I must be going tone deaf

Keef

Keef

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I have 4 really nice ukes
but I find my self really enjoying the cheapest one I own it's a Westbrook saprano made by harmony original price in the early 60's was $7.95 with friction tuners and plastic fret and finger board a real bottom of the line starter uke have I gone insane?
 
Why do you prefer it over the others?
It could be worse, at least you only have 4 to choose from.
 
Harmony's are sweet little sopranos, it's that nice older, denser mahogany. I keep trying to sell mine, it keeps sticking to my fingers.
 
Well it's loud and sharp not banjo sharp but sharp for a uke this uke has been sitting around for the last 49 years and I got an itch to learn how to play so I bought a high end uke but I think I'm going to take this uke to my next lesson
7ebc11a4.jpg
 
Aloha Keef,
I can relate to that, I play daily my second ukelele i ever owned and it was $24.95
I always grab it first, and enjoy it before playing my more expensive ones...Not sure
why, but I feel more comfortable with the tone and playability of it...I've thought about
this many times,,,,what am I doing with these expensive ukuleles when I enjoy this one
and I'm satisfied....Am I too shallow and just looking at price and name brands....????
"keep strumming them strings" Too attached!!! MM Stan...
 
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I love the Harmony I scored on ebay a few months ago. Love it like crazy. Thanks for educating me on the name Westbrook.
Face it, your old uke is an old uke and has old uke mojo. If it's something that has enjoyed a life already, it carries that with it. If it sat with its potential untapped all these years, it has ached to unite with its musician and when you play it it weeps for joy.
 
Sambient said:
I love the Harmony I scored on ebay a few months ago. Love it like crazy. Thanks for educating me on the name Westbrook.
Face it, your old uke is an old uke and has old uke mojo. If it's something that has enjoyed a life already, it carries that with it. If it sat with its potential untapped all these years, it has ached to unite with its musician and when you play it it weeps for joy.
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%. Old ukes ooze mojo. Don't question it, just enjoy what you're playing.
 
Skitzic said:
I agree with this 100%. Old ukes ooze mojo.
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So thats why my Kamaka seems to have awakened from a long slumber? I think there is some sort of spirit living in that uke. Seriously.
 
molinee said:
Yes you have gone insane....
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But if he is questioning if he is gone insane - then he is still sane, right? ;) To the OP - glad you are enjoying your uke (whatever the reason).
 
cletus said:
So thats why my Kamaka seems to have awakened from a long slumber? I think there is some sort of spirit living in that uke. Seriously.
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Probably. I am a firm believer that instruments pick up a bit of energy from each person that plays them, each time they play them. So old, well played ukes are going to be alive in their own way.
 
cletus said:
So thats why my Kamaka seems to have awakened from a long slumber? I think there is some sort of spirit living in that uke. Seriously.
Click to expand...

I agree with you and Sambient and Skitzic, I have an old Kamaka that was loved and played by owners who could play it properly, and it has an energy much much different from any new uke. New ukes seem sterile. This one just wants to sing! My newest new uke is a pineapple concert built by Brad Donaldson, I will have pics up shortly though I posted some a couple of weeks ago in the luthier forum.

That uke came preloaded with mojo! Brad built it with skill and a lot of love, and it's steeped in the wood, and the uke is a joy!
 
Teek said:
I agree with you and Sambient and Skitzic, I have an old Kamaka that was loved and played by owners who could play it properly, and it has an energy much much different from any new uke. New ukes seem sterile. This one just wants to sing! My newest new uke is a pineapple concert built by Brad Donaldson, I will have pics up shortly though I posted some a couple of weeks ago in the luthier forum.

That uke came preloaded with mojo! Brad built it with skill and a lot of love, and it's steeped in the wood, and the uke is a joy!
Click to expand...

Just imagine how that uke is going to sound in 10 years. Woof.
 
Funny, I just updated my signature to put my Harmony first, since it's my daily hatchet. Since it's the least amount I've paid for an ukulele ($10 from some tweaker) and has tons of wear on the fretboard (no, he didn't play) I figured this would be a good one for casual travel outings. But, I get home and it is still the one I reach for.

It has a piece of masking-tape stuck inside the sound hole with the words, "Nov. 1960 - Old Jug". It's the only ukulele I have that's named, but not by me.
 
Teek said:
it has an energy much much different from any new uke. New ukes seem sterile. This one just wants to sing!
Click to expand...

I never would have dreamed it, but it's the truth.
 
I am in complete agreement with skitzic and sambient.

For me, each uke has it's own personality that is best reflected by it's individual tone and appearance. It's not necessarily your most expensive ukes that you enjoy playing the most but, for me, it depends on what kind of mood you're in on any given day. I have a couple of Harmony's and they are as important to me as my most expensive uke.

When I first started collecting ukes I couldn't get enough of the new models. As time has gone on I am less convinced by the newer ones and deliberately hunt down the vintage ones for the reason sambient describes.

One of my very favourite sounding ukes is a Mahalo soprano les paul copy. Only cost me $65 but boy, it sounds so nice!!!
 
Whether it's picked up energy or not...I think this kind of thing gets proven again and again: we love what we love...and when it comes to ukes, "high end" is often very personal...
 
Skitzic said:
I agree with this 100%. Old ukes ooze mojo. Don't question it, just enjoy what you're playing.
Click to expand...

A little household detergent and some elbow grease will get that out....
 
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