Uke for Car

Ronnie Aloha

Mahalo Sen. Dan, R.I.P.
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So I want to leave a uke in my car so that I can practice while I'm waiting for my daughter at her various activities. Obviously a solid wood uke would not be a good choice since I plan on leaving it in the car. Humidity isn't that big an issue in So. Cal. but there can be extreme temperature swings.

So this is a call out for suggestions on a uke for my needs. I've never played a laminate or plastic uke so I'll let you all decide. A tenor might be too big to play in the driver's seat of the car so a concert or soprano should fit the bill.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
 
I would take a look at Flea/Fluke. They are pretty much indestructible and sound pretty good too, great for travel.
 
I'm being giving a Makala Dolphin for Christmas for this exact reason. I am a little worried that the VT climate might be a little too extreme to keep it in the car though. Average temperature in the winter gets down to 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit. Will the Dolphin survive a winter at these temps?
 
Amen to Flea or if on a tight budget a Makala Dolphin. I do have my old Mahalo pineapple in my truck right now and it works great but I'll rotate that with my Flea, and Fluke depending on my mood.
 
I've got a concert Fluke that has gone from the house to the car at around 0 degrees F while i was in a meeting. The only result was the strings needed a bit of tuning.
 
My Flea and Fluke get a lot of car time, and they both weather the temperature changes like a champ.

Just keep a phillips screwdriver in your car - you may occasionally need to adjust the friction tuners.
 
What Thunmper said about the screwdriver....

My Flea lives in my backpack and is always slipping out of tune from going warm/cold. Before I got my Flea it was a Kala KA-S that lived there....
 
I say go for the concert Fluke. I've played my fluke concert in the drivers seat while waiting for someone, and I think I'd do well in a car. And really, if you haven't tried a fluke yet, you're doing yourself a disservice.
 
I use my old Harmony as a beater. The plywood is so thick that it's pretty much impervious to damage, and the intonation is decent enough with the screwed-on plastic fretboard. And if it gets stolen, it's easy enough to track another one down for $30. Wouldn't want to keep my Flea in the car because we have pretty dramatic temperature changes throughout the day.
 
A flea is most times tied to the back of my front seat. When it´s not, it´s a brueko No. 6 sitting there.
 
I keep a kind of lilac coloured Makala dolphin in the car. It has been subject to temperatures from over 100 degrees to below freezing. It gets sat on, it gets shopping bags and other stuff dumped on it. It plays and sounds great.

It has also survived being in a car I rolled on an icy hill last winter. (See pic - uke just visible, indicated by arrow) :D

Bottom line, Makala dolphin is the ideal in-car uke! :music:

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I keep a kind of lilac coloured Makala dolphin in the car. It has been subject to temperatures from over 100 degrees to below freezing. It gets sat on, it gets shopping bags and other stuff dumped on it. It plays and sounds great.

It has also survived being in a car I rolled on an icy hill last winter. (See pic - uke just visible, indicated by arrow) :D

Bottom line, Makala dolphin is the ideal in-car uke! :music:

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DUDE! That doesn't look good! Its kinda funny that you have a picture of it though! The Makala Dolphin is hardcore! lol x
 
Yeh. And to think I make fun of my wife's parking. She may not be able to get it parallel to the kerb, but at least she keeps the car the right way up... ;)

To make things worse, that was actually the wife's car. Mine was in the shop for a service, so I'd borrowed hers to go to work. :eek:

I took the photo with my phone and then sent it to colleagues to explain why I was late into the office. I realised the folly of that when I got to the pub the following evening. The drummer from my band had got hold of the picture and had made up a poster saying "W*nker School of Motoring" which he had plastered all over the bar.

I knew something was up when he nervously legged it out of the back door as I came in... LOLz. :D

Makala - the indestructible uke.
 
I'd go with the Makala over the Flea. The friction tuners on the Flea don't handle the temperature changes as well as geared tuners, in my experience.

(Also, the dolphins are way cheaper, so you don't have to worry as much about it getting ruined or stolen, or having Slurpee spilled on it. :D)

JJ
 
I am looking at a Makala concert to take along outside and in the car as well. About $60, geared tuners, aquila strings. This should do just fine. The Fluke/Fleas are a bit expensive for what I am looking for and I don't really care for friction tuners either. Just my :2cents:
 
I'd go with the Makala over the Flea. The friction tuners on the Flea don't handle the temperature changes as well as geared tuners, in my experience.

(Also, the dolphins are way cheaper, so you don't have to worry as much about it getting ruined or stolen, or having Slurpee spilled on it. :D)

JJ

I had actually overlooked that. Kids playing it in the back seat with their grubby little hands.:D You don't even want to know where her hands have been.

I was looking at a Fluke up until you wrote that. Now I'm leaning to a Makala.

Also, I have a secret for getting Cherry Icee out of your car carpet (don't ask me why I know.) 50/50 mixture of hot water and ammonia. Spritz stain, rub in, take white towel, cover, steam iron. The hot water and steam loosen the winds on the carpet to release the stain and it transfers to the white towel.

Did I mention that I'm now leaning towards the Makala???
 
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