Anyone play the ukulele?

[vcnyls]

I was at a ski house that some friends rented over the weekend and this one guy brought along a soprano uke. Picked it up and played for a little while (he taught me some basic chords - C, G, Am, A, D, Em) and it was a lot of fun! I've been thinking for a long time about picking up a mandolin to mess around with but now I'm toying with a uke instead (who am I kidding - in addition to the mando). Looks like decent ones can be picked up for very cheap...

 

Anyone have one? Thoughts on a soprano vs. a tenor for a beginner? Brands to go with or avoid?

 

Let's see some pics! Feed my UAS.

[bsman]

I smell a NUDe coming....

[CoqBelliqueux]

I had an "ok" one for school, but, really? Ukelele-mania? I'd rather get a finnish kantele. Are you sure you wouldn't get bored quickly?

[brianeharmonjr]

I play Uke and love it. As far as the sizes go, I like Concert sized ukes the best. Concert is between a soprano and tenor, but all three are usually tuned the same. I believe that the standard is Soprano=13" scale, Concert=15" scale, Tenor=17" scale.

 

Uke is a great instrument for a guitar player to pick up because you're playing the same chord shapes. A uke tuned standard GCEA from low to high are the same notes as the top 4 strings of a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret.

 

As far as good entry level brands to check out, I have a couple of Lanikai ukes that I love, both of which are in the LU series which run $50-$200 depending on what scale and whether you get a pickup. I've also played some nice Kala ukes in that range and the Flea and Fluke ukes are pretty cool and US-made for under $200. If you want to step in the $200-$500 range, you should definitely check out Pono ukes. They're killer quality, gorgeous, and usually come with a really nice case.

[m90guy]

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Pono FTMFW

[paulojcduarte]

I play a bit of the original portuguese version of the uke, but was more into mandolin (not the american with the micro tiny necks, jesus my hands aren't that small )

 

 

You should like these

 

 

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I used to play in a group like this in college:

 

 

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Found one, here we are on the street playing for the ladies (I'm not here, I was one of the 4 founders in 96, and atm only play in the odd occasion as I don't live in Lisbon any more and with work, wife, my band I don't have the time any more )

 

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I do miss these days.

[hshaitan]

A friend got me one for my birthday and I couldn't be happier with it! It's a lot of fun and is good for dragging around with you on trips so you have something to play. A guitar just doesn't usually fit into overhead carry-on compartments. But ukuleles do!

[vcnyls]

Which one do you have hshaitan?

[Pappity-Pap-Pap]

I love my Ohana concert uke my wife got me. She ordered it from Elderly Instruments. It arrived in tune and they even put decent Aquila strings on it. I recommend a concert-sized uke. Here's a pic of mine:

[Elias Graves]

Stackabones over on the AG forum has a killer baritone. Look him up...he has some great vids.

 

EG

[Zemmy]

i want one of these, because i'm hopelessly stuck in 1987

 

[fuzztone]

 

 

 

[A_Gitarman]

I picked up a Lanakai soprano uke last month on an Amazon 'gold box' deal... got it and the case for about the regular price of the uke by itself.

 

 

It comes with a starter book containing a few tunes & a chord chart on the back. It's a nice sounding instrument and seems well made. My only problem is that whenever I try to play it my kid wants a turn

 

She has a Rogue baritone uke that a friend of mine gave her for her 2nd birthday. It's nowhere near as nice of an instrument as the Lanakai, but makes a fine toy 'guitar' for her.

[Brian Krashpad]

I have a MIC Johnson (iirc a Muso's Friend house brand) uke, but honestly I never play the thing unless I take it to the beach on vacation or something.

 

Once I tightened the tuning peg screws it held tune nicely, surprisingly. As noted above the tuning renders the same chord shapes as the 4 highest strings on a guitar-- just in a different key. So you can chop down your guitar chords and instantly play the same song on uke (albeit in the "wrong" key). However, iirc the "lowest" (G) string is an octave up, meaning you can't translate solos from guitar unless you stick to the top 3 strings.

 

I've ended up playing a lot of mando instead of late, despite that the chord shapes are different. As you may know, the intervals on mando are the same as those on a bass or the 4 low strings of a 6-string guitar-- but in reverse order. I've been playing one song per service most weeks in church, plus have joined an acoustic-oriented band (my mando is a cheap Oscar Schmitt A/E) where my main role is mandolinist. Just chords mainly at this point, as have been playing less than a year.

 

The uke can be seen in the pic below (the mando is one I borrowed from my dad, which's since been returned):

 

[El Glom-o]

I can't play it, but I have a Swagerty "Kook-a-la-lee" that my dad found left behind at the Naval Academy one June.

[vcnyls]

i want one of these, because i'm hopelessly stuck in 1987

 

Ha. I was looking at those and would dig one in black so it matches my other 2 Ovations.

 

Thanks for the suggestions all. Guitar Center near my office is getting in a bunch of new ukes next week and I'm going to check them out. Also going to go up to 48th St. and do the rounds. We shall see...

[odo]

I have a Martin soprano Uke, Never played it, the tuners need some work.