Oddball slanted uke

shanmoon

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Was looking around today for ukes that are a littl edifferent and came across this oddball gimmicky ukulele with slanted frets and bridge, the Uma Pulse.

pulseuke.jpg
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I found this manufacturer promo on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW1O8HN5muE

I'm not going to run out and buy one, but it definitely is a bit different. Seems like the slanted frets could be strange to deal with.
 
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Wow, thanks for this video, Penny!
 
It seems like there's an attitude against her videos here on UU, but Bernadette also showed this ukulele the other day. I'd love to play one, and I'd probably like playing one in front of others for the shock value. I am going to get the Ortega Hydra when they come on the market, for a similar reason. (Admittedly, the dual eight string and four string with a pick-up is a benefit).

 
I've been seeing that on guitars for at least a few months, if not longer. Something about getting the lower strings even lower tuning.

Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
4 tenor thinline cutaway ukes, 3 thinline acoustic bass ukes, 5 solid body bass ukes
•Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
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It seems like there's an attitude against her videos here on UU, but Bernadette also showed this ukulele the other day. I'd love to play one, and I'd probably like playing one in front of others for the shock value. I am going to get the Ortega Hydra when they come on the market, for a similar reason. (Admittedly, the dual eight string and four string with a pick-up is a benefit).

Well, she's cute and ambitious and loves that ring light! She did manage to call the 'ukulele's 4th string (g) "the 1st string" in her strumming tutorial... Wish I had that many views on my YouTube channel. Guess I'll have to get a ring light...
 
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What's a ring light?

Well, she's cute and ambitious and loves that ring light! She did manage to call the 'ukulele's 4th string (g) "the 1st string" in her strumming tutorial... Wish I had that many views on my YouTube channel. Guess I'll have to get a ring light...
 
I have a Gretsch Roots Collection fan fret tenor. Apparently it was a prototype that never made it into production, and I bought it from a music store that is near their facility. It is certainly an odd sensation to play it, and although it sounds good, I still haven't gotten the hang of the fret placement.
 
It's not a cheapie ($450) - not something I would buy just for the novelty factor. I'd post a link, but it won't let me. : (
 
I've been seeing that on guitars for at least a few months, if not longer. Something about getting the lower strings even lower tuning....

Well I suppose you could use it for lower tuning, but the typical intent is to make a multiscale instrument that has a longer scale length for the lower strings. Personally I can't hear the difference, but some experts will say they can hear a difference between short scale (24.75") and long scale (25.5") acoustic guitars, with the trebles of the shorter scale being better, and the bass of the longer scale being better. A multiscale design supposedly gives the best of both worlds.

But what I don't quite understand is that this would not seem to make sense with re-entrant tuning on a uke.
 
I set mine up for Low G. I don't care for re-entrant on my instruments.
 
Thanks for the ring light info, that's a great idea.

Not sure the fan frets are as great. They seem to sacrifice playability for intonation and possibly tone. When you look at how much that slant is up the neck, I'm not sure I could play it at all, and barre chords and slides would be a nightmare. It does sound nice, though.
 
Fan frets have been a "thing" in the mandolin family for a while. There are no production models that I know of, and certainly no instruments that aren't well into four figures, but luthiers sometimes enjoy getting into it, particularly on the larger and/or five-course instruments. Like besley says above, it's to give greater scale length to the lower strings, and it's no doubt more sought after on instruments with large ranges.

bratsche
 
I have to wonder what the "engineered wood" is they use in the fretboard.

Engineered wood is a composite. They take all sorts of wood scraps - sawdust, shavings, etc. - and mix it together with various adhesives. It's still basically wood, but it uses what would have gone to waste otherwise. It's used for something on Jake Shimabukuro's brand ukulele.

"Bridge: Reconstituted rosewood with inset bone saddle"
 
I think a more playable approach would be a double nut like a baroque lute or some 10 and 11 string guitars: extended scale length for the bass but no wacky frets. This guitar has 5 nuts!

 
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Thanks for the ring light info, that's a great idea.
.

The first time I ever noticed the effects of a ring light was in this video from the early 90s.... not that I ever knew it was called a ring light :rolleyes:

 
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