Why reinvent the wheel?

It is probably a mistake to think that the primary market for plastic ukes are people that have "real" or high quality ukuleles. Have any of you ever tried to tell a person completely unfamiliar with music instruments and ukeleles that $1,000 ukuleles exist ? People's basic instinct is to laugh. However the makers seem to know and understand UAS and know eventually people with UAS are going to buy just about anything with 4 strings. (High-end, pseudo-sophisticated UAS sufferers excluded. ) IMO these are designed to compete with or ride on the coat tails of the Fluke/Flea.

A "good quality" built ukulele (regardless of sound quality) is a novel purchase for an amateur musician. (excluding ukulele enthusiasts) and as Craig Chee said at the end of the video "they are fun", not to mention, you don't want to stand on your other ukuleles to reach things off the top shelf.

THere were two patents on the o;d plastic ukes one for the material and one one for the bridge, but I believe those have expired. Today's plastics are much better (stronger) the older ukuleles would have problems with the neck bowing and the head stock breaking off. Today's plastic Ukuleles have stronger plastics and additional support built in up the neck and into the headstock.

FWW Carbon fiber ukuleles are mostly plastic, they have a highly durable synthetic cloth-like material encased in a two part plastic resin .

The cost is high for something made out of plastic but if you look for a durable plastic tool box or Igloo cooler you are also going to see this same mark up.

spookelele said:

I don't think anyone is going to say the woodi competes with even a laminate uke.
The point I was trying to make is that taking something seriously is not about $.
Taking something seriously is something a person does. Not an inanimate object.

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A plastic ukulele like a Woodi is not a serious instrument. That's all I'm saying. People can be silly with their instruments if they want to be, with cheap plastic ukes or solid wood customs. (And if I saw Craig Chee playing that in the subway station, I'd give him some money to buy a half-decent instrument.) Rllink saying "No one is going to take a 'cheap' plastic ukulele seriously" is something I quite agree with.

My grandmother had a plastic ukulele--maybe it was a Maccafferi--I used to play around with it when I visited her. It sounded awful. It's part of the bad reputation that ukuleles have, that they are cheap toys, and so I have a bad taste in my mouth, perhaps, when it comes to ukes like that. Yes, there are ukes made of alternate materials that sound fine, but I wouldn't even put the Woodi in the same class as a Flea. Let's hope Kala's offering doesn't sound like a toy.

ScooterD35 said:

There's your answer right there. Enter Kala, with the new Makala plastics that Mim is so excited about. A quality all plastic Uke from one of the largest mass-producers with a reputation for high quality and affordability.

As to why they don't use the same material, it's very possibl that the plastic used in the Maccaferries can no longer be produced legally. The formulas and processes for plastics production have changed over the last several decades for environmental and safety reasons.


I would bet that Kala will get it right, and many of us will be adding one to our collections.


Scooter

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I see what you mean about the original materials not being available anymore. I also agree that if anyone is going to do this right it will be Kala. They have the experience and the capital to make a good uke with large enough production runs to get the economy of scale to a point where it can be sold at a good price point. Being large enough that they can wait for a ROI in their investment should help.

Woodi is made by a company that produces recorders (flutes) I don't know if it is the company from the original Maccaferri or not Maccaferri was a respected instrument maker and if you look on the logo on a Maccaferri you will see a wood wind instrument reed, related to his making of woodwind reeds. Outdoor ukulele if I recall correctly also is made by a company that makes other products but I don't think their other products are related to music (if I remember correctly)

wayfarer75 said:

A plastic ukulele like a Woodi is not a serious instrument. That's all I'm saying.

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I understand that this is an opinion, and everyone is entitled to one.
But what do you base that opinion on?

All kidding aside, What makes something a serious instrument?

For someone who is a serious collector and "into" the ukulele, a plastic uke is obviously not a "serious" instrument. BUT - injection molded plastic creates consistency in production where many cheap wood ukes fail. No sharp frets, standardized action, an entire body that vibrates with sound, etc. etc.

The other thing I can tell you is that there's only a handful (by that I mean two, MAYBE three) factories overseas making these ukuleles - most from a standard mold where they may pay to change the headstock shape but that's about it. Just an FYI before we all start comparing a bunch of ukes coming from the exact same place...

I have read many articles about people leaving the vintage plastic ukes in the car during the summer, and the uke basically melted in the head.

I have intentionally left my Bugsgear Aqulele in the car all summer (and now, all winter) and it still sounds fine, once the strings settle in. I think the strings are the weakest part of the instrument, musically.

Actually, for some of those prices a used flea would be in the ball park. And they do sound good as a partial plastic uke anyway. And are fairly durable.

This was a fun read. Thank you CJ I think most people missed the point entirely with the posting of Craig's video. Did you see, really see, the SMILE on his face! That's why we buy plastic ukes! FUN! I'll tell you it was darn fun floating around in our small intex pool playing my Bugsgear last summer and listen to it play under water Like Kurt above I've left one of the two I have in the car during 100 degree weather to below zero. She's just fine and she's great for working out new tunes while waiting to pick up the kid!

So... apparently you can now print ukulele's at home.



This one.. sounds alot better than I would have expected.

And just because it's fun to look at.....

spookelele said:

So... apparently you can now print ukulele's at home.

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Oh I wish you would not have shown me that, several months ago I had a hard time talking myself out of buying a $3k 3D printer so I could print out a $65 plastic ukulele
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That steam punk uke looks amazing, are there files for that available on thingy-verse ?

Has there been a review of the plastic waterman from anyone that saw/played it at NAMM? Is it on here somewhere that I missed?

Plastic reflects a lot of the sound, rather than absorbing it, and doesn't have the same type of elasticity as a tonewood, so the sound is different. To my ears plastic instruments tend to sound brittle and sharp, with too much high end. But maybe some people like that.

ichadwick said:

Plastic reflects a lot of the sound, rather than absorbing it, and doesn't have the same type of elasticity as a tonewood, so the sound is different. To my ears plastic instruments tend to sound brittle and sharp, with too much high end. But maybe some people like that.

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That is a good point. I don't think anyone is suggesting plastic as a primary instrument for anything other than a starter uke with exceptions made for the blackbird ukuleles, and possibly a Fluke/flea. So, if anything I said was taken as a recommendation of plastic over wood I would opt for a uke made of wood (at least for the top) over a plastic one. (and I assume this may go for others as well)

But plastic ukes make great "go to" ukuleles when you are traveling, or want to play in the tub

wayfarer75 said:

A plastic ukulele like a Woodi is not a serious instrument. That's all I'm saying. People can be silly with their instruments if they want to be, with cheap plastic ukes or solid wood customs. (And if I saw Craig Chee playing that in the subway station, I'd give him some money to buy a half-decent instrument.) Rllink saying "No one is going to take a 'cheap' plastic ukulele seriously" is something I quite agree with.

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I will take a plastic ukulele out by the pool a lot more seriously than I would consider taking my MB out by the pool. There are reasons for everything, really.

Hoping its just a lousy recording...

Either he was nervous playing in front of a camera (I know I am whenever I'm being filmed or recorded) or he just doesn't really know how to play the uke. I don't think it was the uke's fault.

spookelele said:

Hoping its just a lousy recording...

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I wouldn't judge the sound by that quick sample, they were setting out for anyone to play with the tuners, and its possible that it they were only tuned once before the video was shot and the strings could have stretched.

On another note, Kala is coming out with "water-man" ukes ? I must not have been wearing my glasses when I read they were coming out with plastic "watermelon" (shaped-painted) ukuleles.