Uke Like the Pros Online Shop

chikon2000 said:

I'm curious whether anyone here has taken Terry's guitalele course, and what they think about it. I have a Cordoba Mini on order and am debating whether to take lessons, or try and figure the thing out myself based on my knowledge of the uke. Although, as a number have mentioned, there are many folks out there offering uke lessons, guitalele lessons are very hard to come by. Yes, one could always take guitar lessons and transpose everything to A, but that seems like a lot of bother, especially for someone new to the instrument.

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I don't know anything about the course, but maybe I can offer some food for thought:

The fact that he offers a guitalele course strikes me as a little strange. I'm surprised that there is enough demand to make it lucrative.

I guess he's a guitar player so the content is easy for him. Which is a consideration. Do you want to learn to play:

- Guitalele
- *Guitar* ON a guitalele
- *'Ukulele* ON a guitalele?

I have a hard time believing anyone around is qualified to truly teach guitalele as its own instrument. Anything you get will come either from a uke or guitar angle.

Really, a crossover instrument like that is a comitment. You're going to be transposing and/or figuring out a lot yourself. It's a fact of life unless you want to really limit your options. Trying to lean on few and far between courses or lessons just because they're "for" that specific instrument is probably not the way to go when there is a huge wealth of amazing guitar pedagogy you could study.

FWIW, I feel like I learned uke from 75% guitar material simply because it was available and it was better quality. Things have changed, but not for guitalele.

Just my $.02. I need to do a podcast on this subject (learning crossover instruments and tunings) to break my thoughts down better.

Tumors & suburban subdivisions

I appreciate the comments on guilele instruction...
Had some thoughts on ULTPs but since am currently a tinkerer & not a ukulele musician with roots in Hawaii & pedagogy skills, I lacked the words said above & elsewhere on thread.

I detest self-appointed superlatives. I REALLY detest it in almost everything in life, ESPECIALLY music. Also something about the playing style of the founder & aggro marketing style of ULTP, whose online presence grew really fast, are off-putting enough to me to make me look/spend $ elsewhere, even if they carry something I'm really interested. Tumors & suburban subdivisions which grow that rapidly also get my attention in the same (not good) way. As far as learning material, I have a lifetime's worth of stuff online & elsewhere I haven't gotten to, incl BB stuff.

I mention "roots in Hawaii" in the 1st sentence because for me it's a trait I value for a sense of authenticity (doesn't need to be Hawaiian, just a sense of genuineness). The OP embodies that. As does HMS. I kinda don't but think I know it when I see it, IMO. I may have to get the *Romero I want from Elderly in Michigan, but while they're not Hawaiian, they're deeply authentic. (XS soprano is on my list but somehow a Baritone 6 is on it's way to me, LOL, so guilele comments relevant).

I detest naming instruments myself, but imo if anyone should do it, it's the owner not the seller

It's a bit funny to me seeing lots of Americans dislike Terry and his style while I - and many other foreigners - associate Americans with that "we're the best, wooh!" over the top kind of attitude. Obviously that's a stereotype and I don't mean any disrespect towards Terry or any other. Just an observation, albeit a generalized one.

I personally prefer a more subtle kind of presentation which is why I really like Youtube channels like Got a Ukulele, UkeStuff and GirlMeetsUke. But I do follow UkeLikeThePros as well even though Terry's over the top style isn't completely for me. I think it's very easy to be cynical towards his optimism and presentation style, and I try not to.

Also, his selection of ukes is really up there among HMS and the like. Clearly one of the better sites if you want to find the really rare high-end stuff. I'd gladly order from him if I lived in the States.

I've been tempted by some of his uke offerings, but the fees for setup and shipping I think are too high. Especially when I can buy from HMS, who I think are truly dedicated to what they do and doing their best with service. Terry's style is slick salesman-like, and I find that off-putting.

