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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
 Posted - 03/04/2006 : 11:40:50 AM
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OK, when i decided to tackle building a Weissenborn i figured it would be a once in a lifetime undertaking. Guess what...too much fun! Now i want to make a uke. i have an old 5 dollar el cheapo touristo model from my dad that won't play above the 3rd fret. It is really a flimsy little thing and i doubt if any specs i would take from it would apply to a well made uke.
My question here is, what style/size of uke would be most versatile/appropriate for a big guy with a modicum of ability in guitar in general and slack key in particular? I owuld most likely want to fingerpick rather than just strum.
Just thumbing thru the threads on this site I see there are a number of tunings, some particular to the size/type of uke being used, plus rentrant vs regular tunings, slack key tunings, etc. As a rank uke beginner i would like some input on these subjects along with the usual drivel/opinions,/wry comments so i can get some direction.
Also, anybody have any sources for plans to build one of these critters?
And then there is learning to play
Just what i need at my age, another new project. And it is ALL YOUR FAULT!
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Karl
Frozen North |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2006 : 1:12:40 PM
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I think you definitely need a tenor uke. The baritone is bigger, but not very versatile when accompanying a guitar because the tuning is the same. Concerts are okay for adult hands, but a little harder to hold.
If you're going to try a fretted instrument, remember that ukes are easy to build but it's hard to make one that sounds good. The sound should be strong, bassy and mellow for Hawaiian style. Stay away from maple, rosewood and walnut because they're too hard to work and don't have the mellow sound, IMO. I suggest getting a tenor kit from www.hanalima.com and try that first. The plates for their basic kit are all the right thickness (mahogany) and the plans are included. It's about $80 (give or take) with postage. I built three of theirs and it was a relief not to have to try and thickness expensive hardwoods. Mahogany or koa is key in my opinion, but thickness is the most important factor in making a small soundbox instrument sound good. String tension is minimal on a uke, so top bracing is necessary, but too many people overbrace the soundboard and kill the sound.
I also noticed they offer fret slotting for a modest price. Having this already done is a major time saver and I recommend it.
Here's a link to hanalima:
http://www.hanalima.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HL&Product_Code=P-MKIT&Category_Code=P
Jesse Tinsley
PS-Karl, I tried to email you back on this topic, but I had email problems.
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Edited by - hapakid on 03/04/2006 1:18:53 PM |
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Dominator
Lokahi
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2006 : 2:16:53 PM
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Aloha Jesse,
I thought you were thicknessing your plates by hand planing and/or sanding. I have a kit from Hanalima that I am about to start and the plates are .125 and the sides are about .080. I think the plates need to be taken down to at least the current thickness of the sides or the uke would be too heavy and possibly dead sounding. Are you saying you have been able to produce good sounding and projecting ukes with plates that are 1/8" thick? If so, maybe I better re-think my strategy. On my second one (mahogany kit from Hanalima) I went a little too thin on the top plate and that coupled with slightly underbracing it (because the first one was way overbraced) it has developed a little dip in front of the bridge. It still intonates and the action hasn't increased (yet). I am hoping it stabilizes which I think it somewhat already has. I know I need to go a little thicker on the plates but guessing that the 1/8" would be too much on the safe side.
Dominator
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www.dominator.ukeland.com
www.myspace.com/dominatoruke
Practice makes Practice Perfect! |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2006 : 3:19:35 PM
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quote:
Now i want to make a uke.
Come to the Aloha Camp and build a `ukulele with Dennis Lake! Annie and I both built ukes last month -- she built a solid koa pineapple shape, I opted for the of so cool vintage cigar box model. Pix on the camp website.
I can tell you from experience that you'll learn a ton about construction, and come home with a very high quality instrument. In fact, Rick Cribbens, who makes ukes professionally, has taken Dennis' class twice. Talk about a busman's holiday!
Cheers,
Mark |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2006 : 6:16:29 PM
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Hi Dominator,
The ukes I built from the Hanalima kits had okay sound with the plate thickness as is. But I used spruce on top of two of those. I did a little thicknessing of the tops and backs using a belt sander to smooth the joint where the plates were joined, but I wasn't very attentive to the final thickness.
The spruce top adds warmth and response and can compensate for sides and back that are a little too thick. But I agree that they should be thinner, around .10" thick.
