SteveZ
Well-known member
"Sidekick" Banjo Ukulele.
The instrument arrived today. It shipped from China, arriving via USPS. There has been not a lot of time to examine, play, restring, et cetera.
Appearance: The lines are clean. The neck is smooth. The fit is fine and it just feels comfortable. The head is an 8-incher, held in place with six J-hooks and the tailpiece. I chose the model with a plain head (they also come with a neat design on the head). The fretboard has all the right markings.
Set-Up: The SideKick comes with the strings on, but not tightened for immediate play. This is good, because there is less chance of damage during transcontinental shipping when nothing is tensed during whatever handling environments may be encountered.
The instrument comes with a padded gig bag, shoulder strap, Aquila strings already on the instrument (but not under tuning tension and just holding the bridge on the head, a screwdriver-like key to adjust the J-hooks, a decent chromatic tuner, an Allen wrench for any neck tightening and a Philipps screwdriver if one needs one. Printed instructions are included, but if one has never before tuned a banjo or set the intonation, view a video on it (a good one is http://youtu.be/Z3AHG0MAF9o). My bridge ended up about two inches (5 cm) from the tailpiece.
On mine I tightened the J-hooks about one full turn each to get the head at the tension I prefer. Again, if one has never done this before, suggest viewing a video on it (such as http://youtu.be/4cogMQEYWdM).
I did not do any adjustment of the nut. It feels fine where it is. I don't like banjo string action to be too close to the frets, because I tend to play "feisty" a lot and don't want any buzzing due to the action being too low.
Playability: The SideKick is smooth to the touch. It's much lighter than any "standard" banjo uke (SideKick is about 1.5 pounds) and basically is as light as any standard ukulele. The tenor-scale neck is slick and easy to go up and down the fretboard. The Instrument came tuned GCEA (high G) with Aquila NylGuts. I prefer CGDA and tuned the SideKick just like my other banjo uke and tenor banjo. I installed Aquila's 31U CGDA NylGut string set. The Sidekick tuned up nicely and was ready to go as soon as the strings stabilized a bit.
Something which should be highlighted is the SideKick's weight. Some ukulele players are turned off by most banjo ukes, because the banjo ukes tend to weigh two-to-four (or seem like it!) times more than the standard concert or tenor ukulele. The SideKick weighs no more than either my Amahi concert uke or my Oscar Schmidt tenor 8-string. The Sidekick's light weight has not diminished it's fun, and the sound samples should make that point.
Sound: I play a lot of rock and "Gulf and Western" stuff, so ran the SideKick threw several favorites. The SideKick responded well, sounding clear, bright and cheerful - definitely "banjo-ee." It's as loud as can be expected from an instrument with an 8-inch head and without a resonator, I'd feel comfortable taking the SideKick for jamming with guitars and mandolins. The Aquila NylGuts work well, especially if one wants to flatpick the Sidekick. A couple of sound samples I did of this instrument (one "G & W" and the other a "banjo classic") are at https://soundcloud.com/steveztv/sidekick-banjouke-one-1 and https://soundcloud.com/steveztv/sidekick-banjouke-up-on .
Uniqueness: Ukulele enthusiasts will argue that the SideKick is a banjo-uke, while banjo enthusiasts will counter-argue it's a uke-banjo. A lot leading to both opinions has to do with the tenor scale length. If the Instrument had a larger head, the debate would even be more pronounced. Either way, the SideKick is indeed a cross-over instrument worthy of being in both ukukele and banjo company.
Bottom line: Am quite satisfied, and darned happy I got the SideKick before the maker realizes the instrument is worth more than he's charging for it, Size-wise, weight-wise, sound-wise and price-wise the Sidekick is a welcome addition to the stable.
The instrument arrived today. It shipped from China, arriving via USPS. There has been not a lot of time to examine, play, restring, et cetera.
Appearance: The lines are clean. The neck is smooth. The fit is fine and it just feels comfortable. The head is an 8-incher, held in place with six J-hooks and the tailpiece. I chose the model with a plain head (they also come with a neat design on the head). The fretboard has all the right markings.
Set-Up: The SideKick comes with the strings on, but not tightened for immediate play. This is good, because there is less chance of damage during transcontinental shipping when nothing is tensed during whatever handling environments may be encountered.
The instrument comes with a padded gig bag, shoulder strap, Aquila strings already on the instrument (but not under tuning tension and just holding the bridge on the head, a screwdriver-like key to adjust the J-hooks, a decent chromatic tuner, an Allen wrench for any neck tightening and a Philipps screwdriver if one needs one. Printed instructions are included, but if one has never before tuned a banjo or set the intonation, view a video on it (a good one is http://youtu.be/Z3AHG0MAF9o). My bridge ended up about two inches (5 cm) from the tailpiece.
On mine I tightened the J-hooks about one full turn each to get the head at the tension I prefer. Again, if one has never done this before, suggest viewing a video on it (such as http://youtu.be/4cogMQEYWdM).
I did not do any adjustment of the nut. It feels fine where it is. I don't like banjo string action to be too close to the frets, because I tend to play "feisty" a lot and don't want any buzzing due to the action being too low.
Playability: The SideKick is smooth to the touch. It's much lighter than any "standard" banjo uke (SideKick is about 1.5 pounds) and basically is as light as any standard ukulele. The tenor-scale neck is slick and easy to go up and down the fretboard. The Instrument came tuned GCEA (high G) with Aquila NylGuts. I prefer CGDA and tuned the SideKick just like my other banjo uke and tenor banjo. I installed Aquila's 31U CGDA NylGut string set. The Sidekick tuned up nicely and was ready to go as soon as the strings stabilized a bit.
Something which should be highlighted is the SideKick's weight. Some ukulele players are turned off by most banjo ukes, because the banjo ukes tend to weigh two-to-four (or seem like it!) times more than the standard concert or tenor ukulele. The SideKick weighs no more than either my Amahi concert uke or my Oscar Schmidt tenor 8-string. The Sidekick's light weight has not diminished it's fun, and the sound samples should make that point.
Sound: I play a lot of rock and "Gulf and Western" stuff, so ran the SideKick threw several favorites. The SideKick responded well, sounding clear, bright and cheerful - definitely "banjo-ee." It's as loud as can be expected from an instrument with an 8-inch head and without a resonator, I'd feel comfortable taking the SideKick for jamming with guitars and mandolins. The Aquila NylGuts work well, especially if one wants to flatpick the Sidekick. A couple of sound samples I did of this instrument (one "G & W" and the other a "banjo classic") are at https://soundcloud.com/steveztv/sidekick-banjouke-one-1 and https://soundcloud.com/steveztv/sidekick-banjouke-up-on .
Uniqueness: Ukulele enthusiasts will argue that the SideKick is a banjo-uke, while banjo enthusiasts will counter-argue it's a uke-banjo. A lot leading to both opinions has to do with the tenor scale length. If the Instrument had a larger head, the debate would even be more pronounced. Either way, the SideKick is indeed a cross-over instrument worthy of being in both ukukele and banjo company.
Bottom line: Am quite satisfied, and darned happy I got the SideKick before the maker realizes the instrument is worth more than he's charging for it, Size-wise, weight-wise, sound-wise and price-wise the Sidekick is a welcome addition to the stable.
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