Ukulele Anyone?

[Memphis Soul]

The mandolin thread got me thinking of these. Anyone here play a ukulele? Another instrument I tried and could not get the hang of. I still have it though. I was wanting a Martin solid koa uke and decided before dropping $500 on one I would buy a cheap one to test the waters. I bought a $49 Donner of of Temu and I must say it is actually not a bad like uke. It sounds really good and looks very pretty. It also came with a nice little gig bag. I’m glad I tried it before buying the Martin but a part of me thinks if I would have bought the Martin I would have put a little more effort into learning it. I still may as I love the sound of a ukulele. my wife got us tickets to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and I had something come up and had to miss it. She said it was amazing. I hate I missed it.

 

[VintageSG]

This could become an addiction confessional support group...

'Hi group. My name is VintageSG and I enjoy playing my ukuleles'
( Did he use the plural? ) 'Hi VintageSG. We don't judge here. How many ukes do you own?'

( Dare I risk exposing my dirty little addiction so early? ) 'A decent selection...'


Ukes are great. If you bought a soprano to begin with, you probably found it small, twee and a little tricksy. Don't be afraid to use a strap, adding a button on the heelstock or tied to the head. Try an alto/concert scale and a tenor for comparison. I'd avoid the sopranino, but it was fun playing 'Nothing Else Matters' on mine and 'Losing My Religion' came out well too. Tied my ruddy fingers up though.
A ukulele will improve your fingerstyle playing while introducing you to new strum patterns that you can carry forward to your electric playing.

It was the Uke orchestra's appearance on the Proms that finally convinced me.

 

[Mindthebull]

Yeah I have a mahogany uke I assembled from a stewmac kit… I use the term “assembled” loosely as there was a lot more to it than was expected.

If you are moving from the guitar try a tenor 1st and I suggest using a low C on the bottom so that it’s basically strung like top 4 strings of guitar capoed at 5th fret. Use partial chord shapes and you will get the hang of it. Lot of fun.

 

[buster poser]

Yup, wound low G will make converting from six string easier. iReal Pro has uke charts now, worth the money

I have the Fender branded Tele shaped one. It’s a joy to play if you can do two or four chord to a bar stuff

 

[Freeman Keller]

I own a 1930's Martin soprano uke that my father picked up for ten bucks at an estate sale. I've taken in on a couple of back packing trip to have something to play in the evening altho honestly I don't really play it. I've also had a number of ukes of various shapes and sizes cross my work bench for various reasons, here is my Martin with a U-bass and a uke-joe

 

[tintag27]

Ukelele Bob!
Well I don't play myself - but I was wandering along the canal last year, and came across this chap playing his uke on the towpath in the evening sun, so I stopped for a chat. He was a very interesting lad, being a pro musician who played local venues and had his own website. He introduced himself by his stage name - Ukulele Bob! Turns out he was testing a prototype instrument and was in the process of setting up a company to import these high-end models, so I asked for a look. Beautifully made of exotic woods which rang like a bell, and had a really sweet tone. He gave me a quick demonstration - he was an excellent player!
Bob seemed confident there was a market for hand-made instruments like these that could go for as high as £200...

I wished him well!

 

[oldunc]

Maybe you could catch these guys

 

[aging_rocker]

My favourite ukulele-based outfit

 

[wulfenganck]

I used to play quite a lot Ukulele for a couple of years. Tenor uke, soprano is just too small....I haven't done anything for the past 2 years, mainly because we did other songs and partly, because ost of the audience regard it as a kind of joke. I don't, it's a unique sound and there are some amazing players around.
Hmm, think I shipuld get it out again.....

 

[davidchagrin]

Ukulele is great! I have a handful of them, and I've had many more over the years. I especially enjoy playing uke when I hit a plateau with my guitar playing. It takes me out of the box I'm stuck in, opening up new and different musical opportunities.
Regarding ukulele size, I prefer tenor, as I find it easier to play.

 

[jdl57]

I have a bass, which I don't play much, a banjo, which I don't play well, and these:

A tenor Fender Montecito in Koa, and a soprano Flea from Magic Fluke. I used to stuff the Flea in my suitcase when I was working (airline pilot) and took it on trips. The flea has a composite back and fretboard, and a laminate top. I figured the constant changes in altitude and humidity wouldn't hurt it. It sounds quite good.

 

[Memphis Soul]

Mine is a tenor.

 

[Stringbanger]

A uke crosses my mind occasionally, but I have so many other non-guitar instruments, that I’m running out of storage space. I would probably opt for a mando first.

 

[FourStringsorSix]

I have several. Enjoy playing them.

 

[MyLittleEye]

A uke crosses my mind occasionally, but I have so many other non-guitar instruments, that I’m running out of storage space. I would probably opt for a mando first.

My Uke is strung like a mandolin with a set of Aquila GDAE nylons.
I mainly use it for jigs and reels and for camping. It's even more travel and campsite friendly than a mandolin.

 

[Tim S]

I don’t have a ukulele, but I do have a Yamaha Guitalele. It’s tuned like a guitar capo’ed at the 5th fret.

 

[stxrus]

I’ve got one that she didn’t remember ordering. Surprise! When she left one of the things she left behind. It’s a Donner. I’ve messed with a couple of times. When I get situated I’ll break it out again. I like good uke music.

 

[stxrus]

There is a uke orchestra that does a killer version of The Good The Bad And The Ugly. Phenomenal

 

[Kandinskyesque]

I'm a fan of the Banjolele.
Watching the great Mr Formby makes me want to learn to play like him.

 

[John Backlund]

I bought this Lanikai A/E uke a couple years ago to use it for one song, Roger Miller's 'King Of The Road', then never played it again. $360 down the toilet as it turns out. I've run local ads for it several times, but no bites. Very nice wood in this one.