Steel Ukuleles

Well, I surely appreciate all the info I've gotten about resonators so far. I've heard 'em played before, and I've always thought that they had a metalic sound that I don't like. I thought maybe I could get usta it.. In addition, they look very heavy, and I'll bet they are. I've seen videos about their innards, and I don't know that I wanna mess with that stuff. And finally, if I were to spend $1300 on a ukulele, I'd much rather have a Blackbird. I wanted a tenor anyway.

I'd like to play old timey blues, and I thought it would be cool on a steel. Also, at least for now, I'm done with wood. I just don't wanna be bothered with all that hydrating stuff.

Well, onward and upward! There's no where else ta go. :eek:ld:
 
Beltona's are really great, I have a Tenor Songster that can growl and whisper.
And for Down Up Dick, Beltona's are made of fibreglass, so no hydration issues.
Don't mess with the innards, get one and play it, that's all you have to do.
In the UK a new Songster Tenor is £950, so $650 shipped is a billy bargain!
http://www.beltona.net/wordpress/ukuleles/
h
 
Beltona's are really great, I have a Tenor Songster that can growl and whisper.
And for Down Up Dick, Beltona's are made of fibreglass, so no hydration issues.
Don't mess with the innards, get one and play it, that's all you have to do.
In the UK a new Songster Tenor is £950, so $650 shipped is a billy bargain!
http://www.beltona.net/wordpress/ukuleles/
h

Oh! I didn't know they were carbon fibre or that price--thanks a lot! :eek:ld:
 
For those of you with a Beltona, how would you compare the tone of a Beltona to a National?

I am specifically interested in learning some Dey Ray tunes, and really dig the look and vibe of a resonator uke, but I can't yet financially swing my dream reso-Uke, the National Style 2 Bright Nickel Uke with engraved Wild Rose design. Thanks!
 
I had a "cheap" (well not cheap to me!) ~$400 Gold Tone Resonator concert uke that I got from MIM; MIM rules by the way.

It was nice and well set-up, and it played nicely/comfortably. Gold Tone makes quality stuff. Also, it looked great in person; my wife thought it was the best looking uke I had. Also, mine had the tie-bar at the bottom for strings; this was a problem on some of the other cheaper ones where they had these holes that would slice through strings eventually.

However, I just never loved the uke. It was too heavy. It wasn't comfortable to play or hold for long periods of time. So I didn't play it too often and it just sat lonely in the closet. So I wound up selling it.
 
For those of you with a Beltona, how would you compare the tone of a Beltona to a National?

Well full disclosure, I'm the guy selling the Beltona in the marketplace, but here's a video I just did comparing it to a National NRP:



The Beltona comes off much louder, but to be honest I don't hear a big difference playing them. But maybe they project differently. The Beltona also has a darker bite to it, whereas the National is sweeter and more "old-timey" sounding to my ear.
 
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Resonator ukuleles have the volume of banjo ukes, but with more sustain.

The East-Asian ones (brass, most often with a nickel plating) are generally not worth much. Loud: yes, playable: yes; very good: no. Recording King, Kala, Johnson, Regal, Gretsch, Luna, Ashbury, Kala fall into this category.

It's true that it's a high step up pricewise from there. From there it's a leap up to the 1000-and-above category. Stuart Wailing makes one-offs as well for a mid-way price, but they're quite heavy and not to everyone's liking.

In the upper bracket, there are antique ones, NRP ones (steel, wood, brass), Fine Resophonic ones (in a modernistic style, or the very rare inverted spider cone ones) and a host of bespoke luthiers: Argapa, DonMo, Beltona, Mya-Moe and Argapa have been mentioned, Ron Philips makes the Del Rey ones but they're very rare. Paul Beard makes wood-bodies ones. Pete Howlett makes very good ones as well, in an art deco style.

'Steel ukulele' is not a very good term. I thought at first it might be about playing lap style (with a steel bar, as in 'steel guitar') or having steel strings on a ukulele. Resonator describes the instruments better, regardless of the body material (either brass, german silver, steel or wood) and the cone system (forward facing 'spider' cones, backward facing 'biscuit' cones or the handful of 'tricone' instruments with a backward facing trio of small cones).

As with banjo ukes, resonators require some attention to set-up: if you restring them with care, the intonation can become far off, buzzes and rattles develop and the cone might collapse - even on very high quality instruments. The main tricks are that the bridge is loose and can be twisted (even with the push of a pencil end), tension of the strings should be perpendicular/downward, and the cone can't handle uneven pressure (so restring string by string, or outside strings followed by inside strings).

But they are great instruments, with unrivalled dynamics (soft to loud).
When you said Pete Howlett makes very good ones are you referring metal body or wood reso? His Facebook posts alot and I cant se if he's ever made a metal one
 
Stellii wrote: "When you said Pete Howlett makes very good ones are you referring metal body or wood reso? His Facebook posts alot and I cant se if he's ever made a metal one".

It was a wood bodied one, but with a resonator - also note that it's in the past tense, I don't think he builds resonators anymore. Catfish Keith plays one of his, and the building process is documented on the ukulelecosmos forum.
 
Del Ray's ukulele is be R. E. Phillips. He still makes those metal body Ukuleles. I contacted him and he sent me a picture of a recent build. And it is a beaut.
 
Del Ray's ukulele is be R. E. Phillips. He still makes those metal body Ukuleles. I contacted him and he sent me a picture of a recent build. And it is a beaut.
R.e Phillips is insanely expensive tho. Did he give you a quote? I’m commissioning a Stuart wailing tenor and if not that will be waiting for a John Morton tenor to be resold
 
I didn't ask below is picture of his latest that he emailed.

What a beautiful instrument. I have other ukes higher up on my list - eight string customs, Harp ukulele custom, odd ball scale size, Guitarlele - I'm on the multiple string quest before the Resonator quest 😉 Although I had been the Resonator quest and years ago wrote John. I'm sorry I didn't have him build me one.

Another possible alternative for you is Bonham -
Bonham Design
Aaron Keim of Beansprout had recommended him to me when I was in that former quest.

R E Phipps Uke shown below

t uke 1.jpg
 
I didn't ask below is picture of his latest that he emailed.

What a beautiful instrument. I have other ukes higher up on my list - eight string customs, Harp ukulele custom, odd ball scale size, Guitarlele - I'm on the multiple string quest before the Resonator quest 😉 Although I had been the Resonator quest and years ago wrote John. I'm sorry I didn't have him build me one.

Another possible alternative for you is Bonham -
Bonham Design
Aaron Keim of Beansprout had recommended him to me when I was in that former quest.

R E Phipps Uke shown below

View attachment 161514

Crazy beautiful would love to own one. So much talent out there thanks for the recommendation.
 
Nothing beats the coolness of vintage National ukes.

Here I compare four style 1s:


Some more rare ones in this video (including a National uke-banjo):
 
Nothing beats the coolness of vintage National ukes.

Here I compare four style 1s:


Some more rare ones in this video (including a National uke-banjo):



Cool collection! do you own those???
 
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