Touch (with background singer!)

I've been meaning to take a video of me playing Jake Shimabukuro's Touch for a while now, but either haven't been able to play it smoothly enough or haven't had time to do it . Well, I decided to give it a try today while my daughters are taking their naps. A couple of takes into it, my 3-year old came downstairs and wanted to "help" me with the video. So she sat on the floor behind me and started singing some song she made up when I started the camera. I ended up with about 4 or 5 takes and each time when I restarted she started singing her song. It was pretty cute even though I have no idea what she was singing. She didn't get tired of singing through the retakes either. Each time I restarted she just started singing. After it was done, she wanted to climb up to my chair and watch the video too. It's so much fun having little kids around. I need to make sure I savor these moments because they grow up in a blink of an eye.

So here we are with a video of Touch played on the William King LS-tenor, complete with background singing by my daughter. Enjoy.

Desperado

I had seen a video of the Eagles' Desperado on ukulele quite some time ago by NatoUkulele on Youtube and thought it was really cool. When Dominator put the tabs on his website, I knew I had to learn it. I've learned this song for a while now, but have not gotten around to posting a video of it until now. It's pretty easy to play and sound decent on the William King long scale tenor with its low action and crystal clear notes. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Yeah, I screwed up toward the end. Perhaps I'll try another take sometime later....

Pineapple Delight

KoAloha Ukuleles is known for building great sounding ukuleles that are a bit "different" from other ukuleles. From the pointy headstock to the Musubi soundhole to the Unibrace, KoAloha builds some of the more distinctive ukuleles available today. One of the more distinctive models they offer is the Pineapple Sunday.

When I first saw one of these it was love at first sight. The normal "pineapple" ukes had not been something I was too interested in, but this looked great to me. Everything on it contributed to what I consider a "true" pineapple look. It has the pointy headstock. The bridge has a spiky appearance. The upper bout has a pointy shape. And of course, its top is debossed with a pineapple pattern. The ukulele just looked great to me. I had also read many testimonies from various internet forums regarding this ukulele. In just about every instance, it was held in very high regard. So I knew it was a great sounding ukulele as well.

At around June of 2007, I decided to pull the trigger on one of these babies. At the time, the Pineapple Sunday was close to be retired, as KoAloha had planned to offer a new "Masterpiece Series" ukulele soon. (they have since brought it out of retirement due to great demand) I thought if I wanted one I had better act soon. So I found one from Hawaii Music Supply.

I had very high expectations for this ukulele at the time, and I was more than satisfied with it upon receiving it. It looked as good as the pictures indicated. And it played and sounded much better than anything I had experienced at the time (admittedly I was only about half a year into ukuleles and the best uke I have a the time was a G-String soprano). It was my first venture into the high-end of ukulele world, and I was blown away.

So what do I think of it now, about a year and a half after acquiring the Pineapple Sunday? I still think it is a marvelous ukulele. It remains the easiest player in my collection, with action lower than both the William King and Koa Works tenor. (this is not a given on Pineapple Sundays though. I played one in Hawaii in January, 2008 that had almost unplayable action) Because it is strung with Worth BL (light) strings, the string tension is pretty light. Coupled with the low action, it is really easy to play. The Pineapple shape also works very well. It is easy to hold, and the upper bout is essentially like a cutaway, so access to the higher frets is very easy. It is quite neck heavy though, since it is more or less a super concert sized uke with a pretty heavy headstock that has sealed Grover tuners. Some might not like the neck-heaviness of this uke. I personally don't have an issue with it, but I do notice it each time I play the uke.

Sound-wise, I would describe it as a mix of ukulele, mandolin, and a pinch of resonator uke. It is higher pitched sounding than most ukes and has excellent volume. I've come to prefer a more percussive and boomy sound produced by bigger bodied tenors such as the William King tenor and Kanile'a super tenor, but the sound of the Pineapple Sunday is still first rate and definitely very unique.

I think my Pineapple Sunday is probably from the middle or end of the first run of these ukes before its first "retirement". It has a Pineapple Sunday specific soundhole label and Tusq nut and saddle where the early ones have a standard KoAloha soundhole label and ebony nut and saddle. Current production Pineapple Sundays have a few different details. It now has a rectangular bridge with ebony reinforcement instead of the spiked all koa bridge mine has. I believe it's due to the problem of strings cutting into the softer koa on too many of these ukes. Mine also had this problem but the cut was not too deep into the wood and I have since made some "grommets" from old credit card to to prevent the strings from digging into the wood (you can see in the above picture). I think the old version of this bridge looks much cooler, but I guess KoAloha had to do something to stop the "bridge cutting" complaints. The other updated detail seems to be koa bindings on the fretboard instead of ebony bindings. I personally think the ebony bindings look a bit more classy. I suppose KoAloha is trying to find way to maximize their koa stock, and I can't blame them in this economy.