Jesse Tinsley |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2006 : 9:10:08 PM
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After i posted my question i googled uke building and came upon a site www.pegasusguitars.com that is near Hilo. I rexcognized it as the luthier i visited in 1997 who let me copy the specs for a disassembled weissenborn original he had in the shop! Anywsay,he has uke sets as well. They are in a more finished state than the Hana Lima sets, and also include tuners, assembled necks and other plusses. His prices are higher than Hana Lima, but the wood is koa and fingerboard comes slotted, among other things. Just thought someone else might want to look at that site if interested in building from a kit.
Another question that comes to mind is, 4 string vs 6 string. I have seen some 6 strings that were really 4-strings with 2 paired courses. But are there any real 6 string ukes, more like a guitar?
Also, i noticed some have slotted headstocks, some nnot. Any opinions? |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 06:58:12 AM
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Karl, You might look for kits with a different name than 'ukulele'. I've purchased some 6-string, 6-course tiny guitars with slotted headstocks that were down in the baritone uke size range. One is a 1/2-size guitar with a 19" scale length and a narrower fingerboard, well that was really a gift, and the other is a requinto with 19.5" scale length and full-width fingerboard. I tune them A-A or G-G tight key and love them dearly.
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 3:01:46 PM
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"But are there any real 6 string ukes, more like a guitar?"
That's the idea behind the new Koaloha D-VI model. But the beauty of the uke is four strings harmonizing without any bass strings to take care of. Trying to turn a very simple instrument into a lead/rhythm guitar is working against what makes the uke special.
Conventional six-string ukes sound full and loud when strummed, but are clumsy to fingerpick. I would stick to four strings if you want to pick.
I don't think there is much difference between a slotted headstock and a conventional flat headstock, but I think you have to avoid putting to much mass into the neck/headstock, which can diminish the resonance of the soundbox. I would leave the slotted headstocks to the pros who have perfected the rest of the building process.
Jesse Tinsley
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 3:32:26 PM
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| IMNSHO, despite the difficulty of trying to pin down a definition of any of the fretted instruments, if it has 6 courses, it's not an ukulele. I'd love to have a Koaloha D-VI, but I wouldn't call it a uke. How about guitar mole, insinuating itself into the uke community, lying dormant until its player suddenly realizes he's playing a guitar?!? Still, I love them. |
Pauline |
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GUke
Lokahi
188 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 9:33:24 PM
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I'm of the group that an ukulele is a 4 string instrument strung with a high G. No disrespect to six string or low G players. Therefore I like the concet size which is the next size up from the smaller standard or soprano. Where I break from the traditionalist is I prefer the longer necks.
I have a standard KoAloha with an extended neck. And the G String concert I've ordered has a bit longer neck joined at 14th Fret versus a Kamaka and a KoAloha joined at Fret 12. If you're familiar with the late Brudda Iz (Somewhere over the Rainbow ukulele version played on the TV show ER a few seasons back) I believed he used a standard uke. And Brudda Iz was no small kane. I like the briteness of he smaller sizes. Right now I'm a chord strummer and of course favor Hawaiian. But at Aloha Music Camp learned blues progression and starting to pick. And usually my voice handles melody. Good luck building. Mark is right about Dennis Lake's ukulele building class. My brother Sil da Tril built a pineapple and it sounds sweet. |
Genaro
Should I? Itʻs only $, and where Iʻm going itʻll burn or melt. |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2006 : 09:22:35 AM
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Karl,
Your hands and fingers will have a difficult time with anything smaller than a tenor. The tenor has more soundboard resonance and volume and will be closer to your guitars (which I assume you will compare to). |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2006 : 11:11:28 AM
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I think Iz played all sizes of uke, but most of them were tenors or baritones. Next his bulk, all the ukes looked small! Over the Rainbow was probably played on his Martin tenor.
Guke, when you say "extended neck", do you mean the uke has a longer than normal scale? Some sopranos (13" scale) are made with concert scale (15") and some concerts are made with a tenor (17")scale. The nicknames for these are "super soprano" and "super concert". I played a G String super soprano the other day and fell in love with it, but didn't have $450 in my wallet.
Jesse Tinsley |
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GUke
Lokahi
188 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2006 : 8:54:02 PM
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| Hapakid, my KoAloha is a soprano made with a concert scale. The G string concert may have the tenor scale. I was just looking at the diagrams at Ukulele Puapua. The KoAloha super concert is joined at the 15th Fret vs. the G string concert joined at the 14th fret. So I guess the G String is a super but not as super as the KoAloha. |
Genaro
Should I? Itʻs only $, and where Iʻm going itʻll burn or melt. |
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