So when I moved to England I was told that Newcastle was the least rainy city in the country. And I believed it. These days: not so much. We've had so many floods in the past months that these days I almost never leave the house without a king-size umbrella and a change of knee-high wellies in a carrier bag. Just in case I need to cross a river again on my way home.
I got really fed up with not being able to take ukes out of the house in fear of water damage (I do have great heady-duty hard cases for my ukes but even they have their limits - which I do not intend to test). So I ordered a Flea from the good folks at Southern Ukulele Store (basic model in black, because ROBUST) and it arrived today! Just on time to grab it and jump on the metro to a jazz improv workshop series I had missed last week because flooded, only to find out the next session was actually next week and that today was a baroque music concert (which was absolutely brilliant btw, but I digress). And just on time for its first test drive through another one of those heavy rain storms. Verdict: it survived brilliantly! I am so pleased!
The denim bag, not so much. Wasn't destroyed but it's currently drying next to a heater. I need to get a waterproof one (any tips?). Other than that it is PERFECT: lightweight yet solid like a tank (WHOOHOO!!), friction tuners are totally fine, plastic fretboard is surprising at first but very comfortable and has perfect intonation, no problem seeing the frets, neck has a nice profile (although I would have preferred a smoother neck in order to move my left hand quicker behind the fretboard), built quality and finish is impeccable, sound is loud and rich (not quite as good as my other sopranos but will probably get very close once I toss the stock strings and put South Coast Soft Medium strings on it, which are already on their way). Almost best of all: it looks gorgeous standing straight just next to my ceramic boxes on top of my tea pots cabinet. Aren't I a girl It blends so well that my bf didn't even notice it was there for a good 15 minutes! Totally best of all: I didn't feel stressed at all about carrying a uke with me through the weather. Aah, what a relief. It felt like a bit of sunshine in this grime climate
Super-sturdy weatherproof travel uke: check! Lalou = happy! Just wanted to share with you guys!
And for once, I will end this "new uke" post of mine without the words "and this will be my last uke in a long long time". Because who am I kidding? I have a very special baritone coming up soon that I'm very excited about. More on that another time!
I got really fed up with not being able to take ukes out of the house in fear of water damage (I do have great heady-duty hard cases for my ukes but even they have their limits - which I do not intend to test). So I ordered a Flea from the good folks at Southern Ukulele Store (basic model in black, because ROBUST) and it arrived today! Just on time to grab it and jump on the metro to a jazz improv workshop series I had missed last week because flooded, only to find out the next session was actually next week and that today was a baroque music concert (which was absolutely brilliant btw, but I digress). And just on time for its first test drive through another one of those heavy rain storms. Verdict: it survived brilliantly! I am so pleased!
The denim bag, not so much. Wasn't destroyed but it's currently drying next to a heater. I need to get a waterproof one (any tips?). Other than that it is PERFECT: lightweight yet solid like a tank (WHOOHOO!!), friction tuners are totally fine, plastic fretboard is surprising at first but very comfortable and has perfect intonation, no problem seeing the frets, neck has a nice profile (although I would have preferred a smoother neck in order to move my left hand quicker behind the fretboard), built quality and finish is impeccable, sound is loud and rich (not quite as good as my other sopranos but will probably get very close once I toss the stock strings and put South Coast Soft Medium strings on it, which are already on their way). Almost best of all: it looks gorgeous standing straight just next to my ceramic boxes on top of my tea pots cabinet. Aren't I a girl It blends so well that my bf didn't even notice it was there for a good 15 minutes! Totally best of all: I didn't feel stressed at all about carrying a uke with me through the weather. Aah, what a relief. It felt like a bit of sunshine in this grime climate
Super-sturdy weatherproof travel uke: check! Lalou = happy! Just wanted to share with you guys!
And for once, I will end this "new uke" post of mine without the words "and this will be my last uke in a long long time". Because who am I kidding? I have a very special baritone coming up soon that I'm very excited about. More on that another time!
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