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michaeljking
Aloha
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
 Posted - 07/21/2002 : 03:40:41 AM
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Can anyone tell me about the type/make of Uke Iz used and about the
number of strings/tuning ect.
I really like Iz Kamakawiwo`ole's sound and playing style and I want
to learn this style on a similer kind of Uke, I have made a baritone
and a soprano uke before, so if I can get enough info I can have a go
at making one!
Kamakawiwo`ole song sheet link:
http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~ryn655/IZ.html
sound sample of his playing:
http://bizrate.com/marketplace/product_info/details__cat_id--
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michaeljking
Aloha
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2002 : 8:22:08 PM
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I heard Iz say (in that old interview archived at IRH) that he played a Martin, presumably a tenor. If you want to reproduce his sound, you can't do much better than a Martin, though I love my old Kamaka. But he had his own tuning, which I think was a low G or some other low top string sequence. Anybody know?
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mistercoffee1
Aloha
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2002 : 7:11:22 PM
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To me, it sounds like a low G tuning on the top string.
That's my guess.
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Auntie Maria
Ha`aha`a
USA
1918 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2002 : 6:14:00 PM
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Whenever I visited Israel at home, he was _surrounded_ by ukuleles -- of every size and description. Some he had purchased; some were gifts from fans and luthiers and such...and he played them _all_.
One in particular stands out in my memory -- a koa electric uke (solid body). Gorrrrrrrrrrrrgeous!
-- auntie maria |
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bigwave
Aloha
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2002 : 1:42:31 PM
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IZ strung his ukes a bit different. Essentially, he strung them using the thickest string to thinest string as follows:
1) put the C string where the G string goes,
2) put the G string where the E string goes,
3) put the E string where the C string goes,
4) leave the A where it is.
He said it slacks the strings and makes it easier to strum. I string my tenor that way and it sound and plays great. I found this method on a website about Bruddah Bu who was a freind of IZ's. Here is the URL if you want to take a look.
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/6794/m-ukulelebu.html |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2002 : 3:56:26 PM
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hi bigwave,
that's interesting. i followed the link to braddah bu's description, but you had included all the important info.
i've spent a lot of time figuring out iz's picking, and i'm pretty sure that his uke was tuned GCEA with the G lower than the C (rather than higher, as in the "my dog has fleas" tuning. this tuning is very common with hawaiian performers; i think that david kamakahi and led ka'apana tune this way. ko'olau and hilo sell strings that are meant for tuning this way.
so, i'm guessing that what braddah bu is saying, is that if you have standard "my dog has fleas" strings, you can swap 'em around and end up with the low G GCEA.
the danger with this, i've been told, is that the nut may not have the right space to accomodate the wider string in the G slot. it will pinch and be hard to tune. if you try to file it out you may make the slot too wide, in which case the string will buzzs (el jefe can undoubtedly explain this in a much more coherent manner than i can...)
on the other hand, george hoshide, the head of the kealani uku pickers, plays a baritone uke tuned to "my dog has fleas". it sounds awesome. and, john kitakis of ko'olau ukuleles sells two kinds of strings for low G tuning: one in which the G is wound, and one in which both the G and C strings are wound.
all strung out,
keith
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