Arthur Godfrey baritone?

iamesperambient · Jun 1, 2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wee44H4dQ4Q

i know he had vega make him a special baritone uke which they say he basically 'invented' the baritone. But to me it's hard to hear the uke super clearly but is this standard dgbe baritone tuning? It sounds very ukey like some say baritone doesn't sound 'ukey' enough. But i think if you play all those jazzy type chords it really does sound very much like a uke it just has a deeper voice. Never paid much attention to godfrey but i'm more interested in the uke he used, because i do like the sound of it if anyone knows more info on it or the models he was endorsing i'd like more info on it.

iamesperambient · Jun 1, 2014

iamesperambient said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wee44H4dQ4Q

i know he had vega make him a special baritone uke which they say he basically 'invented' the baritone. But to me it's hard to hear the uke super clearly but is this standard dgbe baritone tuning? It sounds very ukey like some say baritone doesn't sound 'ukey' enough. But i think if you play all those jazzy type chords it really does sound very much like a uke it just has a deeper voice. Never paid much attention to godfrey but i'm more interested in the uke he used, because i do like the sound of it if anyone knows more info on it or the models he was endorsing i'd like more info on it.

http://www.gruhn.com/features/godfrey/UK0869.html

i guess this answers my question.
I was just wondering because his baritone uke playing
sounds so 'ukey' and i'm a supporter of the baritone uke
and i believe it can still sound very ukey if played in a jazzy style
but his straight up sounds like a low G tenor.

peewee · Jun 1, 2014

What he's playing there is the deluxe solo-lute: I've been waiting for one of these to fall in my lap because I covet the 21" scale length for octave uke purposes.

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/180U-1119.htm
Dig those giant MOP markers.

here's a slightly less deluxe one:
http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2011/01/c1950-vega-baritone-ukulele-deluxe-solo.html

I've never had one of these in my grips, but I have a feeling they are pretty unique. Maybe not in a great way, but unique just the same.

And 16 frets to the body!

iamesperambient · Jun 1, 2014

peewee said:
What he's playing there is the deluxe solo-lute: I've been waiting for one of these to fall in my lap because I covet the 21" scale length for octave uke purposes.

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/180U-1119.htm
Dig those giant MOP markers.

here's a slightly less deluxe one:
http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2011/01/c1950-vega-baritone-ukulele-deluxe-solo.html

I've never had one of these in my grips, but I have a feeling they are pretty unique. Maybe not in a great way, but unique just the same.

And 16 frets to the body!

its an interesting design because the neck is long like a bari but it appears maybe just the photo but that the body isn't larger like a bari maybe more of a tenor body with a bari neck and tuning? interesting looks nice. I like how he plays its as tropical island jazzy sound as you can get honestly love the ukulele because of that style of playing even though i make ambient music, i really really enjoy that style and im starting to learn to play like that slowly and i'm really getting into it.

iamesperambient · Jun 1, 2014

Bill1 said:
The intro to Jim Beloffs book, "the Bari Best" is attributed to Tom Favilla, from the Favilla company.it is a version of baritone history and starts right after WWII when John Favilla built baritone ukes for his son Herk, father of Tom. Herk used them for his very young students and women who could not handle a full guitar, so it says, but by 1949 the baritone was a regular part of the Favilla line. And so on, Arthur Godfrey also gets a mention. Vega also gets a mention. Tom Favilla started full time work with the company in 1962, and is still alive and well in New York it seems. He makes a few comments occasionally on FMM collectors uke yak, and if you do a search you will find a lot of baritone stuff there straight from the Favilla company history.

ya I have read up on some of it
tiki king posted info up as well.
it seems no one is 100% sure
who truly invented the baritone ukulele.
ya I heard that it was a teaching aid
I guess that makes sense although learning
on a tenor with linear tuning would have worked
too for that purpose.

it's interesting because some say the baritone
doesn't sound ukey but if you play a lot
of minor7th major 7th diminished etc
and jazzy chords and slide around up
and down the neck you can get a very ukey
sound and the advantage of getting some
bass notes and lower tones in as well
which can make for a very expressive
composition.

Arthur Godfrey baritone?

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