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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
 Posted - 06/12/2002 : 5:41:23 PM
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back in the "general" forum there is a discussion about the spiritualness of slack key. i can relate, but it seems worthwhile to bring up it twisted brother: the spirit of ukuleles.
i love ukuleles. in fact, i'm crazy about ukuleles. i don't fully understand why. i grew up in SoCal, and had the well-rounded early years in which i detested tiny tim and loved led zep. i still can only enjoy the "five foot two" repertoire for maybe 20 minutes until the gag reflex kicks in. but, that instrument is so much fun...
- they are the absolute best instrument ever created for screwin' around. the "just press" attitude must've started with them. i can pull uke music from a record much more easily than guitar music. maybe it's because there are less strings, or maybe because you can finger a chord so many ways.
- they can be beautiful. i am not a huge fan of the fluke because it's not very good sounding and it's a bit ugly in my eyes. this is a terrible attitude to have. i have five ukes and a sixth in the making. they're too small and cute. is there a ten-step program for ukehoarders?
- they sound wonderful. i can listen to iz or eddie kamae until the cd player spits out the disk in disgust.
- you can take them anywhere. whenever i travel in the US, a uke comes along. they're fun to pull out in airports - women smile at you sweetly with that special smile reserved for younger brothers and older senile men; men avoid your eyes and act like you're embarassing them; kids come over to see what it is you are playing. at least i don't take it with me into the bathroom... not yet...
- they're the real hawaiian instrument. my brah-in-law was leanin' on me about how he wasn't seeing very many ukes until we wandered into the maui mall and saw a local band playing with *two* ukuleles. how's that alabama song go - "if you're going to play in maui, you gotta have a uke in the band. that guitar's hot but not enough for a paniolo man..."?
kumalae, nunes, and kamaka, what have you wrought?
aloha,
keith
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2002 : 07:42:40 AM
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Gee, Keith, I'm almost embarrassed to follow your poetic discussion with such crassness, but ...
what kinda ukes you got?? Let's get gearhead here.
We're heading to Oahu and the Big Island next week, and I've already warned my wife that we might bring home a uke from each place. Keoki Kahumoku recommended G-String on Oahu, and I have some info on a builder on the Big Island that I have to check out as well.
Fran
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2002 : 12:32:25 PM
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Ukes are fun. Portable and playable. I currently have 4 ukes: 2 junky ukes (1 was from my wife's mom's garage, the other a plastic fretted toy), a Chimes soprano uke (built by my friend in NY), and a Kamaka concert uke.
Further evidence of 'jus press' and the uke is that my wife is willing to pick up and strum the uke but not at all willing to play the guitar. 4 strings can be better than 6. 4 strings definitely allows me to find some pretty cool chords that I would not have found with 6 given my limited capacity for music theory.
Fran - have fun in Hawai`i. Are you planning to visit Kawika Hurd in Hilo?
Keith - can you suggest any good uke learning materials or do you jus' press?
Andy |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2002 : 1:43:59 PM
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hi fran,
well, i currently have:
- a maui music tenor (T4K-41, four string koa, satin finish, abalone around soundhole and edge of top) named "nene". it's my main axe. i string it with a low G. it's a responsive uke with a classic sound. the action is supurb so it's hard to overpress the strings: this makes it great for messin' around trying to copy iz's and troy fernandez's picking styles. i got it from bounty music in kahului.
- a braddah six-string (mohagony, simple) named, of course, "lili'u". it's fun to strum and it's great for drowning out me mis-singing ka'aahi kahului.i got this for a good price at mccabe's. the finish is delicate which is a problem since i insist on using my right pinky to brace my right hand.
- a valley made four string koa concert, named "yuki" (by law, you must have one ukulele named "yuki" or "ukie" or "yookee", etc.) my first ukulele, i got it at the uke store in the aloha tower marketplace. i spent a lot of time debating on whether i should get it or not. finally, my father-in-law and wife shook me and said "what's the matter with you? get the damn ukulele!" i spent the remaining ten days either playing yuki or snorkling (without yuki).
