The rare northern Finnish UAS species

Skylark opening in the Finnish Forest with bird song :shaka:

(Hushed David Attenborough voice)
And here in the far northern forests of Finland we see a
very rare sight of the UAS species. In Hawaii and the west
coast of America this species is plentiful and colourful,
but here in these cold climes the UAS is a much more sober animal.

Observe the sturdy boots and the micro fleece coat.
Look at him approach his prey. Grabs it, almost toys with
it and cuts the box open with a gardeners knife he has
attached to his belt. He opens one box and then another
to expose the prize within.

See the gleam in his eyes as he finally gazes on the object
of his desire, See how he turns it so that it catches the
sunlight streaming through the fir trees. Hear the birds of
the forest sing as he removes the silica gel bag from between
the strings.

Oh-Oh I think he has spotted us he is approaching the
camera. Pointing the headstock at the lens. Showing us
the skylark inlay. He displays the unique three sound-hole
system, very reminiscent of the Northern Ukulele species.
He strums the strings. It is badly out of tune.

What is this he is doing inserting his fingers into the
three holes and holding the Uke like a bowling ball.
Is he going to throw it?

Now he has seen us and has scampered off into
the bushes taking the Ukulele with him.

Nice uke, get her tuned and make some music!!

DeG said:

Nice uke, get her tuned and make some music!!

Click to expand...

I had a word with Sheepstar15 (who recently featured on MVOW) doing her marmite song and playing the skylark, and she said that hers also came detuned.

I also noted her skylark had big white inlays at the 5th and 7th frets whereas mine's didn't. She revealed that she had done the inlays herself using a patented process that I am not at liberty to divulge.

I think I want to replace the strings. Does anybody have any suggestions for a set of strings that give good volume?

I think Aquilas is the choice for volume. Tone, however, is the topic of countless threads of debate here...

I suggest that Aldrine have a uke lesson on how to open a new uke in one minute or less! Love your new ukulele and the whole outdoor thing was very cool, but the anticipation just about killed me!

On the string question, I like Worth clear, but what do I know?

Terve ja Kippis wee_ginga_yin

I'm curious about those triangular skylarks. I feel a wee bit of UAS for one myself, but there's only a definite amount of wall space in my house

RON<>VA said:

I suggest that Aldrine have a uke lesson on how to open a new uke in one minute or less! Love your new ukulele and the whole outdoor thing was very cool, but the anticipation just about killed me!

On the string question, I like Worth clear, but what do I know?

Click to expand...

Ermh.... Some things are better when they are long drawn out affairs. Yes I think that would make a great Uke minutes. I expect he has some custom made special tools that would facilitate the matter with great expediancy... faster than s**t off a hot shovel.

I came across a string comparison on youtube and I liked the sound of the Galli strings by Wwelti I have never heard of them before but they sounded nice to my ear. Anybody tried them?

When reading up on getting more volume out of an acoustic it was mentioned that the quality of the bridge saddle is critical in transferring vibrations to the sound board, and some poor quality plastic saddles just do not pass muster.

Has anybody changed the bridge saddle and was there any difference in the quality and loudness of the sound?

I have galli strings on my cheapo eagle soprano. Better than the original stock strings, but the uke stills sounds a bit "nasal" to my ears.

fishing line to Aquila

WHen the Skylark arrived it looked like it was strung with fishing line. All the strings were the same diameter, and the sound was atrocious. What is more I thought, that as I tuned the top strings the bridge would snap off.

So after reading UU I thought I would go for Aquila for more sustain and volume, and indead there was a marked improvement, but I guess I still must consider a saddle replacement with a tusq bone to get the vibrations transfered to the soundboard properly.

Anyway here is what it sound like now.

Have I told you lately

on a Van Morrison classic

and on a Eric Bogle song about Grandmothers