Vintage uke comparison

garyg

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Here's a video I made comparing some new vintage ukes in my latest backslide of UAS www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QzQkbTH3M Made with a Flip HD with small mics, so the sound quality isn't perfect. In real life, the ukes sound different, but as this video shows, they sound more alike than different. Some of the lack of difference is probably because I didn't stand in the exact same spot for each uke. These mahogany Favilla teardrops are one of the true secrets of the vintage uke world. They are very uncommon but well worth searching out. Sorry for letting the cat out of the bag. Also this video demonstrates once again that a vintage Martin with lots of cracks that are properly glued and cleated, can still sound great. The luthier that I bought the 1K from mentioned that he actually thought that there was a correlation between cracks and sound quality in vintage Martins because the thinner wood produces better sound but also is more prone to cracking. That doesn't mean that there aren't poor sounding ukes with cracks and of course the key is having an expert luthier do the repairs. cheers, g2
 
Thanks for doing that Gary. I've been talking up Favilla Teardrop ukes for years, but no one believes me until they play mine. I have a mahogany one like yours and it is awesome!
 
Aloha Gary,
I love my vintage ukes too...my friend just fixed two favillas up and maybe ready for resale....thank you for posting your comparisons....yes I prefer martin m600 or oasis on my vintage sopranos
and only one soprano built now that has that nice vintage tone and even sounds better to me is ......Brad Donaldson ukes.... Happy Strummings
as for the confined sound....try different strings to rememdy that....
 
Thanks for doing that Gary. I've been talking up Favilla Teardrop ukes for years, but no one believes me until they play mine. I have a mahogany one like yours and it is awesome!

Yes Ryan, I learned about them from our previous conversations. Finally scored one on the bay. cheers, g2
 
Awesome, I remember our talks, but didn't know you scored one until today. So glad you got it!
 
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