All in all, the Pineapple Sunday is a very good and very unique ukulele. It plays and sounds great and probably has a lot of collector's value down the road. If you enjoy a higher pitched sound from your ukulele and like the styling of this uke, I would highly recommend it.

Here's an old video of me playing the Pineapple Sunday a little over a year ago. Yes, I sucked at playing ukulele even more back then.

Koa impluse

Over the last few weeks, I let my curiosity get the best of me and pulled the trigger on 2 tenor ukuleles that I probably should not have gotten given how many tenors I already have in my possession. It didn't help that musicguymic lowered the price on both of these tenors while the Microsoft cash back deal was at 25% & 30%. So I essentially got the Kelii tenor for about $350 and the Kanile'a super tenor for $580, assuming the cash back actually happens. If not, they were still good deals, so I was comfortable pulling the trigger on them. (I will really need to get rid of some ukes from the "inventory" though :P)

The reason I wanted the Kelii is because it has a slightly longer tenor scale at 17.25" and I had not tried one in Hawaii. I've heard good things about Kelii ukes for a long time now so I've been curious about them. It seemed that Kelii ukes are in the class of other Hawaiian made ukes (such as KoAloha & Kanile'a) at a much lower price, so I wanted to see for myself.

As for the Kanile'a super tenor, I had been curious about it's larger body since I first saw it online. I thought it looked really ugly (reminded me of a fat kid's face with puffy cheeks) but when I was in Hawaii last year and saw a few in person they didn't look as bad, and I liked the deeper/fuller sound the larger body produced. MGM had one in his ebay store for a while that looked like it had some really nice koa. When he put that one up for sale a on black Friday, coupled with the 30% cash back, I could not resist it.

So now I find myself with 2 new koa tenors basically bought on impulse. The Kelii arrived last week and the Kanile'a arrived this week. Both are impressive in their own ways. I've only had them for a very short time, so I can't really review them. But here are some quick thoughts:

Kelii Tenor:

-Nice bright sound. Very good sustain.
-Action was a bit high, and there wasn't much room to lower it.
-Good looking wood. More curly than the average production ukulele.
-The back is much more rounded (a bit of a bowl shape) than other traditional ukes.
-The thinner than normal body does not compromise sound or volume at all.
-Has a nice and beefy neck. Feel thicker than any other tenor I have. I like it.
-I really do not like friction tuners on a tenor ukulele.
-I'd probably slot it in at the #8, behind the Honu concert and in front of the Compass Rose tenor on the most recent ranking list.


Kanile'a Super Tenor:

-Nice deep sound. Boomy. It's near custom level.
-Feels good to play. Has some of the "feedback" that the custom ukes has.
-I think changing the strings to Worth might improve the sound. The Aquilas seem a bit restrained. The sound is not as crisp as it could be. If the Worth strings provide a crisper sound, this would really be an outstanding uke.
-The action is a bit high, but there is a lot of saddle to take down.
-The super tenor shape is still kind of ugly to me, but it does serve it's purpose.
-The large body seem to have less internal volume than my William King long-scale tenor. It's not as deep and long as the King.
-The neck is probably thinner than average. It's actually thinner than my Kanile'a supersoprano that's over a year old. Perhaps Kanile'a changed their neck thickness between then and now. I kind of prefer a thicker neck but this one feels good and I have no issues with it.
-Right now I'd rate it at #4 on the ranking list.

What I really need to do now is to move some ukes from my collection. I suffer from TMUS: Too Many Ukes Syndrome!

Blue Gypsy Roses Falling

A while back I had mentioned that I wanted to learn Gypsy Ukulele in anticipation of my Kepasa Gypsy Rose. Well, as the delivery date of the Gypsy Rose kept getting pushed out, I ended forgetting what I had learned of the tune. So now that I have the Gypsy Rose, the best I could do at the moment as far as posting a video with it is Blue Roses Falling.

I probably did about 6 or 7 takes but kept screwing something up. This is probably the best take before I gave up. I think it does give you an idea of what the Gypsy Rose sounds like.

Updated lineup rankings

Well, it's been forever and a day since I've rated my ukulele lineup. Since the last time, I've acquired many new ukes. Since the last lineup update, I have acquired a Sonny D purpleheart/spruce tenor and the Kepasa Gypsy Rose, while the Pono Ebony Deluxe has been sold off. Also, thanks to the Microsoft cash-back program and some musicguymic sale, I have a Kelii tenor and a Kanile'a super-tenor on the way. In addition, I have a DaSilva Santo reproduction that's being built (ETA unknown), so I'll need to get rid of a few more ukes soon.

