melensdad
Well-known member
Thinking about some of the design breakthroughs in ukuleles and I have to wonder what is next (and what have I missed?). These are not necessarily the "first" to build in the following formats but they have become the standards, are actually serious instruments with good-to-excellent sound quality. Not necessarily loved or even liked by all, but truly different in some ways and potentially groundbreaking in others and all with some serious quality. These are real instruments, even if unusual, and are not toys. But there must be others.
What have I missed?
Perhaps more importantly, what is coming next?
OUTDOOR UKULELE ... not the first plastic ukes but clearly a quality build that has become an icon in the durable, go-anywhere uke world. Generally considered to be a serious instrument with very good quality and very good reputation, but a bit quieter than a traditional ukulele. KLOS is now making a carbon fiber ukulele, not sure its any better, and while not plastic, it basically is pretty much the same thing as an OUTDOOR UKE in terms of general durability, design, even if material is different.
CLARA BLACKBIRD ... an astounding composite material and an unusual design that gives an amazing sound. Coveted as a very serious instrument with a top quality build. This is not carbon fiber, its more of a fancy HPL that is basically made of paper and epoxy with some unusual design features like a hollow neck that projects sound out through the headstock.
ROMERO CREATIONS TINY TENOR ... concert size with a tenor scale and a big sound coming out of a small body. Not really a traditional paddle or pineapple shape uke because of the combination of overall size and scale. Very good quality build, wonderful sound, very good reputation.
MAGIC FLUKE ... serious quality instruments with good sound coming out of a plastic body with a laminate wood top. Laminate sound board with plastic body is now copied, in other shapes, by other companies. A good travel, knock around Uke which is still considered a real instrument.
RISA TRAVEL UKULELE ... or 'Sound Stick' style ukulele which is essentially a fretboard size/shaped ukulele. Good enough electronics to make it sound good. Playing without electronics gives a very quiet sound output because there is no body, no soundboard.
BONANZA UKULELES ... made from high pressure laminates, top, sides and back. Corian fretboards. Some might consider these to be travel type ukes, some versions have traditional double bout bodies, other variants have somewhat unusual shapes. Nice quality, nice tone. The MARTIN OX is similar but they don't use Corian fretboards. Enya also is offering HPL ukes.
NATIONAL RESOPHONIC ... an oldie but a goodie. Before amplification there were resonators. There now seem to be low and high priced variations. Beltona is a fiberglass variant that seems to be serious about quality, its probably the only one that has done much innovation on the resonators since the early days.
CLARA BLACKBIRD ... an astounding composite material and an unusual design that gives an amazing sound. Coveted as a very serious instrument with a top quality build. This is not carbon fiber, its more of a fancy HPL that is basically made of paper and epoxy with some unusual design features like a hollow neck that projects sound out through the headstock.
ROMERO CREATIONS TINY TENOR ... concert size with a tenor scale and a big sound coming out of a small body. Not really a traditional paddle or pineapple shape uke because of the combination of overall size and scale. Very good quality build, wonderful sound, very good reputation.
MAGIC FLUKE ... serious quality instruments with good sound coming out of a plastic body with a laminate wood top. Laminate sound board with plastic body is now copied, in other shapes, by other companies. A good travel, knock around Uke which is still considered a real instrument.
RISA TRAVEL UKULELE ... or 'Sound Stick' style ukulele which is essentially a fretboard size/shaped ukulele. Good enough electronics to make it sound good. Playing without electronics gives a very quiet sound output because there is no body, no soundboard.
BONANZA UKULELES ... made from high pressure laminates, top, sides and back. Corian fretboards. Some might consider these to be travel type ukes, some versions have traditional double bout bodies, other variants have somewhat unusual shapes. Nice quality, nice tone. The MARTIN OX is similar but they don't use Corian fretboards. Enya also is offering HPL ukes.
NATIONAL RESOPHONIC ... an oldie but a goodie. Before amplification there were resonators. There now seem to be low and high priced variations. Beltona is a fiberglass variant that seems to be serious about quality, its probably the only one that has done much innovation on the resonators since the early days.
What have I missed?
Perhaps more importantly, what is coming next?
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