Plastic Ukes

MiaRosie

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I'm desperate to get my hands on a plastic uke from the 60's era or thereabouts - mainly because of their looks I have to say, but would obv like to be able to play it ! :drool:

There was one on ebay that I intended bidding on ( it was in the States ) - made contact for shipping quote and all was on for a go and sat waiting for the end of the auction the night before last. Clicked on a new button which said **1 click bid** - putting in $28 more than it was at - right at the last 20 seconds or so to go and it didn't work ! I could have cried. :( Be warned if you use that button feature.

Anyhow, do any of you own a plastic uke ?
How are they for playability / sound ?

:iwant:

If you know of anyone with one for sale at a 'reasonable' price who would be willing to ship to the UK I'd be more than happy (double more than happy in fact) to speak with them!

Thanks :)
 
Hi,

Too bad about the Ebay mishap. I'm sure that there will be another opportunity in your future.

There is a fairly large contingency of Plastic Ukulele Collectors out there and a second bunch who collect the plastic Chordmaster boxes that attach to the ukuleles.

We have four in our collection. Three sopranos (An Islander, a Flamingo, and a TV Pal) and a Baritone (TV Pal)

As far as I'm concerned, they are collector ukes only and we have them for show. I don't particularly like playing them. They are loud, have a distinctive "plastic" sound, and they cannot really be adjusted or "set up" so you are stuck with invariably high action. Others on the forum may disagree. I do admit that they are fun to own and do provide a nice addition to the all wood community of ukuleles.

Good luck with your search. As I said, I'm sure that there is a plastic uke in your future.
 
http://www.youtube.com/user/UkeHeidiUkeAida
http://www.chordmaster.org/

Check out Antoine's Youtube and Plastic Uke site. He's the king of plastic ukes (well, maybe the Dauphin of Plastic Ukes - since he's French)!

I've got a few plastics too. They're a lot of fun. And as mentioned previously, it's best to know how high the action (strings) are on a plastic before bidding. Ask for side shots of the uke from the seller.
 
Those videos confirm my desire, I neeeeed. I just love the sound, crazy perhaps, but I do. I've got a wall clear to display them - sad case of plastic uas.

thanks for the links people, will check them out and one day I WILL find I catch a falling star and find the little uke with my name on it.

:)
 
Just a tip re. eBay: that button only works if you have put in at least one bid before the last hour of the auction (this information is available on the site). It's a useful button, but it's designed to help people who don't snipe. If you do prefer to snipe, you can still enter a proper (albeit more time-consuming) bid in the last seconds of the auction.
 
Been on lookout in the UK for a plastic - either from the cheaper TVPAL to the more desireable Maccaferri instruments - sadly, this side of the pond, those I see on ebay command silly prices I am not prepared to pay.

As such, thus far sticking with my (plastic) Flea, (plastic) Fluke and (plastic) Dolphin!!
 
It's shipping to the uk that puts me off - these plastic ukes only seem to come up in the USA - I guess they didn't really catch on over here!
Also been looking at the Sekiguchi Amuse - also an import but they seem to be available from france so a a bit cheaper. Don't forget that you tend to get stung for VAT on import from outside the EU as well a the postage.
 
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