Gig bag and clip-on tuner required?

Hi all,

Next week I will start the first of 9 group lessons in a 10-lesson course (I need to skip one due to previous commitments). Since the class is somewhere halfway between work and home, I plan on bringing the uke to work and leaving it in the car.

So, silly question: should I get a gig bag for it? Is there any added value there? Second, less silly question: when at home I use a chromatic Boss tuner. The guitarists in my band both use clip-ons and while I am not a big fan of those (for bass guitar), I do see some value for the uke.

So, suggestions are welcome

Hi, Eddie!

My silly answer is that you don't need gig bag.

My less silly answer is this sound hole tuner. It is very nice for travel and even in daily use.

Definately get a tuner, you'll need it often, re gig bag, I have one for each of my ukes, it keeps them safe & clean.

P.S. A clip on tuner should be removed after tuning, to keep it safe.

Croaky Keith said:

Definately get a tuner, you'll need it often, re gig bag, I have one for each of my ukes, it keeps them safe & clean.

P.S. A clip on tuner should be removed after tuning, to keep it safe.

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Since the ukulele is so small, I would recommend a hard sided case instead of a bag. Soft bags are OK for large instruments where a hard sided case would make the instrument-plus-case hard to pack (think double bass, another one of my instruments), but offer very little protection other than the smallest dings and scrapes. Anything bigger than that will go right through the soft bag.

I once gave a ride to a very fine professional trombonist, and when I came to pick him up, he put his irreplaceable Selmer trombone, in a soft case, in the back of my Jeep Cherokee right in front of my baritone sax in its hard case! One sudden stop and the trombone slide would have been history! I changed that before I pulled away.

If your tuner uses a mic as the input, it is useless in a group setting. My first group session I tried to use an app on my phone. I instantly realized that this works at home when only one instrument is playing, and does not work with 10 playing. I had to borrow a clip on tuner from my neighbor. I bought several cheepies ($1.99 shipped from austin bazaar) but I will likely give them to players in the local group.
Auto off is a big feature to have.
I have one tuner from Cordoba that turns on when you clip it on. I like that.

I'd recommend both a gig bag and clip-on tuner, for safety and convenience. Depending on your climate, be careful leaving it in the car, especially if it's gonna get very hot. Treat your uke like you would a person or pet. In summer, the inside of a hot car can reach 130-140, no place for a wooden uke, which will develop severe problems in that kind of heat.

If ‘twas me, I would use a gig bag or case (I have one for every instrument I own, including my tuba.), and a Snark tuner.

I don’t like the idea of leavin’ it in the car all day though. ld:

Tuner, yes. Tiny Tim carried his ukulele around in a shopping bag. It just depends oh how worried you are about your uke. I have one uke that I wouldn't think of taking it out if it weren't in a hard case. I have another one that at first I just shoved in a backpack with the neck sticking out the top and gone out the door without a second thought. That said, a gig bag doesn't cost any more than a backpack. I did eventually get a gig bag for it.

I have a D'Addoria/Planet Waves mini tuner on everyone of ukes (8) and bass ukes/mini bass guitars (24), couldn't live without them. Get a gig bag or a hard case for protection. In my opinion they're both worth every penny.

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8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

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A clip on tuner that works off of vibration and not audio will be a lot more accurate and will work better in a loud environment, and those kinds tend to only be clip on...but luckily none are all too expensive! A gig bag is also very important in my opinion, if you are moving around a lot with your precious child. There are the paper thin gig bags you get with the instrument, and then there some actual high quality gig bags you can get for like $40 USD. My rule of thumb is generally for most instruments, don't pay more money for the bag or case, than the instrument is worth. If you want more info, I address this some in my intro to ukulele video, which you can find through my YouTube down below! hope I can help!

I have hard cases for all of my instruments that leave the house (except the Outdoor Uke, which lives in the car with a gig bag to keep the dust off). A gig bag is probably ok if you're just running it from the car in to a lesson, but accidents can happen in short distances. We've lost a guitar in a gig bag to a trip-and fall that a hard case probably would have saved (no idea if a better gig bag would have). That was just getting out of a car. Carrying on a bus or plane is worse - I really don't trust other people's sense of space, especially when it's crowded. I've had several people not see the instrument case in the overhead and try to shove a bag on top of it.

Tuner-wise, your pedal tuner is great if you're plugging in, but in a ukulele lesson you're probably just playing acoustically. Clip on tuners are cheap, easy, effective in crowds, and don't require a cord.

I'm another fan of the D'Addario micro's and have them on just about everything, along with a clip-on in my jacket pocket as a back up (useful in music stores and if the battery fails - tuning a mandolin with a phone in a room full of other novices also tuning gave me nightmares).

My pocket tuner is a Fender California rather than for a few reasons:

• The auto-on / off when attaching to the headstock is convenient
• The screen is big, bright, and easy to read (the micro's not bad, but some cheapies are too low contrast for my eyes)
• It's brightly coloured and not a Snark. If it gets misplaced in a room where everybody else has a Snark I can easily tell that it's mine.
• Fairly inexpensive (prices fluctuate a lot, but it's often on sale for about half a Snark)

Gig bag (padded, preferably) is a good idea. Sometimes you can find deals on cases. What you choose up to you.

You should have a clip-on tuner because you may find yourself needing to retune during the lessons. They're pretty cheap now, and the D'Addarios and Snarks are mighty useful.

I'd also not leave it in the car unless you're in a covered deck. Humidity, heat, etc., can do a number on almost anything but a 100% plastic uke. Take it into work if you can and just set it aside.

The gig bag is often referred to as the instrument repair man's best friend. It will protect from scratches and rain, but that's about it. Any good impact and your ukulele could be toast.

I have found an inexpensive Snark tuner to be fine. You can find the Snark chromatic on ebay for about $10.00.

The Kaces gig bag is a bit more padded than many of the thin ones out there. While I prefer a hard case, it is pretty decently made and not too pricey

https://www.elderly.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=kaces+ukulele