Crosscurrent video

I took a video of me playing Jake Shimabukuro's Crosscurrent on the Honu concert. I learned this song several months ago but it took a long time to get smoother playing it (as you will see I'm still not that smooth playing it). The short sliding note is tough to get down while playing the song at speed. I'm not playing it as fast as some other people on Youtube are playing it (I can't play that fast), but I kind of like this song a little slower paced anyway, like the original Crosscurrent recording on the Crosscurrent album.

'Ukulele Ratings, Cigar box edition

Time for another edition of the ukulele rankings of my ever evolving uke lineup. I have recently acquired a cigar box uke, so it's a good time to re-evaluate the ukes I have at the moment. Keeping it to the top 5 (of 9 now), we have:

1. Honu Deluxe concert: I am still very much loving the sound of this one. And hey, it's got a honu shaped bridge, can't beat that!

2. Bluegrass Ukuleles Cigar Box tenor: I'm very pleasantly surprised by this new uke. It has a very clear and loud sound. To me the sound reminds me of the Honu concert with more ommph. It would probably be #1 if it had a bound fretboard (I can feel the fret ends at the edge of the fretboard). As is, it's still an outstanding uke. Hey, it even stands by itself!

3. KoAloha Pineapple Sunday: I still love this uke but it drops down to #3 because I'm getting ready to bring it back to KoAloha in Hawaii for an exchange due to a flaw in the bridge. I guess maybe I'm trying to detach myself with it for a little while since it will take a bit of time before I receive the replacement. Still sounds great and has a unique style of its own.

4. G-String Honu soprano: It feels like there's a motor inside the uke pumping out great sound when playing it. It might be my favorite if I played soprano size more often.

5. Kanile'a Custom SS: It has the best looking wood among my ukes. It has gorgeous wide curly koa that I really like a lot. However, doesn't quite measure up with the above ukes in terms of sound. It doesn't sound as clear as the those ukes. On its own, I think it's a high quality sound, but I like the better clarity of the others ukes more right now. I do think it's a good thing that this one doesn't sound like those others. It gives me more variety.

So there's the current top 5 in my little collection. With a trip to Hawaii about 2 weeks away, I'm almost guaranteed to end up with another uke before the customs arrive next year. Hopefully I can end up with one that cracks the top 5. It's going to exciting to try an pick one out in Hawaii!

Sssssssmoookin'!

Ever since I read about the cigar box 'ukuleles built by Tom Guy in the FMM forums, I've been interested in one. It seems that the few people who have bought one all really like it a lot. Tom Guy sells his ukes on ebay and from my observations he puts out about 1-2 ukes per month. What's cool about his listings is that he posts a video on Youtube of the exact uke in the auction so you can see and hear it being played. I had tried to win one of his cigar box ukes a couple of months ago but lost out at the end of the auction. Since then his cigar box ukes seem to have climed in price a little bit and each new one he puts up seem to end up a little higher priced than the previous one. Regardless, when I saw another of his cigar box ukes (Tom has named his ukes Bluegrass Ukuleles) recently, I was ready to buy it. After asking Tom a few questions about the uke such as the materials used on it, I went ahead and got the uke pictured on the left.

This particular cigar box uke is a little bit different than the other ones Tom has sold before in that the cigar box does not have the usual grooves around it. He uses a "House of Windsor" brand of cigar box and all of the ones I've seen before had some grooves all around it. This one did not have any grooves. This uke also came with geared tuners, which is what I preferred for precise tuning. The last few I saw had friction tuners. Here are a list of specs on this uke:

-Tenor scale

-Redwood "House of Windsor" cigar box (Tom is pretty sure it is made of redwood instead of cedar)

-Bubinga fretboard and bridge

-Ebony nut and saddle

-Poplar neck with walnut laminates and carbon fibre reinforcement

-1.5 inch wide at nut

-Cherry faceplate

-Gotoh geared tuners

-b/w/b/w/b rosette


I'll go over the uke in several categories, beginning with looks:

This cigar box uke looks great. Other than the aged look of the cigar box, it certainly looks like a well made professional instrument. And the aged look of the cigar box actually enhances the appearance in my opinion. All of the parts of this uke have a quality look to it. The back of the neck has some tasteful walnet laminates on it. the position dots on the top and side of the fretboard are made of abalone. The simple rosette is well done. The fretboard and bridge, made from Bubinga, looks good, with the bridge being more reddish from the finish applied on it. All in all, it certainly looks like a fine quality instrument.


Feel:

This is the first cigar box uke I have ever handled. It certainly feels a bit different than the normal figure 8 shaped ukes. I think the square body makes is a little more difficult to hold securely compared to a conventional uke. Not too bad, but definitely noticeable. This uke also has a really beefy neck with a very thick, almost guitar-like, fretboard. The fretbard is far and away the thickest one among all ukes I've ever owned. I personally don't have a preference when it comes to the thickness of the neck, and when holding this uke, the neck feels pretty good. The action is set at a fairly standard height. I compared it to some of my other ukes and the action at the 12th fret is about the same as my other good ukes. It does feel a little bit high at the nut, but I don't think it's anything I couldn't get used to so I have no plans to lower it. Overall, it's playability is about average for a tenor, comprable to the Pono Cedar top I have.


