues artists, however, that always seemed to capture my attention.

 

A Nunes uke of any kind is highly collectible.

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gull12 Newbie

gull12

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More properly, the ukulele tuned slack-key, open G was called taropatch and often eight-string ukes were used, but not always. Ten-string ukes became known as "tipples" and Martin made some that are now often collected.


Even though I am the publisher of Ukulele Player Magazine, I really don't get into slack-key playing in the Hawaiian tradition. There are blues artists, however, that always seemed to capture my attention.


A Nunes uke of any kind is highly collectible.

 

 

I apologize for not being clear. I did not mean to imply that the ten-string uke was tuned to taropatch slack-key tuning or used as a primary slack-key instrument. Many slack-key groups in Hawaii (Bla Pahinui, Sonny Chillingsworth, Daniel Ho, etc.) have used them as background instruments (sometimes lead) because they add a fuller sound to the high end than the standard uke.

 

The taropatch slack-key tuning, of which you speak, is one of the more popular. Bla Pahinui's father, the great Gabby Pahinui, played mainly in taropatch tuning.

 

In the twenty-three years I lived in Hawaii, slack-key became my lifelong passion but, sadly to say, even after thousands of hours of practice, my unattainable lifelong passion.

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Stackabones Newbie

Stackabones

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Stack:


I found this wonderful link you will enjoy, complete with You Tube links for each instrument. You may want to scroll down to instruments 1,2, and 3.
http://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/n_america.htm

 

taro-pach fiddle!!! :D Interesting how the concert used to be the size for these.

 

I've seen some vids with the Tahitian uke. Cool lookin' instrument. Almost as if the Gibson Moderne series had a uke.

 

I looked up some old Martin Tiples. Some of the low-end ones are approachable for a man of my modest means, but they often need so much work. The nice ones are just eye candy for me.

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gull12 Newbie

gull12

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Glad you found the link. Interesting, huh? I remember reading somewhere that Martin also made an entry-level tiple, way back when, that was made of mahogany with a mahogany top. I'll bet that one has a great tone.!.!.

 

Congratulations on your new 8-string. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. :wave:

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