Treholipee the 4-foot uke

Spuash

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well i went into a music store in Florida today.... horrible Uke selection but they did have a Treholipee. google that to find out what it is... i want one, they seem so rediculous but the concept of putting the head and part of the neck in the sand while you went surfing is just awesome.

these things look crazy. does any luthier make them? or any1 know where i can get them.. im in florida visiting my grandma but by the time you guys read this ill be back in CA... does island Bizarr have them?


and what do you guys/gals think of this instrument?
 
I've never heard/played one, but I know that they were made in the 1960s by Swagerty, who made all sorts of crazy artistic designs. They're no longer in production, unless there's someone out there making repro's.
 
I've never heard/played one, but I know that they were made in the 1960s by Swagerty, who made all sorts of crazy artistic designs. They're no longer in production, unless there's someone out there making repro's.

Now that would be fun to build, and not to hard with a bit of steam and a good jig.
 
I've never heard/played one, but I know that they were made in the 1960s by Swagerty, who made all sorts of crazy artistic designs. They're no longer in production, unless there's someone out there making repro's.


yeah i found one at a music shop in Florida.. like i said their uke selection sucked so i belived this was a repli bt the thing was too high on the wall for me to look. would still be cool o have one just as part of the collection.:rock:
 
I have seen (online) some of these. They pop up on ebay every so often under different names. They have a uniques shape, I cannot comment on the sound or anything having never seen one in person but you can probably find one for a resonable price online. (ebay) I have thought about getting one to see what they are like. If I find one I will post a link.
 
Any one know how they're tuned?
 
Any one know how they're tuned?


Im Pretty sure they're standard gCEA or you can tune it however you'd like.. and the one i saw at the store was big but the uke part was a soprano size.

im really glad this thread is generating some conversation.. maybe we can get a luthier to make one :)
 
that thing is so strange lookin lol. i want one. that would be so ackward to play though.
 
I've wanted one forever,I like wierd stuff.
I've heard them called "surfuleles" before.

Yeah. I've been doing some more research. The treholipee looks like a bow and arrow. And there are two more variations. The surf a lele. And the kook a lele. The surf is more swiveled and the kook is a straight end but the base all looks and plays the same.

This is such a cool concept to bring to the beach and stick it in the sand when you go surfing. These seriously would make a great addition to any collection. I know I want one. At at least to play one :)
 
UAS strikes again.I bought a "polk-a-lele" off ebay and it showed up today.It is really,really cool looking,despite having a crack in back and a glue repair on the head above the tuners.The first thing I noticed was,it's a pain in the arse to tune,very awkward.The second thing I noticed is that the plastic pegs slip and won't hold the tension for long,I'll have to fix that somehow.The tone isn't especially great.Otherwise,I love it,even if it just hangs on the wall most of the time.
 
spuash, where and what was the store called in florida called?
i visit florida quite often so maybe i can take a look
 
I have a red Treholipee, and it is a lot of fun. They really need the cord/strap, and with it over your shoulder, it is pretty well balanced.

This picture is of me with mine, right after I bought it in an antique mall. Luckily, I was able to add an original cord/strap. Brought it to CA from Chicago on two different planes....that was fun!
 
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Treholipee

The one I bought for $10.00 was pristine;even down to the cord for the strap. The sound is lacking body resonance because the body hardly resonates. It is just a little plastic soprano fretboard. The paddles are known to break off the blades, and there is nothing to use for leverage to tune if but locking pliers (vise-grips) If you want to stand out, it is an attention getter!! There is no need to steam the neck. A good straight grain 2 x 4 will give you all the wood you need to lay up the curve. Beyond the paddle tuners, the appendage has no musical purpose. My Martin Backpacker ukulele sounds better . They were well designed to serve as a locator and indicator of side current drift for surfers.
 
It looks like it could be an instrument used by Charles Napier ("Silence of the Lambs") on the original Star Trek show "The Way to Eden" in 1968.

Star_Trek_Space_Hippies.jpg
 
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