Arrival!

The postman brought me a nice big package today. It's the William King long scale tenor! Man it's so exciting to receive a masterpiece custom ukulele, even my dog wants a piece of it.

Anyway, this is a little documentation of the arrival of the custom 'ukulele. I will following up in the upcoming weeks with my impression of it.

The Ameritage case coming out of the package:




Custom size Ameritage case for the non-traditional size of the King tenor:




The King tenor inside the case. Notice how it takes up every inch of the case:




Showing the extremely curly koa back. Note the Mi-Si charger. It's small enough to fit inside the case accessory compartment:

Preview

Woohoo! My custom William King long scale tenor is at last complete! William has put up a few pictures on his website. I must say that I'm more than thrilled with it! The headstock looks better than I had imagined, and although I had no idea what the rosette was going to look like, it turned out better than I had imagined too. Here are the pictures William posted today:

Dancing with 3 tenor ukes

I saw some videos from UKISCOCIETY from Ukulele Underground comparing some tenor & soprano ukes. He basically played one song and switch ukes throughout the song. That got me interested in trying something similar. I ended up playing Let's Dance with the 3 regular tenor 'ukuleles I currently have, Koa Works, Pono Ebony Deluxe, and Pono Cedar top.

It's actually a bit difficult to distinguish the sound of the 3 ukes from the video. If you've been reading this blog, you would know that the Koa Works is miles ahead of the other ukes. But the Ponos are definitely nice ukes too.

Electicfying (sic)

I have always been intrigued by solid body electric 'ukuleles. They are something different and have the side benefit of being pretty silent when not plugged in, making them good late night practice ukes. The first such 'ukulele I learned about was the Risa Uke Solid. I bought one about a year ago. It was different and kind of cool, but I wasn't compelled to play it very often so I sold it. The next solid body uke I bought was a BugsGear Eleuke that had an active pickup and on-board volume & tone controls. It had some frets sticking out and wasn't very comfortable to play because of that. I eventually got a file to file those frets down and it was a lot better. Still, I didn't play it too much. When I saw a Pete Howlett Uklectic on the FMM Marketplace at an attractive price, I jumped at it and sold the BugsGear. I had known about the Uklectic for a while and have always been interested in it. It looked cool and is made by Pete Howlett, who is a well respected luthier based in the U.K. Now that I've owned it for a couple of months, it's time to review it.

Specs:

• Blister figure sapele top.
• Rosewood fingerboard, bridge, & faceplate.
• Pin type bridge.
• Bone nut & saddle.
• No-name gold friction tuners with pearloid buttons.
• Spanish cedar semi-hollow body & neck.
• 2 gold plated strap pins.
• Plastic pickup jack w/unknown undersaddle pickup.
• Finish is Minwax wipe on polyurethane from Home Depot applied by the previous owner.

Looks:

The Uklectic is a very good looking uke. My particular one has a blister figure sapele top that stands out when light is reflected off the wood. The body is similar to the shape of a Les Paul guitar, which is probably my favorite guitar shape. The fingerboard comes to a point similar to Martin ukuleles at the body end, and that point is repeated at the headstock, making for an attractive and cohesive design. The uke just looks very classy and high quality with one notable exception, the plastic pickup jack. The black pickup jack doesn't really look cheap, but it doesn't really look very high end either. A gold plated jack would look a lot better. I believe all the Uklectic made now have the combo endpin & jack at the tail block, unlike mine, where the jack is off to the right lower bout.

Feel:

This is a concert sized ukulele with a nut width of 1-3/8". I normally prefer 1-1/2" nut width, but this one doesn't really feel too narrow for me. Perhaps it has wider string spacing than typical ukes with 1-3/8" nut widths. The neck feels very comfortable to me. It's about medium thickness and has a flattened D profile. The uke is a little heavier than a normal concert acoustic 'ukulele, but not overly so. It's pretty easy to play it without a strap standing up. The action is setup about medium and fairly effortless to play with the Ko'olau concert strings I installed on it. This is better than both of the previous electric ukes I owned. For some reason, both the Risa and BugsGear felt a bit hard to play despite having relatively low tensioned Worth BM strings on them. Overall it is an easy and comfortable uke to play.