Terry is a hard working musician and a honest person. That is my impression after having spent the recent few months working on his online program. I have taken lessons in person and also online within James Hill and on Artist Works with Craig and Sarah. Terry brings his own strengths and flavour to his lessons and they are, to me, as an intermediate ukulele student, on par with James or Craig or Sarah.
Terry is not the performer that James, Craig or Sarah are however he has a solid foundation in music theory and his playing skills are sound. I find his teaching skills to be excellent and his enthusiasm motivating.
He constantly adds to his online offerings and makes himself available via zoom weekly and is easily reached by email as well.
I do not have any experience buying from his online shop and I don't put too much weight on claims of #1 as I too see this as a common American technique and a not unusual marketing strategy.
All in all, I do find there's a lot of value in Terry's Uke Like the Pros lessons specifically and his online platform generally and see him as a hardworking, good hearted teacher/musician.

Dohle said:

It's a bit funny to me seeing lots of Americans dislike Terry and his style while I - and many other foreigners - associate Americans with that "we're the best, wooh!" over the top kind of attitude. Obviously that's a stereotype and I don't mean any disrespect towards Terry or any other. Just an observation, albeit a generalized one.

I personally prefer a more subtle kind of presentation which is why I really like Youtube channels like Got a Ukulele, UkeStuff and GirlMeetsUke. But I do follow UkeLikeThePros as well even though Terry's over the top style isn't completely for me. I think it's very easy to be cynical towards his optimism and presentation style, and I try not to.

Also, his selection of ukes is really up there among HMS and the like. Clearly one of the better sites if you want to find the really rare high-end stuff. I'd gladly order from him if I lived in the States.

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I find this really interesting. I completely understand where the image of the ebullient and even self-congratulatory American comes from. It’s not difficult to find examples in media and even in real life. But at the risk of stating the obvious, America is enormous with a very large population that’s probably the most radically diverse in the world. I imagine there’s no shortage of Americans who find that used-car salesman aura unappealing. Relatedly, many of us find the tendency to boast and carry on about one’s own exploits very off-putting. In fact, I still struggle to understand how so many of my, er, compatriots actually liked the personality of a former American president, setting aside policies and politics. I think he could have represented every one of my interests completely, and I would still have had an incredibly difficult time actually liking him.

Personally, self-deprecating and subtle wins me over far more quickly than boastful and slick. Which is funny, I’m not drawn to Woody Allen characters (a little too neurotic maybe). And oddly, I love characters like (the old) Han Solo and Big Trouble in Little China’s Jack Burton. But I think it’s cause despite their bravado, they end up being less than slick, and their overconfidence is perhaps part of the joke. I suppose I like people who can be laughed at in a non-mean-spirited way.

Anyway, I met Terry once, at a festival. He was friendly and nice. He is a little like his videos, although it’s toned down a bit in person—probably because he’s “on” when he’s making a video. He strikes me as someone who learned that having a certain persona is the best way to make a sale. And though some people don’t like his approach, it seems like it works for him. At least, whenever I check, his inventory seems to turn over quite a bit.

But I, too, prefer Andrew’s laid back approach. I posted about his recent podcast with The Rebel owner/found Peng, who’s the kind of person I wish there were more of in the world (kind, idealistic). Although maybe his likeability counts as foreign, despite having lived in Hawaii. In fact, I tend to find foreign (particularly Asian) Youtube ukulelists to be a lot less in your face and self-hyping in general. Or maybe it’s just because the ones I’ve seen are less popular.

I've seen a lot of his videos pop up when I youtube a question I have, so I guess I find his content very helpful sometimes. But I've got to say the way he can't talk without swinging his arms wildly drives me bonkers because he does it while holding $3000 ukuleles, just swinging them around them baseball bats not watching what he's doing at all. I don't think the guy can actually talk unless he's in a 10 foot wide room.

Kaelrie said:

... I don't think the guy can actually talk unless he's in a 10 foot wide room.

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I have found some of his content helpful, albeit in small doses.

My greatest hurdle is that he doesn’t make the effort to articulate his words.
Once I start noticing the following words, listening becomes more challenging:

insrumens

suscribe

tutorios

etc.

Perhaps he’s covering for a speech difficulty with speed of presentation (?), but the overall effect is that of off-putting sloppiness, especially if within the context of a sales pitch.

