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Tigeralum2001

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We've all seen the pictures and viewed the videos, some may have even attended NAMM. What I want to know is that excites you and what you are looking forward to in 2013?

I am looking forward to the Godin uke; that looks pretty sweet. I love the Quilted Maple from DaSilva. Maybe this year I pick up one of the nice resonator models. And for some reason, I feel the need for some gallistrings...

What about you?
 
for me it was hands down, the mango Kamaka. For some reason I've not ever been a koa fan, but have always kind of romanticised the Kamaka name and all it represents. I also love mango to bits, so I think I can see one of those in my future...
 
Not necessarily a posting of my favorites, but a general observation from watching the videos that makes me realize that I need to try harder to get there next year to see for myself: why did quite a few makers demo ukes with Aldrine that were not in tune? Now I know they aren't there to impress the general public, but they should see the UU crew as major exposure for their product. It takes a few seconds to tune up a uke and I'm sure the UU folks could wait a minute before rolling. I know in years past there have been comments about the folks being interviewed not being players, but to not even have the instrument in tune is frustrating to see.

That being said, I'd like to check out one of the Kiwaya tenors, if only to tune it up.
 
We've all seen the pictures and viewed the videos, some may have even attended NAMM. What I want to know is that excites you and what you are looking forward to in 2013?

I am looking forward to the Godin uke;....

Me too. Eric at C. B. Perkins, is a dealer for Godin and said that he will have some in his store in a month, or maybe a few days if the ones at NAMM haven't been sold. I've got one (natural finish) on hold.:)
 
funniest and most entertaining interview from the show was the chat with Bill Collings. priceless. Great stuff Aldrine...I reckon the painted flowers make em sound better too he he :eek:ld:
 
Godin guitars, DaSilva ukuleles, and the brand new Islander with arm rests and cutaways and slotted headstocks look really really tempting too. Anybody willing to sponsor an Islander ukulele? :iwant:
 
Hitomi Kato. Cute as a fresh baked moon pie.
 
After watching the interviews and reading all the posts I have to say that there was nothing that really excited me about this years NAMM. The one uke that I was looking forward to seeing/hearing was the Master series koa tenor from Kiwaya. If you are introducing a tenor to your line, wouldn't you have it ready to go for interested buyers? I agree with Jeff. How difficult is it to tune your ukes before you know someone is going to want to hear them? I have spoken to Hitomi Kaito over the phone three or four times in years past as the representative for Kiwaya USA and she was delightful to speak with and very helpful. But she dropped the ball in her interview with Aldrine. Kiwayas are beautifully built ukuleles and the KTS-4 I owned sounded great. Not that I expected to get a good sound sample from their NAMM booth with all of the background noise, but it would have been nice at least to get an idea.

The Fusion bags looked nice, but expensive.

And a big thank you to Aldrine, Mike, Andrew, Tim, Ken, and everyone else that allowed us to see NAMM through their eyes. Every year you guys provide us with great coverage and insight to the latest and greatest in the ukulele world.
 
I liked the 38 series sopraninio from Ohana, and that cute little rope binding soprano.
 
The Nunes replica caught my eye from the 2012 coverage, hope they get around to releasing it soon!
 
Most exciting new stuff from NAMM 2013 for me: Godin uke and Kiwaya tenor.

Nice to see a different approach to electric ukuleles, kudos to Godin for that. Now if they could even add MIDI/synth capabilities like they have on their guitars, so one could make some wob wob wob subbass sounds with a ukulele that'd be really mint hehe :music:

It was a bit hard to hear the Kiwaya tenor on the UU video but from what I understand, the air conditioning is quite brutal there so instruments get out of tune all the time. I trust that it must sound great though. It's Kiwaya. They're awesome.
 
The Nunes replica caught my eye from the 2012 coverage, hope they get around to releasing it soon!

Soon, I promise. Getting models like this into production takes time. We started with the original antique instrument.
 
I am interested in opinions/reviews on the LR Baggs Lyric Mic system. Looks really interesting.
 
Sorry not to have been down in Hall E, but a few UU folks found me...in drum hell in Hall D. Happy to have Mim on board as well as Andrew and Music Guy Mike. They were all fighting over the ab purfled koa Compass Rose tenor, but Mim called it first. Now I just have to make more ukes! They are becoming a main focus of our business here...
 
After watching the interviews and reading all the posts I have to say that there was nothing that really excited me about this years NAMM. The one uke that I was looking forward to seeing/hearing was the Master series koa tenor from Kiwaya. If you are introducing a tenor to your line, wouldn't you have it ready to go for interested buyers? I agree with Jeff. How difficult is it to tune your ukes before you know someone is going to want to hear them? I have spoken to Hitomi Kaito over the phone three or four times in years past as the representative for Kiwaya USA and she was delightful to speak with and very helpful. But she dropped the ball in her interview with Aldrine. Kiwayas are beautifully built ukuleles and the KTS-4 I owned sounded great. Not that I expected to get a good sound sample from their NAMM booth with all of the background noise, but it would have been nice at least to get an idea.

The Fusion bags looked nice, but expensive.

And a big thank you to Aldrine, Mike, Andrew, Tim, Ken, and everyone else that allowed us to see NAMM through their eyes. Every year you guys provide us with great coverage and insight to the latest and greatest in the ukulele world.
I agree, that Kiwaya out of tune uke deal was awful. Embarrassing.

That said, Kiwaya has always made tenor Masters. I owned one two years ago and sold it last year. I wish I'd have kept it. it was awesome, but not as perfect, sound wise, as some other ukes (Mya Moe, Pohaku, etc.). Kiwayas are "tight" sounding. They are so well built they are slightly restricted, if that makes any sense.

Kiwaya ukes (and I own a KTC 3 even now) are like a dashing and impeccably dressed man in a business suit...at the beach.

Tim's photos were awesome.
 
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From what I could see in the videos/pictures...

Godin is the most promising newcomer to the uke world. It's hard to get excited about another guitar company attempting a line of ukes (especially when it's just a lazy exercise in rebranding), but I get the impression that Godin really did their homework when it came to designing something fresh. Can't wait to try these out!

Imua looks promising too! Reasonably-priced Hawaiian ukes that seem to be about K-brand quality are always welcome.

Glad to see Firefly banjo ukes in more sizes, and as usual the Fluke/Flea designs are super cool. Wish there was a video of the new FMM violin, though!

Also if mango becomes a standard wood for Kamaka and other K-brands I'll soil myself with joy.
 
From what I could see in the videos/pictures...

Godin is the most promising newcomer to the uke world. It's hard to get excited about another guitar company attempting a line of ukes (especially when it's just a lazy exercise in rebranding), but I get the impression that Godin really did their homework when it came to designing something fresh. Can't wait to try these out!

Imua looks promising too! Reasonably-priced Hawaiian ukes that seem to be about K-brand quality are always welcome.

Glad to see Firefly banjo ukes in more sizes, and as usual the Fluke/Flea designs are super cool. Wish there was a video of the new FMM violin, though!

Also if mango becomes a standard wood for Kamaka and other K-brands I'll soil myself with joy.

Oh yes! I forgot about Imua. Beautiful ukes indeed, it looks like they might go big this year.
 
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