Workmanship:

This uke has great workmanship. Every piece of wood is seamlessly joined and the fret work is very good, with no frets sticking out. The tuners are not Gotoh or Grover, but they work well enough. Again, the only thing that I have an issue with is the plastic pickup jack. I guess it will probably be durable enough, but I would feel a lot better if it was metal. I would feel better about that if the pickup itself performed a little better (see next section). The pickup jack is offset to the right of the lower bout. When standing, it works just fine with a cable hanging off it. But if you are sitting and plugging the uke to an amp, you will need an "L" shaped connector or it will interfere with putting the uke on your leg. I guess if you are getting a newer Uklectic, the combo endpin/pickup jack should alleviate this issue.

My particular Uklectic was ordered without finish by the original owner. As mentioned in the specs section, the finish is applied by the original owner using Minwax wipe on polyurethane. He only put on 2 coats so the uke almost feels unfinished. It's not bad though. Spanish cedar has a strong scent and you definitely smell it every time you open the case. If someday I feel like adding new coats of finish, it shouldn't be too difficult. Overall it feels like a quality instrument worthy of Pete Howlett's reputation.

Sound:

The sound of this uke should probably be evaluated in 2 ways. Unplugged and plugged in. This uke has a surprisingly good sound when unplugged. Where the Risa Uke Solid and BugsGear Eleuke are pretty much true "silent" ukes when not plugged in, the Uklectic actually has a decent volume output. I guess that could be a negative if you're looking for a silent uke that outputs almost no volume for late night practice, but for me, I actually prefer being able to hear good sound when the uke is unplugged. It doesn't compete with the volume of a acoustic 'ukulele, but it's a lot louder than the aforementioned silent ukes. The acoustic sound of the Uklectic, with the Ko'loau Golds I installed, is trebly and complex sounding. I think the sound quality is pretty high in this regard.

When plugged in, the Uklectic does very little to distinguish it from the other electric ukes. I don't think the plugged in sound is any better than the BugsGear or Risa. In fact, the C & E strings seem to dominate the sound, making it a bit unbalanced. I think that was also the case with the BugsGear & Risa, but it seems a little worse with the Uklectic. I don't think the pickup is of very high quality based on the plugged in sound and the cheap plastic pickup jack. It's kind of a pity that a high quality instrument does not have a great pickup. But I understand that Pete Howlett was trying to keep the price of the Uklectics down, so that probably sacrificed the pickup a little bit. If I ever feel like doing the work, I might try to replace the stock pickup with a Mi-Si pickup or something like that. I do have a L.R. Baggs Para-acoustic D.I. (pre-amp) that allows me to adjust the sound coming from the pickup for treble, midrange, bass, and a couple of other things, and it does improve the sound a little bit.

So when it comes to sound quality, surprisingly I like the acoustic sound performance on the uke a lot more than the plugged in sound. In fact, for me, it's the nice acoustic sound that makes this uke superior to the electric ukes I've owned previously.

Value:

If you order a new Uklectic from Pete Howlett, the advertised price on his website is $495 + shipping for a basic concert sized instrument. Assuming this has not increased (the dollar is pretty weak so I'm not sure) I think that's a pretty good value. While it costs quite a bit more than a Risa or BugsGear, you do get a luthier made instrument that looks great and works well enough plugged in (maybe the current pickup used is better mine, which might be a prototype insturment) and has surprisingly good tone unplugged. If you have a higher budget, it's possible to order one up with a lot more options and bling. I paid $348 for mine used, which I think is a great value.

Overall:

The Uklectic isn't perfect. I'm not completely satisfied with its plugged in sound. However, compared to the Risa Uke Solid and BugsGear Eleuke I owned previously, I think the Uklectic is the superior overall instrument. And since I pretty rarely plug in the uke at home, most of the time when I do play it, it is played acoustically. The superior acoustic sound makes playing this uke a pleasant experience unplugged. When I played the Risa or BugsGear unplugged, I usually don't play very long because it sounded uninteresting.

