collarbone
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My wife and I went on a quick weekend getaway for our anniversary and I managed to talk her into letting me head over to Dusty Stings and try out some ukes. Let me start off by saying that I am from Canada and the selection of ukuleles in brick and mortar stores in Canada is extremely limited. I could probably cross the entire country and not get to play as many nice instruments as were sitting in front of me on the wall at Dusty Strings. Needless to say I was very excited to play some ukes that I have drooled over looking at online stores and the forums here.
The store is very nice and the staff is very friendly. If I was buying a guitar they have a huge selection of very very nice instruments. As far as ukes go the selection is smaller but still very nice. I am a bit of a leave me alone type of shopper and they were happy to leave me be and only check in once in a while to see if I was doing all right.
So here are some impressions of the ukes I got to play. I was mostly trying sopranos and concerts. There were quite a few surprises. I was most excited to get to play a Kamaka of which they have several, but I must admit I was a little disappointed. My favourite of the bunch was the pineapple. I'm not sure if it was the strings but they sounded kind of dull and thumpy to me. They also have a necks on the thicker side which is something I guess you would get used to but felt a little funny to me. I was planning on maybe buying a Kamaka at some point in the near future but I will be rethinking that.
The Keli'i's were a very pleasant surprise. They sounded great at half the price of a Kamaka. The necks were thin and nice. The sound was bright and I was very impressed.
Kiwaya was about what I thought it would be. Beautifully built, light as a feather and great sounding. I will be considering buying a soprano from them.
A few other things that I wasn't expecting. I didn't think I would, but I liked Banjo Ukes and Resonators. They had an old Gibson banjo that was great and a Firefly which was also cool. The Nationals were also amazing. I loved the Triolian. Maybe not for my next purchase but I have filed them one away as a maybe someday ukulele.
To sum up I had a great time there and it is a wonderful store. I think I might be more confused about my next uke purchase than I was was when I went there. I guess I'll just buy what I think I like and if it ends up not working out there is always the Marketplace! If you find yourself in the Seattle area it is well worth a visit especially if your are from uke poor country (ie not from Hawaii or nearby a major ukulele store.).
The store is very nice and the staff is very friendly. If I was buying a guitar they have a huge selection of very very nice instruments. As far as ukes go the selection is smaller but still very nice. I am a bit of a leave me alone type of shopper and they were happy to leave me be and only check in once in a while to see if I was doing all right.
So here are some impressions of the ukes I got to play. I was mostly trying sopranos and concerts. There were quite a few surprises. I was most excited to get to play a Kamaka of which they have several, but I must admit I was a little disappointed. My favourite of the bunch was the pineapple. I'm not sure if it was the strings but they sounded kind of dull and thumpy to me. They also have a necks on the thicker side which is something I guess you would get used to but felt a little funny to me. I was planning on maybe buying a Kamaka at some point in the near future but I will be rethinking that.
The Keli'i's were a very pleasant surprise. They sounded great at half the price of a Kamaka. The necks were thin and nice. The sound was bright and I was very impressed.
Kiwaya was about what I thought it would be. Beautifully built, light as a feather and great sounding. I will be considering buying a soprano from them.
A few other things that I wasn't expecting. I didn't think I would, but I liked Banjo Ukes and Resonators. They had an old Gibson banjo that was great and a Firefly which was also cool. The Nationals were also amazing. I loved the Triolian. Maybe not for my next purchase but I have filed them one away as a maybe someday ukulele.
To sum up I had a great time there and it is a wonderful store. I think I might be more confused about my next uke purchase than I was was when I went there. I guess I'll just buy what I think I like and if it ends up not working out there is always the Marketplace! If you find yourself in the Seattle area it is well worth a visit especially if your are from uke poor country (ie not from Hawaii or nearby a major ukulele store.).