kissing
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I had been wanting a "pocket" uke for a while to tune to high-octave DGBE so I bought a Tom 17" ukulele on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301243802366
I was a bit worried and didn't expect much as it would be a cheap ukulele.
It arrived last night, and I'm actually very pleased with it!
I tuned it up to high DGBE and the ukulele really sings. Sure, the fret spacing is a bit tight, but that's expected from a tiny ukulele like this one. However, I don't have much trouble busting out nearly all the songs I know how to play on ukulele. There is something enjoyable about playing "serious" sounding instrumental pieces on such a tiny instrument tuned at such a high pitch. It's the "musical box effect" at its max.
The action that it came with was fine, but I prefer lower action, so I sanded the saddle down a wee bit. I was surprised to see that the saddle is actually made of bone (website states that it is "Ox bone") instead of some cheap plastic that a lot of budget ukes come with.
The tuners are smooth and high quality. The finish, fittings, frets, fingerboard and wood are pretty much flawless! I can see absolutely no blemishes or signs of cheap workmanship anywhere on the ukulele.
The tone is a nice bright "harp" like tone you get from high octave DGBE tuning. It came with re-entrant Aquilas, but I installed a Solist flat-wound low-G string tuned up to D.
So basically it is like a baritone ukulele tuned one octave high. A very useful tuning as I play baritone and guitars a lot.
I understand that this isn't supposed to be a "serious" instrument, but it certainly is a great bang for the buck, super-duper portable and certainly bound to draw a lot of attention when something so small is capable of so much.
I am considering installing a passive undersaddle pickup... we shall see..
TOM Mini Ukulele, Mainland Gecko Soprano, Kala Thinline Tenor
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301243802366
I was a bit worried and didn't expect much as it would be a cheap ukulele.
It arrived last night, and I'm actually very pleased with it!
I tuned it up to high DGBE and the ukulele really sings. Sure, the fret spacing is a bit tight, but that's expected from a tiny ukulele like this one. However, I don't have much trouble busting out nearly all the songs I know how to play on ukulele. There is something enjoyable about playing "serious" sounding instrumental pieces on such a tiny instrument tuned at such a high pitch. It's the "musical box effect" at its max.
The action that it came with was fine, but I prefer lower action, so I sanded the saddle down a wee bit. I was surprised to see that the saddle is actually made of bone (website states that it is "Ox bone") instead of some cheap plastic that a lot of budget ukes come with.
The tuners are smooth and high quality. The finish, fittings, frets, fingerboard and wood are pretty much flawless! I can see absolutely no blemishes or signs of cheap workmanship anywhere on the ukulele.
The tone is a nice bright "harp" like tone you get from high octave DGBE tuning. It came with re-entrant Aquilas, but I installed a Solist flat-wound low-G string tuned up to D.
So basically it is like a baritone ukulele tuned one octave high. A very useful tuning as I play baritone and guitars a lot.
I understand that this isn't supposed to be a "serious" instrument, but it certainly is a great bang for the buck, super-duper portable and certainly bound to draw a lot of attention when something so small is capable of so much.
I am considering installing a passive undersaddle pickup... we shall see..
TOM Mini Ukulele, Mainland Gecko Soprano, Kala Thinline Tenor
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