If you're looking for a solid or semi-solid body electric uke, the Uklectic is probably the top choice out there right now.

Here's a sound file of me playing "Me & Shirley T" (badly) with the uke plugged into the computer directly and recorded using Audacity.

Here are some more pictures:

The back of the Uklectic. The black plastic covers up the pickup jack and wires.




















The sapele top of the Uklectic. Notice the blister figure.


The pickup jack is offset to the right. Newer models have the combo pin/jack at the tail block.

Traveling 'Ukulele

I was on a trip to Taiwan last week and decided to bring along a 'ukulele. Since it had to be a small uke, I decided to take the Kanile'a custom SS. I decided to take this one because the only other choice I have is the Martin style 1 and I like playing the Kanile'a a lot more, not to mention that it's also the more durable uke.

The case I used was the soprano Guardian case I got with one of my previous soprano purchases. It's actually quite a bit bigger than the soprano size, so I stuffed a t-shirt in the body compartment to keep the uke for sliding around inside. Taiwan is very humid but I packed a Herco humidifier for the plane ride. When I got the Guardian case, it didn't come with any straps so I took a strap from a Lanikai case so I can carry the case on my back. The uke plus the case is very light so it was very easy to travel with. I just threw the strap across my shoulders and it feels almost weightless on my back.

I took two flights to Taiwan this time and it was with Northwest and EVA Air. Neither airlines gave me any trouble with carrying on the uke in addition to a wheeled carry-on case I took with me. The uke made it to and from Taiwan with no problems. While I was in Taiwan, I got quite a bit of playing time in while we watched my kids at my in-laws home (it was not an exciting trip). I practiced Jake Shimabukuro's "Touch" for a possible performance at a friend's wedding in June and I think I have it learned now.

This is the first time I took a 'ukulele this far and it worked out great. Ukes are perfect travel companions and I'm definitely taking mine on many future trips away from home.

Sneak Peek

After about half a year of waiting, I finally saw some glimpse of my new custom tenor made by William King. William has put up some pictures of the almost finished ukes and it is looking good. Here they are:

Photo 1: It shows the back/side with the ebony binding. I didn't know what the curly koa would look like as it wasn't something I got to select, but I'm very pleased with the looks here.

Photo 2: A straight on shot of the back.

Photo 3: This photo highlights a different tenor (rosewood/spruce), but mine looks like it's off to the left side. Notice the maple binding on the fingerboard for contrast with the ebony binding on the body. William was very pleased with the look in his correspondence with me. I think it's going to be outstanding as well.

Hopefully in a few days there will be full blown photos of the finished uke and a couple more days later it will be in my hands. This is so exciting! I can hardly wait!

A Dog and 'Ukulele

Well, I haven't had too much to post about on this blog in the past week. I did take a few pictures of a couple of my 'ukuleles with my dog for a thread on Ukulele Underground, so I guess this will have to do for a little while. I do have some semi-exciting things planned in 2-3 weeks, not the least of which is the arrival of my first custom 'ukulele. I'm really looking forward to it and I will share my thoughts on it here a bit after I receive it.

Until then, it'll probably be quiet here over the next 2 weeks. Happy uking!

Watching the Master.

Tonight was the night Jake Shimabukuro visited the Twin Cities for the first time. The weather didn't quite cooperate as we greeted him with some light snow and temperature in the low 40's. (It's almost MAY! This is NUTS!) I found out about this concert 4-5 days ago and immediately went and got a couple of tickets for it. Being pretty late to the party, only the "cheap seats" were left. However, I was very excited at the prospects of witnessing the true superstar of ukulele in person.

When I arrived with my wife at the Dakota Restaurant & Jazz Club, I was a little surprised by how far back the seats I got were. I almost couldn't see the small stage. I was also surprised by the number of people who occupied the place. From what I could tell, it was sold out. We were there about 45 minutes early so we settled in and ordered some expensive dinner (I had some "Hawaiian Blue Marlin" for $24).

