Has anybody tried one of these?

ScooterD35

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I haven't, but there's video on YouTube. I wasn't impressed with the sound. They look super cool, though.
 
i would rather stick with a conventional uke but sayng that its a good concept
 
One of my fellow jammers is making one, he had Jake sign the front recently. Rumor has it we'll see it this weekend. I'll let you know what I think. I personally am entranced by the boxier one, the way it folks. This totally gets my mathey nerdy juices going.
 
Lol.. yeah because the ukulele is known to take up a lot of room

That was exactly my first though when I saw "folding uke" LOL
 
I think it's a cool idea, and probably has a market for those going on gap years etc. Certainly not intended as a gigging instrument.

As for the comment about ukes taking up room, if you're back-packing/travelling lost distances, carrying a hard case will be a pain in the arse.

It would be nice to see them in other woods that produce better sound, bamboo may be easier to work with and keep the environ-mentalists happy, but a uke that doesn't sing isn't really a uke in my book.

I'm still in the camp of the lunchbox uke, with the detachable neck that stores inside the lunchbox body. I wouldn't buy one, but it's still a great idea, even if it means you have to string it every time it's set up.
 
My first thought when seeing that would be- would you have to retune the strings every time you unfolded it? Or would the strings eventually "settle"?
 
My first thought when seeing that would be- would you have to retune the strings every time you unfolded it? Or would the strings eventually "settle"?

You'd pretty much have to retune and do a stretch in, I'm sure. If left extended they would eventually settle - but in working on ukes I've found that if you remove the tension from the string for any length of time and then bring it back up to pitch you have to go through a new "break in" period - not bad as the original, but they definitely destabilize some.
 
How cool, but interestingly, it doesn't look any more portable than a fully "unfolded" uke. In fact, it appears this would have to be stuffed into a suitcase, rather than worn on the back in a gig bag (which we all know is a chick magnet)!
 
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