A few years back, my friend came back from his Honeymoon in Hawaii with a ukulele. As a guitarist, I was interested in taking a look at it. It was a beautiful instrument with a Koa top and black strings (don't remember the size). I plucked it a bit and was instantly attracted to the sound it made. That was the first time I actually held or thought about a ukulele... I didn't go out and buy one, because I had way too many guitars and was focusing on palying them.
Fast forward 3 years... I moved to Slovenia from Michigan and sold off many of my guitars, bringing only 4 electrics with me. I missed having something to play at home without having to plug into an amp...
One day I went to a local Food shop that also carries non food items that change on a weekly basis. That week they had some musical instruments... Didgeridoo (sp?), Congas and a Ukulele. They had three in boxes so I looked at one. It was interesting, but I didn't get it... When I got home, I told my wife that I was interested in getting a Uke and she looked at me funny... Then she mentioned that I didn't get myself anything for Christmas (moving to a new country can be expensive!) and I should get the Uke...
So the next day, I went back to the store and there was one left. I picked it up and checked it out as much as a guitar player can consider an instrument. It looked ok other than being strung wrong (OK... so I didn't know that there is a High g and Low c... ), so I decided for 20 Euros, I couldn't go wrong.
I brought the Ukulele home a checked it out more. It is a Golden Ton Soprano, my guess is that it is made in China, although it doesn't say. It looks as if the body is a wood like material (probably ply.. although looking through the sound hole, I see what looks to be grain...). The fit and finish is not bad. For an instrument costing only 20 Euros, I'd say it is pretty good.
As for the tone, to my musician's ears, I really like it! It has that punchy Uke tone that I was expecting. The action seems a bit high, but not much of a problem (but then again I don't have another Uke to compare the action to). The friction tuners work well (after I figured that you had to tighten the screw) and all in all I am very happy!
First thing I did was to access the internet and in under an hour I was already playing a couple of songs. Now I am working on more complex songs and learning chords. I will be changing the strings since the ones that are on now are actually tied to the posts, making it sometimes tricky to tune (still the tuning stability of the Uke is pretty darn good).
I think this is a great instrument, especially for me around the house. I am getting into the sound and style of playing it promotes. As I gain experience, I am definitely going to be looking to get a higher quality Uke...
But for now, my Golden Ton Rocks! Ironically I realized that the little plastic toy guitar we got for my son is actually a little ukulele! My son loves his and we "jam" all the time.
So here is my newbie question (probably should go in the song forum, but I am here)... what is the classic Hawaiian song that most people will want me to play? Is there one?
Thanks, and here is my Uke! This looks like a great site and I hope to learn and contribute...
Andy
... and my son and his little uke
Fast forward 3 years... I moved to Slovenia from Michigan and sold off many of my guitars, bringing only 4 electrics with me. I missed having something to play at home without having to plug into an amp...
One day I went to a local Food shop that also carries non food items that change on a weekly basis. That week they had some musical instruments... Didgeridoo (sp?), Congas and a Ukulele. They had three in boxes so I looked at one. It was interesting, but I didn't get it... When I got home, I told my wife that I was interested in getting a Uke and she looked at me funny... Then she mentioned that I didn't get myself anything for Christmas (moving to a new country can be expensive!) and I should get the Uke...
So the next day, I went back to the store and there was one left. I picked it up and checked it out as much as a guitar player can consider an instrument. It looked ok other than being strung wrong (OK... so I didn't know that there is a High g and Low c... ), so I decided for 20 Euros, I couldn't go wrong.
I brought the Ukulele home a checked it out more. It is a Golden Ton Soprano, my guess is that it is made in China, although it doesn't say. It looks as if the body is a wood like material (probably ply.. although looking through the sound hole, I see what looks to be grain...). The fit and finish is not bad. For an instrument costing only 20 Euros, I'd say it is pretty good.
As for the tone, to my musician's ears, I really like it! It has that punchy Uke tone that I was expecting. The action seems a bit high, but not much of a problem (but then again I don't have another Uke to compare the action to). The friction tuners work well (after I figured that you had to tighten the screw) and all in all I am very happy!
First thing I did was to access the internet and in under an hour I was already playing a couple of songs. Now I am working on more complex songs and learning chords. I will be changing the strings since the ones that are on now are actually tied to the posts, making it sometimes tricky to tune (still the tuning stability of the Uke is pretty darn good).
I think this is a great instrument, especially for me around the house. I am getting into the sound and style of playing it promotes. As I gain experience, I am definitely going to be looking to get a higher quality Uke...
But for now, my Golden Ton Rocks! Ironically I realized that the little plastic toy guitar we got for my son is actually a little ukulele! My son loves his and we "jam" all the time.
So here is my newbie question (probably should go in the song forum, but I am here)... what is the classic Hawaiian song that most people will want me to play? Is there one?
Thanks, and here is my Uke! This looks like a great site and I hope to learn and contribute...
Andy
... and my son and his little uke
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