The show started around 7:10 or so and Jake started off playing an extended version of Let's Dance. Other songs he played included Me & Shirley T, Misty, Spain, Orange World, Dragon, In My Life, Time after Time, and of course, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. He only played a couple of songs that I have not heard or watched on Youtube before, but it was such an experience for me to be watching it live. Some of the sounds coming out of his ukulele are really incredible. I have no idea how he does some of the stuff that he does.

After the show, Jake and one of his assistants (or manager) stood just outside the restaurant meeting with the fans and selling some T-shirts and the In My Life CD. I got in line and when I made it to him, he immediately noticed my Ukulele Underground T-shirt. I was SO star-struck at that point I think I was shaking. I don't remember ever being this star-struck before. Anyway, I chatted briefly with him and told him I hope he comes back sometime. I got a picture taken with him and asked him to sign my cigar box uke. I'm not sure if he's seen a cigar box uke before, but he thought it was interesting. He is such a nice guy too. From talking to him and observing his interaction with other people, I feel that he's genuinely appreciative of the support from his fans.

So that's my first Jake Shimabukuro experience. I really felt very happy to be able to meet with him after the show. I mean, how often do you get to meet with your musical hero after watching the concert? I think Jake is able to do this because he's not a house hold name in the mainland United States. I wish him nothing but success in the future, but I also hope that his fans can continue to have that up close experience with him as long as possible.

A couple more pictures:

With Jake after the concert.


Jake signing my cigar box uke.


Jake's signature on the cigar box uke.

Jake Shimabukuro in Minneapolis!

Woohoo! I just found out today that Jake is going to play at the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant in Minneaplis on April 27th! I found out about him shortly after taking up the ukulele 15 months ago and if you saw any of the videos I posted on Youtube, you know I'm a Jake Shimabukuro nut. So once I found out that he's actually going to be here on 4/27, I immediately went over to the website and booked a couple of tickets. I really thought Jake would never appear in Minnesota so I always figured that if I was ever going to attend one of his shows it would have to be at Chicago or some other city outside Minnesota. Needless to say I'm really excited to finally see him perform live in a few days! I don't even know what kind of seats I bought but it'll be cool. I hope he will have some time to sign my cigar box ukulele.

If you're from the Twin Cities and want to attend, I think there are still tickets left for the 9:30PM show. Don't miss it!

Lineup Update

It's been a while since I updated the collection picture. Compared with the last update, the G-String soprano and the BugsGear Eleuke are gone. In their place, I've acquired an Oscar Schmidt Bell uke, a Pete Howlett Uklectic (used), and a B-Stock Bushman Cedartone baritone. So the total uke count has been upped by one. I guess my policy of one-in-one-out isn't working so hot.

Why did I get the 3 new ukes? The Oscar Schmidt was an impulse buy at a great deal. The Bushman baritone was to satisfy my curiosity about baritones (and it was really cheap). The Uklectic was something I've been interested in and I jumped at the chance to get a used one at a great price.

The departed G-String was not getting played much and I've decided that I'm not really into sopranos (this could change at any time though). The departed BugsGear wasn't getting played much either and when I bought the Uklectic, it had to go.

There are two custom ukes that are scheduled to arrive pretty soon, so I guess I'm going to have to think about which ones needs to go next. Of the ukes pictured, the Pono, Oscar Schmidt, Martin, and Maccaferri doesn't get played much. The Maccaferri was cracked when I used it to film a video for the Ukulele Underground April Contest, so I guess I can write it off from the uke count. That leaves the Pono, Oscar, and Martin. I think I'll keep the Martin, so I guess I'll try to find the other two a new home sometime down the road.

You know, UAS is a difficult disease to fight off. Even though I couldn't be more satisfied with the Koa Works tenor and have two pretty sweet customs coming soon, I'm still constantly looking at other ukes online. I'd be very interested in a National reso-uke, a Kiwaya KTS-7 (Martin style 3 copy), and a Compass Rose tenor just to name three. I sure hope those custom ukes kill off UAS for a while. Wish me luck...:p