Populele **SOLD**
In one of my few posts here I briefly discussed the Populele I bought for my son. There were some initial problems with the app, mainly with the permissions it required. They've since corrected the problem and it has been working really well. I meant to do a review but never got around to it. Here is the uber-truncated version...
My son has been learning piano for a few years and when I saw this smart uke being crowd-funded I thought it would be a fun way for him to learn a new instrument. I have a little experience with the ukulele, so I figured I might get a kick out of it too.
Well it turns out my son has little time and/or desire to learn the uke, with all the other hobbies and responsibilities he already has. What little time he put into playing with the Populele he really enjoyed but for the past couple months the thing has been sitting idle.
I played it more than he did, and really enjoyed it. So much so, that I ended up getting back into playing and ended up buying a higher end uke to satisfy the itch. I was going to keep it around just for fun and as a learning tool but I'm on a "simplify my life" kick and want to clear out clutter.
The Populele works really well for the most part. The only issue that it's had from the beginning is that the app takes a few times to connect via Bluetooth with my phone. So essentially, you open the app and turn on the uke; the app shows the instrument in it's radar. You click on it and it gives an error that says it couldn't connect. Hit it again and it connects. Sometimes it takes a couple tries. This actually sounds worse than it is; it only takes a few seconds to re-try and connect.
All the elements of the app/uke are lots of fun but for us the games are the most practical and fun. It first shows you the chords via the light up fret board, then walks you through the strums. As the song plays, the chords move by you strum when it passes by the "gate"-- if you're too slow or too fast, it's a miss and your score reflects it.
The tuner and chord library work well, and the song library is pretty great too, if somewhat limited. There are a bunch of other features that you can look up online if you want to get the idea of what the Populele can do. All in all I'd say its a fun learning tool for beginners and even intermediate players. I imagine those of you with UAS would get a kick out of it too. Just playing it on the "dazzle" mode is a kick, or you can program the lights to spell out words, etc.
Condition is good: everything works but the instrument itself shows some wear to the body on one part of the painted area (see pics).
Price is $70 plus $23 US Priority Mail shipping in the USA. I probably don't want to ship to another country but will consider it if the buyer pays actual cost. <--SOLD!
Includes everything that came with it: start-up manual, UBS cable, inner and outer box.
Thanks for looking.
In one of my few posts here I briefly discussed the Populele I bought for my son. There were some initial problems with the app, mainly with the permissions it required. They've since corrected the problem and it has been working really well. I meant to do a review but never got around to it. Here is the uber-truncated version...
My son has been learning piano for a few years and when I saw this smart uke being crowd-funded I thought it would be a fun way for him to learn a new instrument. I have a little experience with the ukulele, so I figured I might get a kick out of it too.
Well it turns out my son has little time and/or desire to learn the uke, with all the other hobbies and responsibilities he already has. What little time he put into playing with the Populele he really enjoyed but for the past couple months the thing has been sitting idle.
I played it more than he did, and really enjoyed it. So much so, that I ended up getting back into playing and ended up buying a higher end uke to satisfy the itch. I was going to keep it around just for fun and as a learning tool but I'm on a "simplify my life" kick and want to clear out clutter.
The Populele works really well for the most part. The only issue that it's had from the beginning is that the app takes a few times to connect via Bluetooth with my phone. So essentially, you open the app and turn on the uke; the app shows the instrument in it's radar. You click on it and it gives an error that says it couldn't connect. Hit it again and it connects. Sometimes it takes a couple tries. This actually sounds worse than it is; it only takes a few seconds to re-try and connect.
All the elements of the app/uke are lots of fun but for us the games are the most practical and fun. It first shows you the chords via the light up fret board, then walks you through the strums. As the song plays, the chords move by you strum when it passes by the "gate"-- if you're too slow or too fast, it's a miss and your score reflects it.
The tuner and chord library work well, and the song library is pretty great too, if somewhat limited. There are a bunch of other features that you can look up online if you want to get the idea of what the Populele can do. All in all I'd say its a fun learning tool for beginners and even intermediate players. I imagine those of you with UAS would get a kick out of it too. Just playing it on the "dazzle" mode is a kick, or you can program the lights to spell out words, etc.
Condition is good: everything works but the instrument itself shows some wear to the body on one part of the painted area (see pics).
Price is $70 plus $23 US Priority Mail shipping in the USA. I probably don't want to ship to another country but will consider it if the buyer pays actual cost. <--SOLD!
Includes everything that came with it: start-up manual, UBS cable, inner and outer box.
Thanks for looking.
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