is it just me?

Obviously this guy is just trying to draw some traffic to his blog.

If he knew anything about "luthierie" and ukes he wouldn't have made this comment:

The thing is — with a very few exceptions — for my money there isn’t that much creativity around in the world of uke design. You can get your tiny sopranos, medium-sized concerts and tenors, and big old baritones. Different woods. Different details. A few solid electros and a body-design variation here or there. But that’s pretty much it. A uke is a uke is a uke.
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We know what is happening in the uke world.
We can see the huge boom and ever growing market of the ukulele industry.
We know what custom uke builders are doing these days.

This guy is either clueless or just trying to get some attention....knowing that there are eleventy billion uke players out there ready to beat him to a bloody pulp with a nice Honduras mahogany neck. :p

All he needs is a big red nose to complete his clown outift.
 
the guy who wrote the article sounds like a big douche bag:mad:
 
In a way, it's like comparing trees... they all have trunks, branches, some sort of foliage, bark or similar "skin", but a tree is a tree is a tree, unless it falls, then it's a log. :D

I don't take what the guy said in that quote as anything that bad. In Harmony Central's Acoustic Guitar Forum, they have discussed the evolution of acoustic guitars and contruction methods and many people conclude that there really is no great innovation these days. Perhaps, as some point out, that it is because the heyday of acoustic guitar pre-dates amplification and big burly dreadnaughts were designed to be loud.

Ukuleles are a different case. But, really, we still compare vintage Martins to new models and we still have luthiers making knock-offs of famous vintage ukes. We even have Vita copies and "Bell" ukes from Ohana and Oscar Schmidt.

Sure, there are lots of different makers working on subtle changes in design, and there are plastic ukes, like the Fluke or Ovation/Applause, but, ultimately, there is not much difference between new and old in basic design.

What we are lucky to have today is a great assortment of imported ukes from quality makers and some of the finest custom luthier-made ukes the world has ever seen.

I'd say, hey, it's all good.
 
Well, he does say he loves playing his uke... but this is the key (for me):
The thing is — with a very few exceptions — for my money there isn’t that much creativity around in the world of uke design. You can get your tiny sopranos, medium-sized concerts and tenors, and big old baritones. Different woods. Different details. A few solid electros and a body-design variation here or there. But that’s pretty much it. A uke is a uke is a uke.
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Guitar, ukulele, charango, mandolin, violin designs and so on are a combination of tradition and experience. Sure you could make a ukulele that looked like a tuba, but would it sound like a uke? Would it even be a uke?

Would you even look at a ukulele that was tarted up to look like a piano? Would you know what it was? Or would it be just another experimental instrument you bypass on the way to the ukulele display?

I'd suggest in the past decade, the new wave of uke makers has come up with a lot of new designs and materials - cutaways, resos, different sound hole placement, multiple necks, cigar box, metal body, plastic body, solid body, different sorts of bracing, radiussed fretboards and others - that vary about as far from the traditional as you can go and still be a ukulele.

After all, what defines a ukulele, if not its size and basic shape?

But you have to admit, he got us thinking - and talking - about it.
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very true, it still just bothers me that he would say that it was pointless to make different sizes and what not.
 
He's approaching the whole concept of the ukulele from a guitar snob's mindset. I think that's why he comes off as condescending. He can have a lot of fun with his ukulele, but it's not a "serious" instrument like a guitar. He's already got a preconceived hierarchy of stringed instruments in his head.

I'm also willing to bet that he hasn't really spent a whole lot of time researching the ukulele world and the possibilities therein or invested a whole lot in his instrument. His little article sounds like a guy with a deadline and wikipedia bookmarked.
 
Some people blog hot air.

Other people pick up a uke and have fun...

Whatever.
 
ichadwick said:
Wonderful thing about freedom of speech, eh? We can all have an opinion about anything we want to...
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true true. it just bothered me that someone would post that. music isnt about ripping on other instruments. that just shows he is ignorant. imo. (which is the point of this entire thing no? in my opinion? :D)
 
Spooner said:
Obviously this guy is just trying to draw some traffic to his blog.

If he knew anything about "luthierie" and ukes he wouldn't have made this comment:




We know what is happening in the uke world.
We can see the huge boom and ever growing market of the ukulele industry.
We know what custom uke builders are doing these days.

This guy is either clueless or just trying to get some attention....knowing that there are eleventy billion uke players out there ready to beat him to a bloody pulp with a nice Honduras mahogany neck. :p

All he needs is a big red nose to complete his clown outift.
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I'll go with clueless. :cool:
 
It seems that most neglected to read the piece's opening sentence:

"Over-seriousness is the bane of many a life."
 
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