I thought that my concert Flea would satisfy my Pineapple cravings, but after 45 days, it still persists. Yes, I know I have a serious problem
I absolutely LOVE my concert Flea, the sound, the intonation, everything...
However, I am still haunted by cravings for a pineapple body with a concert neck. I have a soprano (Mahalo U-30) and while I can play it, I find the neck a bit cramped. Thus a minimum of concert scale.
Solid or laminate unimportant, specific wood selection unimportant (I have not played anything exotic yet, so my ears are not aware of other sounds from different woods than laminate mahogany), feel free to school me on this as needed...
New or used is not a big deal, as long as if used, it is not beat to hell and unplayable or needs significant repairs to be playable at all.
I will never pretend to be a luthier, but on my own instruments I have done nut and saddle work, fret dressing, and fixed tuners, but repairing cracks or resetting a neck is not something I have done as of yet, and I am not afraid of it, if the overall price of the instrument needing the work is low enough, and the repair is not extreme.
Also, I'd be open to the variations on the pineapple shape, like the boat-paddle shape, similar to the Bradford Donaldson designs...but the Ohana VitaUke looks odd to me and I am a bit put off by that 'pear' shape. I'd rather have something without an upper bout (and be more oval like the Flea, or triangular like the Fluke or boat-paddle shape) than with a tiny upper bout and really fat lower bout.
Dare I say it? The 'pear' ukulele body shape makes me think of 'twerking' which I find offensive.
The selection criteria really are:
I really like the looks of the headstock on all the Luna ukuleles, they remind me of the Les Paul style headstock. If the Luna Pineapple was a concert neck and not a soprano neck, I would have already obtained one like yesterday...
I am on the fence about getting one with a preamp/pickup pre-installed, as I have put in several pickups myself and installing a Mi-Si is a piece of cake for me now after doing it twice, so this is not such a huge factor. Mainland has the Mi-Si for $125 and Kala (via their Amazon storefront) has them for $119 IIRC.
Over the past 3 months, I have looked high and low at WAY too many choices online, and am a bit overwhelmed right now.
So please, I am giving this over to the wisdom of those who have gone down this path before me, please share with me your journey, and your recommendations.
Thank you in advance for your time.
-Booli
I absolutely LOVE my concert Flea, the sound, the intonation, everything...
However, I am still haunted by cravings for a pineapple body with a concert neck. I have a soprano (Mahalo U-30) and while I can play it, I find the neck a bit cramped. Thus a minimum of concert scale.
Solid or laminate unimportant, specific wood selection unimportant (I have not played anything exotic yet, so my ears are not aware of other sounds from different woods than laminate mahogany), feel free to school me on this as needed...
New or used is not a big deal, as long as if used, it is not beat to hell and unplayable or needs significant repairs to be playable at all.
I will never pretend to be a luthier, but on my own instruments I have done nut and saddle work, fret dressing, and fixed tuners, but repairing cracks or resetting a neck is not something I have done as of yet, and I am not afraid of it, if the overall price of the instrument needing the work is low enough, and the repair is not extreme.
Also, I'd be open to the variations on the pineapple shape, like the boat-paddle shape, similar to the Bradford Donaldson designs...but the Ohana VitaUke looks odd to me and I am a bit put off by that 'pear' shape. I'd rather have something without an upper bout (and be more oval like the Flea, or triangular like the Fluke or boat-paddle shape) than with a tiny upper bout and really fat lower bout.
Dare I say it? The 'pear' ukulele body shape makes me think of 'twerking' which I find offensive.
The selection criteria really are:
- Playability, i.e. intonation
- Sweet sound, i.e. not 'plinky', 'twangy' or too midrange-biased, should have some even tiny bit of 'guts' in the bass area (concert Flea sound as a reference is quite fine)
- Prefer geared tuning machines and NOT friction tuners
- Prefer that saddle is removable/replaceable and not molded as one single piece combined with bridge (like with the Flea)
- Slotted headstock is a plus (I like that look, seems more high-end to me)
- Budget, under $300 USD if possible
I really like the looks of the headstock on all the Luna ukuleles, they remind me of the Les Paul style headstock. If the Luna Pineapple was a concert neck and not a soprano neck, I would have already obtained one like yesterday...
I am on the fence about getting one with a preamp/pickup pre-installed, as I have put in several pickups myself and installing a Mi-Si is a piece of cake for me now after doing it twice, so this is not such a huge factor. Mainland has the Mi-Si for $125 and Kala (via their Amazon storefront) has them for $119 IIRC.
Over the past 3 months, I have looked high and low at WAY too many choices online, and am a bit overwhelmed right now.
So please, I am giving this over to the wisdom of those who have gone down this path before me, please share with me your journey, and your recommendations.
Thank you in advance for your time.
-Booli