I’m wondering if he speaks more clearly in person?

~ S.

I'm very new to the uke scene and ULTP is one of the first places you find when looking for instruments or lessons. There are a large number of videos on YouTube and I appreciate them being there as a source of information. But like any source, they are coloured by their purpose which is to further the ULTP business. Nothing wrong with that - long gone are the days when content was made by people purely for the love of making content. The more uke info that's out there, the better in my opinion - more data allows you to make an informed decision rather than relying on a single person's opinion.

Tough crowd!

I remember when ULTP suddenly showed up on YouTube and took over the search results. I watched a video or two, but everything about it felt strongly commercial and "over-produced", and it's not for me. Content like the material created by HMS/The Ukulele Site works better for me. Ultimately, they'd also like to sell me something, but the videos and information feel more "genuine" for lack of a better word. I even bought some smaller things from HMS as a thank-you for all their contributions, which isn't a desire evoked by content that more directly aims at selling courses or instruments.

Anyway, it's all a matter of preference. There is no shortage of other content out there that is more "natural" and less over-done, so alternatives without the "car salesman" vibe are available. If this content creator is popular, and that seems to be the case, it just means there are plenty of people who enjoy the format. Choice is good.

It's a bit nauseating to see Romero Creations & Daniel Ho being marketed like a bunch of disposable, poorly stamped out poorly QC'ed Kalas.



Vs

For what it is worth, I have purchased one instrument from Uke Like the Pros, and it was a fine experience. The instrument in question (a Kanilea concert) was on sale, and even with the shipping and charge for full setup, it was still a pretty good deal. Shipping was fast, and it was well packed. Setup was good (not quite Mim good, but good) and I was satisfied with experience.

(With all of that said, the instrument itself hasn't really gelled with me, and given my stable of instruments, I am likely to try to sell it along soon. It deserves to be played and I don't give it the attention that it deserves.)

I have not taken any of his lessons or courses, so I can't speak to that. I am also not a fan of the braggadocio, but if you are just buying an instrument, and ULTPs has what you are looking for, it's fine.

Wukulele said:

It's a bit nauseating to see Romero Creations & Daniel Ho being marketed like a bunch of disposable, poorly stamped out poorly QC'ed Kalas.

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So I can only guess how you feel about this...

pmorey said:

His setups are an extra $30 and are done by The Repair Zone, a guitar shop in San Diego.

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Now, why am I not surprised to read that? I recently paid the additional $30 for a setup, and received a beautiful Ohana Ukulele, that was obviously shipped to me just the way it came from the factory. Now, Ohana is one company that checks their instruments carefully before sending them to the dealers. So, even without a pro setup, they usually play OK. In this case, I'm certain that whoever was assigned to do my setup, just looked at the instrument, ran through a few chords, didn't see or hear anything wrong, and just passed it on to me without doing anything to it. Yes, it plays OK. But, the gap between the G string and 1st fret is about .05 inches. It's playable that way, but I'm going to have to do my own setup to get it down to where it should be for easy playing. That's the kind of thing that happens when you farm out your setups to a third party instead of doing them in house. In my mind, I see this fairly inexperienced kid working at the Repair Zone shop, all into electric guitars and fuzz tone stompers, thinking to himself, "Ah shucks, another damn Ukulele! These things are all crap, so what do they expect me to do about it?" Then signing off on it without doing anything to it. Now, that's just my imagination. But, I'll bet it's not far from the truth.

I understand and acknowledge the criticisms mentioned, but are you folks really going to complain for being charged for a service? Isn't that like ordering a sandwich with extra meat and then complaining because you've been charged for extra meat? When I drove several hours and bought a uke from Elderly Instruments, I told them to set it up and put strap buttons on. They did. And they charged me. And I gladly paid it. That's how businesses work. I guess I could have been a Karen and asked to see the manager and explained how important I was and how vital my transaction was to their continuance as a company, and that if I didn't get freebies I would take my business elsewhere. But I chose to pay them for their time.

ripock said:

I understand and acknowledge the criticisms mentioned, but are you folks really going to complain for being charged for a service?

