1st Post!

existence

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Hello everyone, this is my inaugural post to UU, though I've been lurking for several weeks now. I like the vibe of the forums around here, and look forward to joining in on the fun.

My ukulele story: I've been playing guitar for 14 years, and one day while goofing off in the acoustic guitar room at my local guitar megastore (YOU know which one I mean...) I spotted a $30 Hilo soprano uke hanging on the wall. "Huh," I thought, and took it down. Did I know how to tune it? Nope! Just strummed a few out-of-tune "chords" and thought, for 30 bucks, why not? Took it home, tuned it (as well as one can tune a toy uke) and fell in love. Of course, the little Hilo had sky high action, terrible intonation, and very little tone, but it was enough to wet my appetite.

Fast forward a couple of years. I STILL hadn't purchased a proper uke. That's when I found this place, did a little research, and mere days ago I received my new concert Flea in the mail! And let me tell you, you guys didn't steer me wrong...those fleas are a joy! Now I am a victim of the dreaded "UAS", evidenced by the fact that mere hours after opening my Flea, I was browsing online for my next buy.

I'm thinking Hamano H-100. Want a soprano now!

Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself. Hope everyone's well...

--Steve
 
Welcome to UU. Now I must ask...Why a hamano?
 
Welcome to UU! UAS is an evil and dangerous thing! While you're shopping, consider trying the different scale lengths; soprano, concert & tenor, for example. Some folks find that one "fits" them better than others.
 
Mailman is correct... Shop around if you can.

Oh! and Welcome to UU!
 
"Welcome to UU. Now I must ask...Why a hamano?"

I read somewhere on UU that Hamano is considered the next step up from the Ohanas that go for around 150-170 USD(talking soprano here.) The Hamano H-100 goes for around 275USD. I'm looking at the Hamano, the ohana SK-50WG (I think that's the model...the one with cedar top/willow sides), and one of the Mainland sopranos, which I cannot recall the model number of. Anyhoo, there are no uke shops around here, so I'm playing mail order roulette. That's why UU is a great resource for me.

I like a warm, mellow tone, which is why I was looking at the cedar/willow combination. I learned about Worth brown strings here, and so am thinking of ordering some to put on my flea.
 
"Mailman is correct... Shop around if you can."

Hmm, I need to find a shop that sells ukes here in Tampa. Gotta be at least one...mail order roulette can be a drag.


"Welcome to UU! UAS is an evil and dangerous thing! While you're shopping, consider trying the different scale lengths; soprano, concert & tenor, for example. Some folks find that one "fits" them better than others."

Thanks for the advice. I have only played concert and soprano so far, and like them both. The extra room on the concert fretboards is nice, but the shorter soprano scale also makes some stretches easier. I'm definitely interested in trying out a tenor at some point.

Thanks to everyone for the hospitable replies....
 
Hey, welcome aboard! I own a few ukes but still play my Flea daily...somethin' about it! As time goes on and you aquire a few more ukes, you will probably do the same.
 
"Hey, welcome aboard! I own a few ukes but still play my Flea daily...somethin' about it! As time goes on and you aquire a few more ukes, you will probably do the same."

Thanks!

The flea is amazing. I still don't know how something made of plastic and a plywood soundboard produces such a nice tone...materials be damned, it sounds good! As many on UU have stated, the plastic frets are a little hard to see, although I suspect as I get used to it I won't notice anymore. I'm looking forward to replacing the stock strings with Worth browns, which I've read are known for a warmth/darkness.

One thing I noticed was that when I strum the flea with a very thin, floppy nylon pick, the sound becomes way more focused and warm. The downside is that it's harder to do that nice percussive hunking when you've got a pick in your hand.

Anyways, I'm rambling here. Thanks again for the kind welcomes...
 
"Mailman is correct... Shop around if you can."

Hmm, I need to find a shop that sells ukes here in Tampa. Gotta be at least one...mail order roulette can be a drag.


"Welcome to UU! UAS is an evil and dangerous thing! While you're shopping, consider trying the different scale lengths; soprano, concert & tenor, for example. Some folks find that one "fits" them better than others."

Thanks for the advice. I have only played concert and soprano so far, and like them both. The extra room on the concert fretboards is nice, but the shorter soprano scale also makes some stretches easier. I'm definitely interested in trying out a tenor at some point.

Thanks to everyone for the hospitable replies....
The closest one (then again, I don't know how close) to you is probably Compass Music in Madeira Beach. Best bet is to call them and see what's in stock. The Mainlands have been getting rave reviews and you can get 'em from Mike.
 
"The closest one (then again, I don't know how close) to you is probably Compass Music in Madeira Beach."

Hey, thanks a lot! Looks like I know what I'm doing Saturday afternoon...
 
Welcome! You will find many helpful friends here. I'm over on the east coast of FLA if you are ever around here. :shaka:
 
haaha, I laughed out loud reading this...

it doesnt take long to get hooked, and you can get alot of ukulele for a reasonable price, but maybe you should think Kala, Lanikai, or Mainland in those areas

Speaking of Mainlands, I Googled "Hamano" and found this little gem: http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/H100U.htm:

Classic soprano design, meticulously fashioned after a famous mainland brand uke, solid mahogany body & neck, micro-dot inlaid rosewood fingerboard, rosewood bridge, bone nut & saddle, friction pegs w/ black buttons, ~13.5" scale, silk-screened peghead graphic, imported from Asia.

Who'da thunk people were cloning Mike's instruments already? :rofl:

--Mark
 
Hamanos are a very reasonable fact simile of a 1920 Martin, and build quality and sound are impeccable. The price can't be beat for a solid mahogany of Japanese quality.
That being said I LOVE my Mainland soprano pineapple 'ukulele! :D
 
Welcome to the UUnderground. Did someone say pineapple?:D
 
Speaking of Mainlands, I Googled "Hamano" and found this little gem: http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/H100U.htm:



Who'da thunk people were cloning Mike's instruments already? :rofl:

--Mark

That's the Hamano I'm seriously considering right now. Before pulling the trigger I'm going to head over to Compass Music, as suggested by Kanaka...it will be very useful for me to be able to play a bunch of them back to back.

But yeah, that Hamano sure looks nice...
 
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