One of the many joys of YouTube is being able to find demonstrations and reviews of some of the more recent or more obscure ukes. Here are a few I found to be of interest:
– Solid-body electric ukes are a difficult thing to get right. I haven’t tried one that’s really nailed it. I like my RISA but I have reservations. And I hate my EleUke and I don’t care for the sound in most of the videos I’ve seen. So I’m always interested in new ones and Airline is a recent addition to the scene. Here’s a video of one in action (an nice little song as well).
– There is no way on earth I’d touch a Luna ukulele but people have been leaving positive reviews of their Luna’s (even for the person who had a bridge pop off). And Barnkicker Steve has been putting Luna’s range of ukes through their paces.
– Another guitar maker turned uke maker I’ve been a little suspicious of is Ibanez with their Iceman ukulele. Here’s a review of it from a guy who doesn’t like Guitar Center or commenters.
– SpruceHouse is a name I’ve seen cropping up on eBay for years. They’ve always caught my eye but I hadn’t heard one until this video of Slim Symes
– Despite having their doojigggers on every page of the site, I’ve never investigated Boat Paddle Ukuleles very much. Here’s a comparison between a Boat Paddle and a KoAloha.
– Review of a Dave Talsma ukulele with a quick peek of the GOTOH stealth tuners at the two minute mark
– Phil Re-entrant with a Rob Collins Travel uke. It sounds a bit weedy on the video (which you’d expect with such a small body) but he’s obviously very pleased with it.
Photos: The gang’s all here. Dark eyed man with ukulele.
I’m not nearly as big on electric ukes as I was
when we last hashed them out here, Al. Maybe the amps used by most ukers just aren’t up to producing good sound. The tiny amps a lot of people use may look cute next to their ukes, but the sound is just not up to snuff as far as I’m concerned Risas sound nice, but aren’t most Risa players better players to begin with and don’t they generally use better amps? Maybe not, but Steven Strauss is my reference point for Risa.
Well, you’ve had it in for Luna ever since you saw their logo (which I still like). They get pretty good reviews on Amazon which sells them, and the sopranos (sold on Amazon) are entry-levelish, perhaps a bit more, basically equivalent to the Lanikai LU-21 figure-eight and pineapple shape. And in that particular role people like them. I like watching videos of their guitars which sound very nice to me.
I’m assuming Slim Symes had permission before breaking out his uke at the gallery/museum. Let’s hope so anyway. But just what is the propriety of
uking in public like that? Can you expect to get your uke playing bum tossed out if you just wander in and start playing? In the video, he’s the only one there. Is that because he’s playing and people are keeping away? Maybe Armelle could tell us how French authorities would react if a flash uke mob descended on the Mona Lisa to the strains of YMCA.
Boat Paddle and KoAloha are a bit high-end for an old scruff like myself.