ukulelecowboy
Well-known member
The Official Ukulele Collection of The Ukulele Cowboy Society has just turned 80 when the Regal Wendell Hall Master Concert that I got off ebay a week ago showed up.
The collection is made up of all sizes and types but when we go on stage, I play a baritone exclusively.
A few weeks ago, I started looking around for something a bit more "high-end" than the Pono Mahogany that I routinely play. After scouring Ebay and the web, it became even clearer that the Baritone was the minority. Oh, there were plenty of the high end "K" brands in those other sizes but not the bari.
I thought about a different approach. Maybe I was limiting myself. After all, I've been playing the ukulele going on seven years. I should be able to manage a smaller instrument. I looked over the collection and decided to change the G string from my Compass Rose Sycamore Tenor from re-entrant to linear G and see how it went. I practiced with my wife on a few songs from our songbook, and decided to perform with it at a gig that we did last Saturday.
I brought my Pono Baritone along just in case. (Hey I might have UAS but I ain't stupid!) Halfway through the first set, I started dreaming about my Baritone. The nice wide fretboard. The comfortable string spacing. The "miles" between the frets. I yearned for it, pined for it, wished I was playing it instead of this fabulous little tenor.
The first set ended. My performance was mediocre at best. I wanted my baritone but then I thought about how limited my choices were out there in the ukulele acquisition world. (Plus Baritones can be up to 25% more expensive!)
My wife could see that something was wrong and she knew what it was. Her and her small hands! She had been eying my beautiful Compass Rose ever since it entered the collection and she wanted it! She hoped that this experiment would fail! What was I going to do?
What can I say. I caved to temptation. The second set started and my Pono Baritone was back where it belonged, cradled in my loving arms. The Compass Rose was back in its case for the remainder of the gig and will be my wife's performance ukulele. The gig ended on a bittersweet note (no pun intended.)
My name is Michael Kaplan and I am a Baritone Ukulele Player.
Thanks for listening...
The collection is made up of all sizes and types but when we go on stage, I play a baritone exclusively.
A few weeks ago, I started looking around for something a bit more "high-end" than the Pono Mahogany that I routinely play. After scouring Ebay and the web, it became even clearer that the Baritone was the minority. Oh, there were plenty of the high end "K" brands in those other sizes but not the bari.
I thought about a different approach. Maybe I was limiting myself. After all, I've been playing the ukulele going on seven years. I should be able to manage a smaller instrument. I looked over the collection and decided to change the G string from my Compass Rose Sycamore Tenor from re-entrant to linear G and see how it went. I practiced with my wife on a few songs from our songbook, and decided to perform with it at a gig that we did last Saturday.
I brought my Pono Baritone along just in case. (Hey I might have UAS but I ain't stupid!) Halfway through the first set, I started dreaming about my Baritone. The nice wide fretboard. The comfortable string spacing. The "miles" between the frets. I yearned for it, pined for it, wished I was playing it instead of this fabulous little tenor.
The first set ended. My performance was mediocre at best. I wanted my baritone but then I thought about how limited my choices were out there in the ukulele acquisition world. (Plus Baritones can be up to 25% more expensive!)
My wife could see that something was wrong and she knew what it was. Her and her small hands! She had been eying my beautiful Compass Rose ever since it entered the collection and she wanted it! She hoped that this experiment would fail! What was I going to do?
What can I say. I caved to temptation. The second set started and my Pono Baritone was back where it belonged, cradled in my loving arms. The Compass Rose was back in its case for the remainder of the gig and will be my wife's performance ukulele. The gig ended on a bittersweet note (no pun intended.)
My name is Michael Kaplan and I am a Baritone Ukulele Player.
Thanks for listening...