Workmanship:

I feel the workmanship is very good on this uke, especially considering it is made out of an old cigar box. There are no slopply gluing job and everything fits together very well. The frets do stick out from the fretboard ever so slightly so you can feel them, but they are close enough and won't cut the left hand.


Sound:

This is the most important area of any uke, and happliy, this is the strongest area of this cigar box uke. It initially arrived with a set of Hilo Low-G strings. My Pono cedar top tenor was also strung with a set of low-G strings (Worth BT) and I compared the two ukes a little bit. The cigar box uke didn't take a backseat on the volume front, but I thought the Pono had a deeper and fuller sound while the cigar box felt a little thin in comparison. I didn't know if it had much to do with the Hilo strings, but since I didn't really know any low-G songs, it didn't take me long to switch it to a set of high-G Worth BT's. Despite a slanted saddle, which I thought is more for low-G setup, the intonation with the high-G strings is nearly perfect. In fact I think it has the best intonation of any uke I own. As I played songs with the new strings, I began to apprieciate this uke more and more. It still had excellent volume, and the tone is very clear yet also deep. I think it's sound is actually similar to the Pineapple Sunday, but a little deeper and less harp-like. And I'm certain that it is superior to the Pono strunged with high-G. When I had the Pono strung with high-G strings, I thought it got pretty "plinky" when going up the fretboard past about the 10th fret. There are no such issues with the cigar box as chords high up the frets still had a nice ringing sound. Overall I'm really enjoying the sound coming out of this uke with re-entrant C tuning. I think it's in the class of the Pineapple Sunday, which for me is very high praise. Tom Guy told me that his own box opened up as he played it and actually got louder. I can't wait to have mine open up a bit more.


Value:

Well, I paid $320 for this thing which I believe is the highest priced paid for one of Tom's cigar box ukes yet. And I feel that's a bargin. I feel that the sound quality of this uke is at least at the level of the Hawaiian production uke makers, whose regular tenor ukes run upward $900. Plus you get the added mojo of it being made out of a cigar box. Sure, it doesn't take as much labor to build it considering it has a ready made body, but it still takes work to make it sound good. I'm not real sure how many $300 tenor ukes I would take over this one.


Overall, this Bluegrass Ukes cigar box is a definite winner. I'm really enjoying the sound it makes. With its current string configuration (Worth BT), it is clear sounding yet deep with a lot of volume. For me it rivals the Pineapple Sunday in sound quality. It doesn't play like absolute melted butter like the P.S., but then again it isn't bad at all and you have to keep in mind that it's only a fraction of the cost. It has funky cigar box style and mine is even personalized with my name on the soundhole label. It is just a great uke that should make anyone who owns it a happy camper (hey, it's probably one of the better ukes for actual camping situations!). I know I'm very very pleased that own this little treasure. I'm sure I'll be playing it for quite a while. If you have any interest in cigar box ukes, be sure to keep an eye out on ebay for one of these Bluegrass Ukuleles. They are fantastic!


Here is a file of me playing In My Life on the Bluegrass cigar box uke. The playing sucks but it gives you an idea what the uke sounds like.


Some pictures of the cigar box:

Back view



Side view of fretboard w/abalone position dots




Check out the Autobot inlay! (OK, it's actually a sticker)

Lineup Update

Check the picture to the left for my latest 'ukulele lineup. 3 of the ukes from this entry are gone, replaced by a BugsGear concert and a Bluegrass cigar box. That picture will probably change a bit next spring when I take delivery of a couple of customs. After that, hopefully UAS will run its course for a while.:P

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Uke Addict

So, 'tis the season to get presents, or something. What should you be getting the 'ukulele addict in your life? Consider the possibilities:

For the novice uke player:
-A beginner type uke of a different size than the one he/she already has. Something like a Kala or Ohana that costs under $200.
-Ralph Shaw and/or Roy Sakuma instructional videos.
-Jumpin' Jim songbooks.

For the intermediate uke player (or someone with more than 3 ukes):
-Several packs of strings of different brands and size/tension so he/she can experiment away.
-A peg-winder to go with the above strings.
-A Hawaiian made uke. Probably a Kelii since they cost less than the other Hawaiian brands and are still of high quality.
-'Ukulele maintenance products such as microfiber cloths and instrument wax/polishes.
-Advanced songbooks such as the 'Ukulele Masters books from Jumpin' Jim.

For the advanced uke player (or hopeless addict):
-Money, and lots of it, to go toward the next custom uke that's already on order.

So there's one person's suggestions for Christmas presents for the 'uke addict. Hopefully it helps out some of you out there. Or maybe not.

Happy Holidays!

Updates?

As my loyal blog reader (notice it's not plural) would point out, I have not been updating this blog very often. It is not a sign of me becoming disinterested in the 'ukulele though. Just the opposite. I think I've been playing the uke even more recently and thus leaving me less time to write on this blog. I will try to get to a few things I've thought about writing soon though. Here are some things I would like to blog about:

-My learning process for the 'ukulele
-Review of a BugsGear Eleuke
-Review of a secret uke (hint: it should be smokin'!)
-Upcoming trip to Hawaii

Hopefully I get to these topics fairly soon. Thanks for reading.