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If other dealers include it for free and/or do a better job, I'd be unhappy with being charged extra. (Well, I'd just shop elsewhere.)

VegasGeorge said:

Now, why am I not surprised to read that? I recently paid the additional $30 for a setup, and received a beautiful Ohana Ukulele, that was obviously shipped to me just the way it came from the factory. Now, Ohana is one company that checks their instruments carefully before sending them to the dealers. So, even without a pro setup, they usually play OK. In this case, I'm certain that whoever was assigned to do my setup, just looked at the instrument, ran through a few chords, didn't see or hear anything wrong, and just passed it on to me without doing anything to it. Yes, it plays OK. But, the gap between the G string and 1st fret is about .05 inches. It's playable that way, but I'm going to have to do my own setup to get it down to where it should be for easy playing. That's the kind of thing that happens when you farm out your setups to a third party instead of doing them in house. In my mind, I see this fairly inexperienced kid working at the Repair Zone shop, all into electric guitars and fuzz tone stompers, thinking to himself, "Ah shucks, another damn Ukulele! These things are all crap, so what do they expect me to do about it?" Then signing off on it without doing anything to it. Now, that's just my imagination. But, I'll bet it's not far from the truth.

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This has been my main concern with buying from him. The ukes I've received from HMS and Mim are spot on, you can tell they know what they're doing. I trust that the instrument I get from them will be perfect. And so far, they have been. Any issues are resolved before I get the uke. Prices are fair, service is top-notch, I'm a happy customer.

ripock said:

I understand and acknowledge the criticisms mentioned, but are you folks really going to complain for being charged for a service? Isn't that like ordering a sandwich with extra meat and then complaining because you've been charged for extra meat? When I drove several hours and bought a uke from Elderly Instruments, I told them to set it up and put strap buttons on. They did. And they charged me. And I gladly paid it. That's how businesses work. I guess I could have been a Karen and asked to see the manager and explained how important I was and how vital my transaction was to their continuance as a company, and that if I didn't get freebies I would take my business elsewhere. But I chose to pay them for their time.

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For the most part, I agree with what seems to be the general sentiment on this thread, that Terry’s style of sales is not the most attractive. I do think maybe we could be a little more diplomatic about it, since it’s someone’s livelihood, and most of it amounts to a subjective preference issue. But then, as someone noted, I don’t think his target crowd is UU.

But the setup is a fair difference to note. It seems that setups are not a standard industry practice, especially when Amazon, Guitar Center, and direct sales from manufacturer sites dominate the market. Should that standard change, and setups be included with every instrument purchase? I’m not sure. I do think setups are more like getting a properly made sandwich than getting extra meat. The analogy breaks down because sandwiches are rarely so sloppy they can’t be eaten, but the playability of instruments off the factory line is variable. And setups, too, vary between making something playable, and fine-tuning to exact personal preference. In any case, I’m fairly certain most of the folks here appreciate the setups offered by HMS, Mim, and others without being self-important about it. And hopefully most of us can act like adults about it and just figure the setup cost into the cost of the instrument when making our choices.

I do think the one real complaint about not receiving a decent setup after having paid for it is a fair complaint. I’m not sure how ULTP can solve this problem (if it’s an ongoing one) since Terry’s wheelhouse is instruction and sales. I believe Elderly has actual service techs in-house. If/when ULTP becomes something like the #1 online ukulele shop, they would probably benefit from bringing on an actual tech to do setups, pickup installations, and the rest in-house.

Wow! Can't believe how critical some are with Terry's marketing. I believe he has a passion for what he does, and has a good time personally advertising the merchandise he sells. And yes, like the rest of us, needs to make a living too.
I know Mim's and HMS are good places to deal with, but can anyone give me the name of a shop owner who will take the time on a Sunday evening and make a vimeo clip showing what a particular uke looks and sounds like that you have an interest in? Terry has done this for me in the past more than once, and not to say he can make the time in every case, but goes to show his commitment.