| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Kapila Kane
Ha`aha`a
USA
1051 Posts |
 Posted - 04/07/2015 : 1:01:50 PM
|
I know the patch is evolving and activity here is not what it was in the "zeros" (00's).
But NO POSTS? Really?
I hear that at George Kahumoku's first couple of music camps it was called just Slack Key Music Camp.
but they changed that, presumably to give the spouses something to do. But of course, the numbers swelled, and now at camp there's more uke people than guitarists.
It's very cool to have both. I take both to camp when I can go.
plus a Kapila!
so c'mon, how about some dumb questions! I'll start: "say is that a mandolin?" or "do you use high G or low G?"-- actually that's not dumb, but has been covered and probably has about 10 pages in the archives.
But remember, polite day-to-day conversation usually begins with platitudes, ice-breakers, and questions that have been asked before.
For Hawaii, since Ice is rare, except shaved ice, let's use the expression "waves of conversation."
How's this:
Who built your uke (ukes)?
and/or
What's your dream uke?
|
|
|
Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2015 : 5:23:55 PM
|
OK - I'll bite, err... chew the ice, err... break the waves?
My dream Uke would be quite a bit larger than a baritone uke.
With about a 25.5 inch string length.
And it would have six steel strings.
P.S. I'll give you another call sometime before long...
|
Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
Edited by - Lawrence on 04/07/2015 5:26:14 PM |
 |
|
|
ukrazy
Akahai
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2015 : 06:35:47 AM
|
| I sort of jumped the Ukulele ship when I started slack key. Pretty dumb, as I have, at last count, 26 of them. Some wall hanger junk, but quite a few from the Hawaii K builders. Recently pulled out an older Baritone that needs plenty TLC. really happy with the way it looks now, and thrilled with the sound. So much so that last months trip to the BI, I took the Bari rather than my Taylor GS-Mini. I always thought Bari ukes in G tuning sounded floppy. I cranked this one up to A. Turns out that's better for my singing range. Watching the neck for upward bending. So far all is good. |
|
|
|
Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2015 : 08:24:23 AM
|
`Ukulele seem to have snuck into my house as well. Actually, the first one made a legitimate entrance, it belonged to my father-in-law. Then in the 80s my sweetheart, who often made business trips to Hawai`i, visited the Kamaka factory and bought a gorgeous little soprano in flamed koa, which I foolishly ignored for about 30 years.
When she finally twisted my arm and made me join her on one of her business trips, of course I fell in love with Hawai`i and slack key and then all of Hawaiian music and culture. I convinced her that we should visit every `ukulele builder and shop on O`ahu, not realizing that the uke building boom had taken off and there were builders around every corner! Even without completing our mission we added three custom instruments to the collection on that trip. Then there were my Ebay searches that turned up various "must haves" for a few years, like the Favilla baritone, the Martin tenor, and the Maccaferri Islander, oh my.
Maybe the biggest surprise came when we were sorting out old photos after my mom passed - we found a picture of my brother and I when we were about 5 and 7, passing an Islander back and forth one Christmas morning. Since about 9 million of these were sold http://www.ukesterbrown.com/maccaferri-and-his-islanders.html I'm guessing that they're featured in lots of Christmas morning photos.
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
|
|
|
Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2015 : 2:01:29 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry
Since about 9 million of these were sold http://www.ukesterbrown.com/maccaferri-and-his-islanders.html I'm guessing that they're featured in lots of Christmas morning photos.
Yep - I remember whanging around on one as a kid in Iowa; it was never in tune, so I never learned anything on it - but it made for a cooler "pretend guitar" than our badminton rackets.
I have three ukes:
1) Fluke tenor from the first year they came out; it was my "learner" uke & is still the one I use most often in outdoor gigs where the weather can be questionable.
2) 6-string tenor Mele; still my primary instrument for gigs, recordings, kanikapila, hula shows, etc. - shows plenty of signs of wear on its face, but I think of it as "character."
3) Tenor Risa uke-stick; my only one with electronics, so the one I use when I need something that plugs in. I bought a soprano at first, because it was such a bargain - a friend tried it & liked it, and bought a fancier mahogany tenor. But he prefers a sporano & i prefer tenow...so we swapped! |
|
|
|
Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
523 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2015 : 12:13:31 PM
|
My first intro to ukulele was with Kaliko Beamer at the 2005 or 2006 Aloha Music camp. My wife was taking the uke classes while I was studying slack-key with Keola, Mark Nelson, and Sonny Lim. She convinced me to sit in on one ukulele class, and I was hooked. Being a long time guitar player I quickly saw the parallels.
