bynapkinart
Well-known member
So I've kind of been falling out of ukulele for the past 6 or so months...I'm a guitar player and songwriter first and for whatever reason I was feeling "stuck" with ukulele after having played it much more than guitar for the past couple of years. I had looked at baritones but because I've been so stuck with the uke I just couldn't justify spending a whole lot on one, so I was waiting for the right deal to come along before snagging it.
Recently I bought this uke, which is label- and headstock logo- free and hard to identify but from the design and the age I think it's a 70's Hikare baritone from Japan. All laminate but is surprisingly extremely loud and resonant...I've owned a few lam ukes and this is by far the biggest-sounding and has better sustain than any of the lam ukes I've tried. The sound is super mellow and sweet (which is what I was going for in a baritone), the action is a tad higher than I'd like but then again I haven't gone through and done my usual clean, polish and setup that I usually do on new used ukes (that's a weekend project for me).
Baritone is interesting, it's so much more mellow to me and really reminds me of the classic Hawaiian tunes I've heard and enjoyed most (think the music from the Descendants).
Here's a sound sample: https://soundcloud.com/ben-young-napkin-art/dreams-baritone
Here are a few pics:
Most importantly though, it was $50 with a case and a really good opportunity to see how I can integrate it into my songwriting style. I've played Kamaka and Martin baritones and while I would probably like to get one in the future I just didn't see the need to spend that much without knowing if I'll love the size. I'm thinking if I love this enough I might be back begging for someone to post their Pono AB for sale so I can get a deal on it!
Recently I bought this uke, which is label- and headstock logo- free and hard to identify but from the design and the age I think it's a 70's Hikare baritone from Japan. All laminate but is surprisingly extremely loud and resonant...I've owned a few lam ukes and this is by far the biggest-sounding and has better sustain than any of the lam ukes I've tried. The sound is super mellow and sweet (which is what I was going for in a baritone), the action is a tad higher than I'd like but then again I haven't gone through and done my usual clean, polish and setup that I usually do on new used ukes (that's a weekend project for me).
Baritone is interesting, it's so much more mellow to me and really reminds me of the classic Hawaiian tunes I've heard and enjoyed most (think the music from the Descendants).
Here's a sound sample: https://soundcloud.com/ben-young-napkin-art/dreams-baritone
Here are a few pics:
Most importantly though, it was $50 with a case and a really good opportunity to see how I can integrate it into my songwriting style. I've played Kamaka and Martin baritones and while I would probably like to get one in the future I just didn't see the need to spend that much without knowing if I'll love the size. I'm thinking if I love this enough I might be back begging for someone to post their Pono AB for sale so I can get a deal on it!
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