phanzo
Well-known member
Well, I'd avoid "K-Mart".
JJ
Yea, that's just freakin' hilarious. Wow.
Well, I'd avoid "K-Mart".
JJ
Last year, I was at a uke fest in Oswestry, UK, and there was a little boy (5/6 ish) rushing around with a red Makala "Dolphin" in his hands. He was using it to hit his sister with, and didn't seem to realise it was a musical instrument. I asked him if he could play. He shook his head. I asked if I might play his uke. He handed it to me. I tuned it, played it, and he showed an interest. It was a surprisingly good little uke, for a cheapie.
I told the lad I would be playing on stage later that afternoon, and asked if I could use his uke - if his parents agreed. They did, of course, and it all went very well. I did my full set on the Makala, and it was fine. The boy's face was a picture!
That was definitely the best uke that afternoon.
Ukantor.
the best ukulele is the one that is too rare or expensive for you to ever have... unless you're bill gates.
. . . really a good argument for NOT buying instruments over the internet. I know, for some folks it's hard to find places to try instruments, but even with a good return policy those return shipping charges can add up.
Whetu - I don't know where they stand in a ranking of the World's great ukes, but the Cole Clark ukes I have heard on YT sound pretty good, and several players I follow seem to think they are a definite upgrade from the usual Ohanas, Kalas etc. They are made in Melborne, Australia. You can find them in NZ here:
http://www.coleclarkguitars.com/dealerfinder/Default.aspx?region=NewZealand&heading=New%20Zealand
The reviews of Cole Clark here on UU seem mixed, but you can probably try them out in Wellington:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?3487-Cole-Clark-Ukes
okay, this question isn't to see your opinons (well, it is), but i'm really confused!
so before today, i have never played a k brand ukulele (kamaka, kanilea, koaloha, the sort) so i went to a local ukulele store and got my hands on a kanilea.
you see, i have a beginner's lanikai 21 tenor, and it's fine, but it sounds like a toy now. but when i played the 700 dollar kanilea, it didn't sound significantly better. ?? seriously, it may have had a 15 percent more volume but not much sustain..
now the confusing part is, i went to guitar center and played a concert cordoba ukulele. cordoba makes classical spanish guitars (?). and man, that cordoba just melted me. you see, the cordoba's sound seemed to melt into one beautiful harmony. the kanilea sounded good, but it was like individual strings sounding off, instead of the cordoba, where it sounded one and united.
i'm really confused, cause' i thought the k brands were the top dog.
oh btw, they didn't have a kamaka at the store, so i'll be waiting about a week or so when the shipment of kamakas come in.
are kamakas still good? i'm really nervous about playing them, cause' after listening to the kanilea, i don't know what to expect.