- a len young four steel string tenor (slotted head, spruce top, rosewood back with glossy finish, strung with a low G) named "moki". it sounds like a ukulele with steel strings. you need to play it with a gentle touch or you bend the strings. for some songs it's the perfect instrument (e.g., "white sandy beach") while for others it too much (e.g., "kuhio bay"). i ordered it directly from len.
- a martin baritone (mohagony, from early 60s), named "tino". i promised my wife when i wandered into the blue note music store in san luis obispo that i would not buy a ukulele unless i found a baritone martin or kamaka in great shape and for a good price. it was hanging up in the rafters with a bit of dust on it. i tune it DGBE. it's great to play in a group since the chords are voiced differently.
i gave my wife for her birthday a larrivee US-09-KA soprano (curly koa, abalone rosette, satin finish) named "punahele". these are beautiful ukuleles with a sweet, somewhat muted tone. you need a light touch and slender fingers to play this one. she went from only being able to play "mary had a little lamb" on the harmonica to being able to play "26 miles" and "puamana" in just a few months with this uke. i got it from bounty music in kahului.
in the works is a ko'olau model 300 SP tenor four string (oil finish, spruce top and milo sides and back, with a cutaway so i can work on my jimmy page moves). i've played ko'olau ukes before and think that they are awesome. i want to visit the store during my next o'ahu trip. the luthier is a great guy from whom to learn uke secrets.
a ukulele from each island! what a great idea! then, perhaps, a ukulele from both the ko'olau and the kona sides of each island! hum.
did keoki show you his closet stuffed with ukuleles? he's even designed up a student model.
aloha,
keith
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2002 : 1:58:38 PM
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hi jwn,
you won't regret getting a uke, they are so much fun. i kept my wife awake on a long drive back down 395 working out as many merle haggard tunes on the ukulele as i could ("silver wings" and "fightin' side of me" work great, "okie from muskogee" less so). try out different sizes; for me a tenor is perfect.
andy, i have heeday's books, beloff's book, brozman's video, the vintage hawaiian ukulele music book, and roy sakuma's chord book. each has its strengths and weaknesses, perhaps heeday's are the most useful. i really started improving by trying to copy iz on his "facing future" album (which in turn borrow a lot from eddie kamae). a lot of the slack key ideas carry over to the uke, but you lack the bass line. i find myself compensating by having something like a walking treble line (troy does this a lot).
aloha,
keith
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2002 : 2:42:51 PM
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Oh you guys are killin' me. Everyone knows I am acquisitive when it comes to lovely wood musical boxes and Andy visited this last Sunday with his lovely koa Kamaka. It surprised me with its really lovely tone and I couldn't believe the sustain. I even got a good sound or two out of it and Sarah automatically takes to the `uke. Atsuhiko, who infrequently posts here (Atsuhiko - you should post more!), built an astoundingly beautiful `uke from mahogany - the best I have *ever* heard. I just may have to indulge and prove how lousy I am on yet another instrument. Kawika Hurd - I said I would be back to Hilo!
crazy Reid
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 12:10:11 AM
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quote:
,,,
Fran - have fun in Hawai`i. Are you planning to visit Kawika Hurd in Hilo?
...
Andy
Andy, I'll see if he's up for a visit if we get to the Hilo area. Am I correct in recalling that he's not taking any orders?
Fran
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 12:16:11 AM
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quote:
...
in the works is a ko'olau model 300 SP tenor four string (oil finish, spruce top and milo sides and back, with a cutaway so i can work on my jimmy page moves). i've played ko'olau ukes before and think that they are awesome. i want to visit the store during my next o'ahu trip. the luthier is a great guy from whom to learn uke secrets.
I did a quick Yahoo Yellow pages around Honolulu today and Ko`olau is one of the ones I found. Will he have anything in stock or is everything an order?
quote:
a ukulele from each island! what a great idea! then, perhaps, a ukulele from both the ko'olau and the kona sides of each island! hum.
