Ukulele

JohnMac

Addicted Member
Does anyone here mess around with a uke? My wife and I are going to uke jam at a local brew pub this afternoon. All skill levels invited. These are getting more common around here and I think it would be fun to join in.
I have an old plastic toy uke that is mostly unplayable. My wife has a decent baritone uke that she used when she taught music in public schools. I also have a cheapo garage sale baritone, but to me they are like a small classical guitar that is missing two strings. They don't give that plinky uke sound.

I'm thinking of getting a concert size uke. It will be for occasional use so I don't want to spend a lot but also don't want something that is so cheap that it is frustrating to play. Any suggestions, from experience, for something around at $100-$150?

Thanks!
John
 
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I picked one up a while back. I've learned Somewhere Over the Rainbow and figured out some bluesy stuff.
It is fun for sure. Not doing anything seriously at this time but who knows what might happen.
:thumbsup:
 
Just realized I failed to add anything of value to answer your question.:oops:
I have one of the Fender Hau'oli Mahogany Tenor's.
They go for about $180 from Musicians Friend or Guitar Center (owned by the same company).
Got it because I too didn't want to invest a whole lot but didn't want a POS either.
It's got decent tuners, sounds good and is very light.
That and the Tele headstock made me buy it!!
Hope this helps.
 
That Fender looks pretty good and gets good reviews. And yes, the Tele style headstock is way cool. Wonder what you pay for the name though.

I'm also looking at Kala. They offer a wide range of styles and prices.
 
We just got home from the uke jam. What a good time. Novices, like me, to experts participated.

The host was great. He insisted that he didn't want to run the show and encouraged anyone to take the stage and lead a song, vocals required. My wife took the lead on two songs. King Of The Road and Angels from Montgomery.

I felt like a bit of a cheater though. We were the only ones with baritone ukes. So much more like a guitar compared to the soprano and alto ukes that most were playing.
 
We just got home from the uke jam. What a good time. Novices, like me, to experts participated.

The host was great. He insisted that he didn't want to run the show and encouraged anyone to take the stage and lead a song, vocals required. My wife took the lead on two songs. King Of The Road and Angels from Montgomery.

I felt like a bit of a cheater though. We were the only ones with baritone ukes. So much more like a guitar compared to the soprano and alto ukes that most were playing.

@ the group's next meeting you should take lead vocals @ "Tiptoe Through The Tulips".
 
That's a true statement. I play at least one and often several of my instruments every day. The uke would add one more to the mix. :D
 
That's a true statement. I play at least one and often several of my instruments every day. The uke would add one more to the mix. :D

I used to leave out, on stands, 4-5 geetars in a room reserved for "music": geetars, a few amps, and the sound system for LPs, cassettes, etc. But since I no longer have an entire room set up in such fashion, I have instead two geetars out on stands and a single Orange combo amp. One of the geetars, an old Gibson J-45, is always out on a stand; the other stand sees a rotation of 6-7 electrics, depending on what I'm "after" re: practicing/playing along to music, etc. Thus I strive to practice a couple of hours per day, an hour @ the acoustic, an hour @ an electric.

About a week ago I listened to a recording of the Muddy Waters Band at the Fillmore Theater in 1966. Then I listened to that show a few more times.

Since listening to that Muddy show I have been stuck in a rut, playing only a '69 Tele (Blond, not Dakota Red like Mud's) in a variety of open tunings through the Orange combo, chasing Muddy's "beesting" slide technique & tone, and playing along w/ the '66 Filmore recording, a '71 Chicago (live) recording, and w/ Mud's famous "live" performance @ Newport, also '66.

I hope I "land" this sound soon, before I forget everything else I've learned over the last 50 years.
 
I used to leave out, on stands, 4-5 geetars in a room reserved for "music": geetars, a few amps, and the sound system for LPs, cassettes, etc. But since I no longer have an entire room set up in such fashion, I have instead two geetars out on stands and a single Orange combo amp. One of the geetars, an old Gibson J-45, is always out on a stand; the other stand sees a rotation of 6-7 electrics, depending on what I'm "after" re: practicing/playing along to music, etc. Thus I strive to practice a couple of hours per day, an hour @ the acoustic, an hour @ an electric.

About a week ago I listened to a recording of the Muddy Waters Band at the Fillmore Theater in 1966. Then I listened to that show a few more times.

Since listening to that Muddy show I have been stuck in a rut, playing only a '69 Tele (Blond, not Dakota Red like Mud's) in a variety of open tunings through the Orange combo, chasing Muddy's "beesting" slide technique & tone, and playing along w/ the '66 Filmore recording, a '71 Chicago (live) recording, and w/ Mud's famous "live" performance @ Newport, also '66.

I hope I "land" this sound soon, before I forget everything else I've learned over the last 50 years.
We should start a new thread called "Blues Guitar". We can post up some tunes and pics.
Whatya'll think?
 
Oh sure! Let's discriminate against us classical guitar players.
LOL! Absolutely not!!
I love classical guitar. I've listened to Andres Segovia, Julian Bream and John Williams among others.
My point was, this was a thread started by John about ukulele. We shouldn't be hijacking it or dragging it off topic.
We can start threads on all styles and keep them relevant with the right gear, music etc.
Please start one on Classical Guitar!! I don't play any real classical pieces or legitimate style but I can kind of fake things.
Definitely admire those that do it well!:beerchug:
 
Cool. They are fun to noodling out classic rock stuff. I like your Luna Tattoo uke. Is a a concert ot tenor size?
 
Tele-type headstock on a uke, too funny. I gotta find a pic of this one.

There is a SE Michigan based harmonica player who has a uke shaped like a blonde, blackguard Tele. One of the members of a band I play in has a couple of ukes shaped like sunburst Les Paul. These ukes have pickups. IIRC, they are all hollow bodied.
 
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