New Strad Uke arrived!

brimmer said:
Bone, its light. Not Kiwaya light, but about as light as a Martin concert. It is as easy to hold as any of my other ukes. The shape doesn't make a difference. I noticed that Rob MacKillop uses a strap on his Strad, but John King did not use a strap. I don't feel the need for one either.

The action is low, and feel of the neck is excellent. I have to say, my Kiwaya concert plays easier than any uke I've ever played. But the Strad is very easy to play, too.

I hope to get some sound samples within a few weeks. Don't get your hopes too high. I have some lingering neuropathy due to medical treatment last year, and it is still slowly going away.
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John didn't use a strap but I read somewhere he placed a piece of suede under it to keep it stable. I've tried that and it doesn't work for me that well. There are lots of tunes I simply cannot play and support the uke at the same time so I use a strap to keep both hands free to maneuver. That being said, do you know if Rob had Joel install a strap button(s)? The Strad is so clean looking that I would hate to do that...but I still have to be able to play it.

Sorry about your neuropathy. That must be frustrating. Hope it gets better soon.
 
brimmer said:
Tim, the uke has pegheds, but he also offers old style violin wood friction tuners. I was tempted to go for the violin tuners but my pragmatic side prevailed. Joel does satin and gloss finishes, and also offers tru-oil finish but discouraged that option for some reason. Having seen your youtube performances, I think you would find this uke suits your style of playing. The tone is very even and clear, all the way up the neck. And of course there's that sublime youtube performance of John King playing Ka Ipo Lei Manu on a Strad. Thanks for tabbing that one, I play it often.

...
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Thanks for the info. I think I meant to say peghed when I asked about your tuners. No friction for me, thanks.

I found an email from 6 years ago when I first inquired about the Strad. Here's what Joel said.. "John had a curly mahogany uke with a spruce top and oil finish. I usually recommend satin lacquer on the top just to protect it from dirt and scratches, the rest of the uke can either be oil or lacquer."

I don't think I've seen anything with an oil finish and I know lacquer inhibits resonance, so I'm not sure what I would ask for.

Enjoy that uke!
 
Tim, Joel strongly recommended the satin finish. He said gloss affects the sound, and tru-oil doesn't provide enough protection. There's also and antique violin finish he offers, which looks cool, but the $200 upcharge put me off. I don't know if he recommends it any more. He does not seem to have updated his website for a long time.

Don't know if Rob had a strap button or if he used some other method. I agree, I would hate to have a strap button on this instrument, but the most important thing is to be comfortable playing the instrument . I probably wouldn't even notice it after a while. For me, I don't play standing up very often. If I did, I would use a strap to support the neck and facilitate quick movement up and down the neck. But playing while seated, I don't have as much of a problem. I play in a sort of slightly reclined posture, so the uke is partially laying on my chest. Obviously this would not work for public performance, however.
 
ukuleletim said:
John didn't use a strap but I read somewhere he placed a piece of suede under it to keep it stable. I've tried that and it doesn't work for me that well. There are lots of tunes I simply cannot play and support the uke at the same time so I use a strap to keep both hands free to maneuver. That being said, do you know if Rob had Joel install a strap button(s)? The Strad is so clean looking that I would hate to do that...but I still have to be able to play it.

Sorry about your neuropathy. That must be frustrating. Hope it gets better soon.
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Have him make a strap button ouf of matching wood and it would look nice.
 
 
brimmer said:
Here's a new uke, fresh from the workshop of Joel Eckhaus in Portland, Maine. Its a concert sized Stradelele from Earnest Instruments. The top wood is spruce and the back and sides are curly mahogany. A really nice fingerstyle uke, great tone all the way up the fretboard. Strums well too. I am happy to recommend Joel. Its took about 4 mos for him to make the uke, which is exactly what he promised.

I am working on a celtic uke youtube channel, and I'll put some sound samples on there. I'll post when I get that going. Should have a free celtic uke ebook ready in a month or two also.

The Strad is a great uke for fingerstyle celtic. I chose the Strad because I like the retro look, and also because John King and Rob MacKillop played them on their youtube vids. I can verify, however, that the beauty of their music was in their fingers, not the uke. I have a long way to go...

Enjoy the eye candy!

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would love to hear your Celtic uke music. Am looking into more folk-type of music and am interested in your book!
 
Very elegant in its simplicity. I'm looking forward to your celtic music and your book. That's very generous of you to give it away - thank you in advance :)

I too have neuropathy from medical treatment, and while it hasn't completely gone away, it's lessened and you sort of get used to it. Life just goes on. One person I met who had had it, told me she just realized one day it was gone but she couldn't say when it had disappeared.
 
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