The top candidates for liquidation are: Martin style 1 (don't play sopranos much), Compass Rose walnut tenor (probably an easier sale than the Sonny D), Kiwaya KTS-7 (soprano), and possibly the National concert (not a huge resonator fan). Look for some of these ukes to pop up on various ukulele sites and/or ebay in the near future.

OK, so that outlines what's currently in my collection. This time I'll rank the top 10:

1. William King long-scale tenor: William King enjoys a great reputation in the ukulele community and this uke definitely back that up. It has gorgeous master grade (I think) curly koa back & sides and a nice and tidy spruce top. It's also got a Jake Shimabukuro style slotted headstock with my last name in Chinese character (which coincidentally means "King") inlaid in abalone. But the reason it ranks #1 is because it sounds and feels soooooo good. Compared to all other ukes I own, this one has the best clarity and punch when picked or strummed and the feedback I get from it while playing is only experienced in the other two custom level ukes I own. The Mi-Si pickup also works great. Overall, it's far and away my favorite ukulele to play.

2. Kepasa Gypsy Rose: This is the second custom specified ukulele I own and I've been more than satisfied with it since receiving it in October after about a 16 month wait. It sounds as good as the Koa Works tenor and has the distinctive look of a Maccaferri guitar which I love. I also specified a strange headstock that was replicated by Kevin Crossett wonderfully. It's really an outstanding ukulele.

3. Koa Works tenor: This is the first "custom" ukulele I've owned and before receiving my King tenor it was the best sounding and playing ukulele I've played up to that point. It has great artistic appointments and it sounds and plays wonderfully. Along with #1 & #2 on this list, these three ukes are head and shoulders above all other ukes in my collection.

4. Bluegrass Ukulele cigar box tenor: Great sounding and playing uke that has added cigar-box mojo. Now that I have Jake Shimabukuro's autograph on it, it's even more special. It ranks with the best production ukuleles I've played in terms of sound and playability.

5. KoAloha Pineapple Sunday: I loved the shape of this ukulele when I first saw it and it sounds magnificent as well. It has a fairly distinct high pitched sound and is very loud. It's probably the easiest playing uke in my collection and very unique.

6. Kanile'a Custom SS: It's got some great looking curly koa and has a distinct deep sound. I really like the super soprano size and it is very well suited for travel. Looks and sounds great.

7. Honu deluxe concert: I really liked the honu themed design with the honu fretboard markers and bridge. With Worth CD strings, it sounds marvelous. Very long sustain and a nice and pleasant sound.

8. Compass Rose walnut tenor: This is really a great sounding uke. I strung it with a set of D'Addario J71 strings and I think it sounds great. What keeps it from being higher rated on my list is the narrow nut width. I haven't measured it but it is definitely less than 1-3/8", which I already find a bit narrow to begin with (my preferred nut width is 1.5"). So while this is a very nice sounding uke, I haven't found myself playing it too much due to the nut width preference.

9. Sonny D purpleheart tenor: I bought this uke because I was curious about purpleheart and also because I wanted something purple (I'm a Vikings football fan). It's a nice sounding uke but is a bit softer than the Compass Rose. I expected more oommph from the spruce top but it does not have the punch I thought it would have. Still, a sweet sounding uke from a pretty famous (I think) maker.

10. Kala tenor neck spruce top soprano: I got this baby for $110 from Elderly instruments. It really surprised me with pretty good sound and long sustain. I have other ukes that ranks below this one that sounds better, but it's hard to beat the bang for the buck on this uke. It's well made and have all the necessary appointments such as body & fretboard bindings (plastic), side position dots, and geared tuners. It's a great knock around uke.

Well, that's the top 10 rankings from my little collection. You might notice that the National concert and the Kiwaya KTS-7 didn't make the list. Both are great ukes but I just don't play them much. For the National, it's mainly because I'm not that into the resonator sound. While I recognize it's a high quality uke, the sound haven't grabbed me too much. Maybe that will change in the future. As for the Kiwaya, I haven't played it much because it's a soprano. I'm hoping that the DaSilva Santo reproduction, with a 1.5" nut width, will entice me to play the soprano scale more.

OK, that's it for this time. Hopefully it has been somewhat informative. I'm going to try to throw out a few reviews and videos in the coming month. Hopefully I get around to doing those. Thanks for reading!

