I stumbled across an HMS vid - "10 ukes under $200" or something like that - on YouTube. Dang! I don't know which of the HMS guys is in this vid but the boy has some chops! I'd kill for triplets like that!
Great reminder that, for all we obsess over this uke or that uke, at the end of the day it's the player who makes the difference. Great playing will make an average uke sound spectacular.
Thanks, John, for the video link. Corey is, in fact, wonderful.
I had no idea the young man on your videos was this same young fellow: absolutely impeccable Rainbow. Stunning. Love Iz, but man, this Corey's Rainbow is mind-boggling.
And I have to say, hearing all those inexpensive ukes, the spruce top is hard to beat. I just got a cheap Stagg U60-S, plopped on some Worth Clears, and it sings! Solid spruce top, laminate mahogany sides (like the Kala soprano in the video test link you gave, John).
Just saw that vid last night. Anyone tempted to get a Kanile'a guitalele? Corey, like Aldrine, also plays guitar. Watch these two vids one after the other and focus on the tonal differences.