Yet another--"Shopping for ukuleles on Oahu"--but this one's got no happy ending...

Yet another--"Shopping for ukuleles on Oahu"--but this one's got no happy ending...

...well, at least until I post what happened when we went to the *next* island!

In the meantime, here's the low-down of what it was like to be right there with the oh-so-close tropical delights of Waikiki--and head ukulele shopping instead!

http://ukuleletonya.com/blog/2013/10/ukulele-shopping-on-oahu-lots-of-choices-but/

This was a fun article to read!

Good article. I found what I was looking for at HMS. Sorry nothing there spoke to you. I'm looking forward to the next part of your quest.

Aloha Tonya,
Welcome back to hawaii....you can call me anytime...hee hee pua pua in the sheraton waikiki hotel got the 11,500 devine....kona brewing pub has ledwood on sundays..and kanikapila grill in the reef hotel has weldon....have fun and enjoy.......HMS and Koolau are fun too... Koolau factory has ukes still not posted yet online and you get to meet Andrew Noa and their dad....
Let me know I have a few ukes you might like to try...PM me..

Well written. It felt like I was on the quest myself! Thank you.

Hi Tonya. You certainly gave it a good try to find a 2nd uke. I'm sort of jealous that I don't have your resistance tenacity. My problem is that I like the sounds and tonal ranges of the different ukes even though this little voice in the back of my mind keeps saying, "Hey, you can only play one at a time." It really sounds to me like you are a 1-uke person. Nothing wrong with that either. Plus you are avoiding another possible problem that I have about feeling guilty for not playing the ukes I have enough. Lucky for you the only decision you have to really make is whether or not to continue the ukulele safari. Good luck to you, Tonya. I really enjoy reading your stuff; Very well written!!

Stan

I'm looking at your signature and I think you're holding out on us. When do we get "the rest of the story"??

Tonya, great blog post.
It makes me realize how lucky I was to get my Vento on my Hawaiian visit.
It is an amazing ukulele that gets every ones attention.

Bob-in-Alberta said:

I'm looking at your signature and I think you're holding out on us. When do we get "the rest of the story"??

Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same thing! haha.

I'm thinking that test driving ukes in stores can be seriously hampered by the fact that new ukes come with whatever strings they come with and many string sets do not bring out the true potential of the new instrument being tested.

Reminds me of going to an audio store and listening to new speakers blasting music I would not be inclined to listen to in a room that reflects sound wave totally unlike my listening room and at levels that exceed any level I would set at home. My way of addressing those limitations was to bring in my own reference CDs (and, on one occasion, even a set of my own speakers to A-B), listen as though the speakers were near field and control the volume myself.

Tonya, maybe the uke corrolary is to bring in your own strings. You might recall when I bought the MP in Reno (next to your table) that it took me 3 hours and several trips back and forth to Mike's display before I pulled the trigger. Even though I liked what I heard from the MP, I felt that the strings on it were not the uke's friends. Luckily for me, I felt that that the instrument was very likely to shine with the right strings and it has. I think that process might have been easier and more definitive had I started with the strings I ended up with.