Rose inlay sticker

I wanted to dress up the headstock of the Gypsy Rose so I got some "inlay stickers" from ebay. One of the stickers is a rose designed to be put on headstocks. I gave it a whirl and I think it really looks pretty good on the headstock of the Gypsy Rose. No, it's not a real inlay, but I thought it looked decent enough. Hopefully it doesn't peel off easily. :p

Gypsy Rose Pictures

I've had the Kepasa Gypsy Rose concert ukulele for a few days now and so far I've been completely satisfied with it. It came to me strung with Worth BM's and seemed to buzz a little bit. I changed them out to Worth CDs and now it is perfect. Now that I've had a chance to compare its sound to some other ukes I have, the Gypsy Rose is actually closest to my Koa Works tenor. It sounds pretty similar with the same awesome feel. It is perhaps a tick punchier than the Koa Works tenor. Considering that the Koa Works tenor is one of the best ukes I've ever played, the Gypsy Rose has certainly exceeded my expectations.

Once I've had a bit more time with it, I'll try to post some commentary on it. (...I suppose I should get going on the commentary on the William King tenor huh? :P)

Here are a few pics I took:

Gypsy Rose, Initial Impressions

Well, the Gypsy Rose arrived today. I had a chance to play it for several minutes, so here are some quick impressions of it.


First off, the sound and feel are excellent. I was hoping that it would approach the Koa Works tenor in terms of feel, and it does indeed have that nice feedback/vibration while playing it. It's hard to explain in words, but when you play these great custom ukes, you can tell. The sound is similar to the William King LS-tenor, so it is on the punchy side, which is what I like. The redwood top seem to result in a similar tone as spruce tops. So based on some limited playing, I'd say I'm very satisfied with how the sound turned out.

It certainly looks very cool, to me anyway. I've always thought those Maccaferri style guitars looked cool (that's why I wanted one of these in the first place) and this little uke certainly does a good job evoking the Maccaferri gypsy guitar. I specified an odd looking headstock, as seen in the previous post, for this uke just so it has something different, and I think it turned out pretty good. At least I like it now that I have seen it in person.

I haven't had a chance to check out the Mi-Si pickup, but it works great in the William King LS-tenor, so I'm sure it will be just fine here.

I ordered some inlay stickers that I intend to dress up the headstock with as it currently have nothing on it. Hopefully one of the stickers will look nice on the headstock. I'll post pics once I get the sticker applied.

So my initial impression is very positive. This should beat out the Honu concert as my favorite concert uke and should be good enough to vie for the "second favorite" spot behind the William King LS-tenor. I will try to post more complete impressions once I have spent some more time with the Gypsy Rose.

Gypsy Rose, Finally

Well, it's been over two months since I last posted here. Kind of wondering if anyone is still reading this blog. I actually have a lot of ukulele stuff that I could be posting but just haven't had the time or motivation to do it.

Anyway, I just got notified that my Kepasa Gypsy Rose ukulele had shipped yesterday and is scheduled to be in my hands this Thursday. I ordered it in June of 2007, so it has taken a while to say the least. Kepasa ukes have a good reputation and is highly endorsed by the likes of Craig Robertson and Nipper. I ordered a Little Mac, which has evolved into a Gypsy Rose, with a D-soundhole, wide body, and a cutaway. I specified a redwood top, walnut back and sides, maple top and bottom bindings, and a Spanish cedar neck. The fingerboard and bridge are ebony, with diamond shaped position markers. It has a custom headstock shape with PegHeds tuners and is fitted with Mi-Si Acoustic Trio active pickup.

I had planned to to learn "Gypsy Ukulele" in anticipation of receiving this uke, but between the extended build time and being busy with a lot of other stuff this summer, I managed to forget most of what I've learned of the tune (which was about half of the tune). Hopefully once the uke is in hand I will manage some motivation to learn it.

I find myself not beside myself waiting for this ukulele, mainly because I already own what I consider the ultimate ukulele, the William King long scale tenor (hmm...I should get my butt going on a blog entry about it huh?). But also because I've waited so long for it, a few more days doesn't seem like much. To be sure, I am very much looking forward to it and I have no doubt that it will be a very nice playing and sounding uke. I would be very very happy if it is in the same category as the Koa Works tenor in terms of sound and feel. It will be interesting though, as I had asked for a more "guitarish" sound with this uke. So I'm pretty curious about how it turned out. It certainly looks cool.

Here are a few pictures Kevin sent me:

Custom headstock shape I drew and sent to Kevin. Kind of funky!


PegHeds tuners.


Redwood top. I choose a striped piece of redwood.


Mi-Si Acoustic Trio pickup.