You know, that really does sound like a reasonable goal - including a Martin to take care of the big big big island. And then a sampling of Cali Ukies, a representative set of Canadian ...
quote:
did keoki show you his closet stuffed with ukuleles? he's even designed up a student model.
aloha,
keith
Nope, I met him at the Kapalua shops, then took a lesson at the Mauian before his luau gig. He had his Rainsong both times, but his partner at the Kapalua shops was using a G-String tenor, and Keoki was pretty high on them, too.
Fran
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 12:26:37 PM
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hey fran, geev 'um, brah! what ukes do you have?
keith
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 12:52:41 PM
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... and i forgot to answer your question, sorry... i've never visited the ko'olau shop, but when i've called up and talked with john kitakis, he seems to be able to pull down many different ukuleles to demomnstrate the different sounds. so, i think that there are ready-to-go ukes at his shop as well.
his limited edition ukes look really nice. take a look at his web page at http://www.koolauukulele.com/.
aloha,
keith
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 12:56:57 PM
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Hi Fran,
It's my understanding that Kawika is not taking any orders at this time. Last I heard he was working through his 4+ year back log, but I never visited his workshop. I'm fascinated by Kawika's use of science and technology in stringed instrument making. He's even got a left-brain-lutherie mailing-list.
Maybe Reid can chime in...
Andy |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 1:20:23 PM
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About Kawika Hurd:
When we visited him 2 years ago, he had a 4 year backlog and wasn't taking orders. So, now he has the same backlog and he never took orders? Arithmetic? My guess, from talking with him for 2 hours, is that you can (and probably must) sweet talk him into taking your order. I also think if you talk sweetly enough, you can get it in, say, 2 years. That is like lots of guitar luthiers I have dealt with, so no big deal. He is really a very nice guy, very funny and very smart and very talented. No luthier I know has better wood and his sound and fit and finish are up there with the best, if not *the* best. He does the kind of things that I would expect the best luthiers to do, such as bind the bodies with wood (he was using ebony on the koa pineapples he was building just then), create nice soundhole rosettes, use high quality tuners with nice knobs, etc.
He let me pick out, and put aside, a *gorgeous* cedar top with sap wood stripe bordered in natural *blue* if you can believe it! He worked his Doctor Science stuff on it with a signal generator, as well as tapped it, and the thing rang like a temple gong. His koa is as flamed as the best I have ever seen. He has Flitches (parts of logs) that he just splits sheets off whenever he wants some more wood -then he stores it on pipes that run around the top of his cellar shop ceiling. He also has a little `uke museum in his shop.
Now, I don't know if he really kept that set for me or if I would really want that as a top now. I was thinking about a baritone then, but now it sounds too much like a guitar to me and I have those. His web recording of a 6 string tenor sounded best to me - different but still pickable.
I am getting really antsy about this whole thing. I know me too well.
Aloha,
Reid
Edited by - Reid on 06/14/2002 13:22:34 |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2002 : 2:37:13 PM
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Reid/Fran,
Put a good word in for me too! How about a batch for the TaroPatch.net `ohana?!?! 
I would love a tenor by Kawika.
Andy |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2002 : 10:32:29 AM
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quote:
hey fran, geev 'um, brah! what ukes do you have?
keith
Started with a 40s Harmony soprano belonging to my father-in-law. Wouldn't tune so I never played it. Then my sweetie brought me a Kamaka soprano because the wood was so lovely. I was playing rock'n'roll so I never played it. Our band broke up, wife/drummer put down her sticks, I started playing slack key, she asked that I help her learn the uke. I bought her a Lehua tenor, and I got hooked more than she did. Now I've got an itch for every kind of uke I see.
Fran
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2002 : 10:35:09 AM
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It's starting to sound like we won't get any real estate shopping done on this trip, we'll spend the whole time uke shopping!!
Fran
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2002 : 11:57:54 AM
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Fran,
I know this is supposed to be about slack key, but...
You can email me privately if you want.
Where will you be real estate shopping? Sarah and I have spent over a month exploring the Big Island and have spent 4 - 8 days in every district. We know the place pretty well. And we know Maui, including real estate intimately (enough to know that we can;t afford anything we want.) Also, Nando did big time research on property buying Kona side.
...Reid
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