After that I got involved / led a group in Anchorage for a couple of years while we lived there. Upon relocating to Boise we looked around for a group but did not find one. Now I have been running a ukulele group for seven years. We have 12-15 people at our jams every two weeks and perform on the "off" weeks at a Memory Care Center.
www.boiseukulelegroup.com
|
Edited by - Earl on 04/09/2015 12:15:17 PM |
|
|
|
ukrazy
Akahai
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2015 : 12:50:41 PM
|
| Earl, That (BUG) website is nice. Looks like a good, active group. Your trips right around the corner. Have a great time. My wife is one week into a 6 week Hawaii work assignment. She's already escaping Waikiki by bus, every chance she gets. |
|
|
|
Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
523 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2015 : 06:02:48 AM
|
| Thanks, ukrazy. We have fun, which the main thing. I am working like crazy this week (and today) to clear my desk off before we leave Sunday am. By nightfall, we'll be on Oahu. Let the fun begin! |
|
|
|
Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2015 : 06:40:35 AM
|
It happens that, besides the several large six-course steel-string ukes that I have, I did buy one of these recently:
I kinda learned to play "Himine Tatarahapa" but it is hard to keep up the required strumming speed!
|
Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
|
|
|
Allen M Cary
Lokahi
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2015 : 06:13:48 AM
|
I have been playing slack key guitar for years, and about 8 years ago I started building guitars--steel string acoustics. About 3 Christmases ago, my brother in law gave me a book about building ukes. I said what the heck, and got some Koa from LMI and made a sweet little tenor, which I had no idea how to play. Tuned it with low-G because as a guitar player, high-G is just wrong. I found a Uke club and started to actually learn the chords and strums; great fun!
I have now built 7 of the little fellas. I use the process to work out things that I haven't tried on guitar construction yet. I hand carved my first neck on a Uke, resawed my own bindings, and I have some rosewood on my bench to resaw into backs and sides.
Aloha
Allen |
|
|
|
gtomatt
Aloha
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2015 : 07:39:09 AM
|
| Currently playing three - 1960's Kamaka pineapple soprano, 2011 Kamaka HF-2 concert, and 2014 Martin T1K. Started playing around 2005 when I took my Dad to Oahu (he always wanted to go). Bought the HF-2 later at Hilo Guitars on a visit to the Big Island. Almost bought a Kamoa tenor on Kauai in 2014, but turned off by shop/owner in Kapaa. Note - if you are in Kauai, be sure to see Doug & Sandy McMaster!! Great show that they put on. |
Seacoast NH |
|
|
|
cmdrpiffle
`Olu`olu
USA
553 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2015 : 01:01:58 AM
|
Going strong! Putting in lot's of hours on my uke. Island Ukueleles out of Kauai.
Lawrence...you still go to Bocci's for Uke Nights? I saw you there a few times about ten years ago, then I quit for a few years...been back recently. It's good! |
my Poodle is smarter than your honor student |
|
|
|
SJWMusic
Aloha
Canada
35 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2015 : 12:19:12 PM
|
| I have a Mahalo 12-fret soprano uke. I love it! By chance, is there any way someone could explain this? My uke has frets that stick out. I got a humidifier for it but it's one of those ones you put in the case. The frets are a tiny bit better but not by very much. The guy said at my store that the frets were dry. Any help is greatly appreciated! Me ke aloha pumehana from Canada! |
Kaleolani |
|
|
|
SJWMusic
Aloha
Canada
35 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2015 : 12:21:36 PM
|
| I should also point out that the instructions for the humidifier say to only resupply it with water every two weeks. |
|
|
|
Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2015 : 3:07:37 PM
|
Unfortunately you may find that the best solution is to have a luthier trim the fret ends. It's not uncommon for fingerboards to shrink laterally and expose a bit of fret, and usually the new dimension is basically permanent. If you have some kind of warranty from the seller I would try to persuade them to do the touch up.
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
|
|
|
SJWMusic
Aloha
Canada
35 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2015 : 5:04:00 PM
|
Well, this ukulele is actually new. My birthday was in July but because the tuners were loose on that one I ended up getting a new one in November.
Also, this isn't as big of a problem to me as I have some spares, but I am wondering if I should change the strings on it. It's been six months and I still have those other strings on it. I was told though that they sound great. Should I change them anyway? |
Kaleolani |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Where have all the Ukesters Gone?
