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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
 Posted - 05/07/2003 : 01:46:51 AM
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Aloha cw,
Akulele report:
The Akulele has the carved b/s/neck, all one piece, with spruce top; this particular one was the pineapple model. They had another, but it was harder to reach. Soundwise, it was pleasant, not plinky. I can't describe sound at all, except to say I like or don't like. I simply haven't the vocabulary. I liked the Akulele. I brought the Fluke for an a/b comparison, and the Akulele seemed louder to me. Of course, it was tuned higher than GCEA, and my poor Fluke was probably low. I tuned it to itself, not with a tuner, and the strings are new and probably had gone flat. I strummed one and then the other and asked my friend to judge which was louder. She picked the Akulele, too.
There is a school of guitar building which deliberately makes the b/s heavy and rigid to concentrate the energy of the strings on the top rather than vibrating the b/s. It worked for the Akulele. It also means the uke is heavy. To play standing up, I'd definitely want to violate its smooth baby's butt with a strap pin and use a strap. Per the price list on the site, it is $345 with $45 of that going for the carved and painted pineapple on the back.
The top had nice trim around the soundhole and outer edges and a bone-looking saddle and nut. Very nice appointments, good looking.
Thumbs up!
Here's a discussion on the Akulele on another site: Akulele. |
Pauline |
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cw
Aloha
32 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2003 : 2:38:08 PM
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They always have interesting used stuff.
The Todaro Akulele is one with the pineapple on the back, mixed in with mandolins and other ukuleles. |
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cw
Aloha
32 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2003 : 2:38:53 PM
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| Woops you beat me to the reply. |
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Kahalenahele
Lokahi
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2003 : 5:41:19 PM
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The Akulele is based on the charango - in fact, a taropatch Akulele essentially a charango with the top E course removed. Charangos are LOUD LOUD LOUD with very little effort. I think it has to do with the parabolic shape of the bowl.
A charango, with all 5 courses going (GCEAE) is louder than a resonator instrument. |
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cw
Aloha
32 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2003 : 4:33:42 PM
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Pauline, thanks for the review and taking time to make the side by side comparison! Very encouraging, in fact I'll probably order an Akulele today, wife doesn't want the pineapple model.
How'd you like Trading Musician? Kind of a attic, but I've seen a few very nice guitars in there, they had a 30's Gibson archtop recently that was great.
John, charangos ever go out of whack, like neck bow? I might consider getting one. The ones on Todaro's site are wild...
http://worldfrets.com/walycho.html
http://www.worldfrets.com/charangopotosi.html
http://worldfrets.com/rankacharango.html |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2003 : 9:47:46 PM
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I want one, I want one, but may not cough up the money for one. Mmmm. How do you hold onto that last one, the ranka charango? I know how you tune it, with curses.
The Trading Musician is a fun store, and attic is a good description. They had a lot of ukuleles hanging, more than Dusty Strings, but maybe less variety. My quick impression was that many were duplicates of the same model. I was quickly distracted by looking for short-scale guitars. Upstairs with all the drums and other percussion goodies was a blast, too.
I just took another look at the ranka charango. No showing off playing up the neck on that baby. Oh, wait, you could, and you'd really be showing off, playing fretless and dodging the extra peg. And where the frets are, they are fanned! |
Pauline |
Edited by - Pauline Leland on 05/08/2003 10:04:34 PM |
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cw
Aloha
32 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2003 : 3:54:53 PM
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| Yeah, it's like something Braque smacked Picasso with. |
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Kahalenahele
Lokahi
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2003 : 8:12:19 PM
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I haven't heard of charango necks folding up - they're pretty sturdy little instruments. Bob Brozman introduced me (and a bunch of other people) to the charango. He regularly performs on them. He also hands them out to the musicians he meets and records with in his world travels. Check out what he has to say about them here:
http://www.bobbrozman.com/charangos.html |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2003 : 8:46:56 PM
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| Do you have a charango John? I mentioned them to someone else in an email, and he said they stink when it's humid so he boxed his up and stowed it in the basement. He must have one of the armadillo variety. :~D |
Pauline |
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Kahalenahele
Lokahi
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2003 : 01:32:21 AM
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| Nope, but one of the members of my Hawaiian trio has one, and I know a bunch of other folks who have bought them over the last couple of years. Before I became enamored with the 'uke, I asked C.V. if he'd be willing to try building one, but in his own style (a flamenco charango?). I've been thinking about getting a taropatch, which would be pretty close. I've also been considering having my first wood 'uke (currently on the drawing board) be a taropatch, but I don't want to throw yet another design change in (especially since I don't know if I'd like it). Maybe my third 'uke will be a taropatch. |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2003 : 03:03:01 AM
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| John B, I have a lot of questions, but I don't know if they belong here at Taropatch. I've started a topic over at the 4thPeg on Charango. Could you check over there, please? |
Pauline |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2003 : 09:41:44 AM
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| Just for the record, I have no objection to your Charango topic. Never would have known anything about them, if you didn't post here. |
Andy |
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Kahalenahele
Lokahi
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2003 : 4:35:02 PM
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Another link, started by someone who bought his from Bob Brozman:
www.charango.org
I believe they are always nylon string. Folks I know typically get them from Bob Brozman, but Todaro looks like a good place. Another place people have gotten them from is www.rumillajta.com .
One of the guitar stores kind of in my area, Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz, has a couple in stock, one of them an armadillo-backed charango. I've seen them at Guitar Centers, as well.
You can hear some chord progressions here:
www.rumillajta.com/chords1.html
Not high quality streams, though.
A common tuning is GCEAE - essentially a taropatch with another set of E's. I believe the center E set is in octaves, the rest are unison. www.charango.org says that tuning is too high, though. Hmm.
The only source I know for charango bodied taropatches is Todaro. I was thinking about one of theirs, maybe a Sweetheart.
My friend has had his for at least a year, maybe two. It was made in SA. He doesn't have central air, and may not have central heat (I love the weather here). So far, no problems. I think the bowl is pretty hefty (relatively speaking), carved, not braced, so I don't think there would be problems with the bowl.
Bob Brozman scatters them all over the world - Reunion Island, Japan, Canada, Australia, and who knows where else. I could ask him if he's ever had any problems with cracking, etc.
I have another friend that has an armadillo charango. He played it at a benefit for vegetarians (seriously). |
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cw
Aloha
32 Posts |
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