Ukulele Ghetto has a very interesting post about the regrets over his custom made ukuleles (and, worryingly, how two of the ukes turned up different from his specifications). With 5 custom ukes in his collection, he’s speaking with some experience. I have held back from getting a custom made uke because of worries over the whole ordering process. Like anything, it’s takes a bit of practice to get it right but with the cost and hassles of a custom uke, I’d want to get it right first time.
In case you were wondering what had happened to the podcast, Bossarocker is taking some time out to deal with family business. But it will be back.
When cornered by an angry mob of Organisasi Papua Merdeka members, save yourself by playing your ukulele.
For those who thought Tiny McItchyFace was cute but wished he couldn’t play, your dreams have been answered. For everyone else it raises the prospect of another month being told about this adorable clip on YouTube you’re just going to love.
Daybreak (for non-Brits: it’s a faltering breakfast TV show) deputy editor tries to encourage creativity by playing the ukulele all day (scroll down past the grinning war-monger).
Uke-spotting: Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine, Mae Whitman in Parenthood (spotted by Jenny), UKE JAM (spotted in Vancouver).
MP3s: Jennifer Teeter’s songs are now up on iTunes, One Track Mind has Pepper Rabbit’s Older Brother, interview and performance from Nellie McKay from the New York Times (thanks to Kate).
In the comments: The Wukulele Festival post turned into a bit of a shit-storm in the comments. I ditched my policy of replying nicely to people and lost my rag (but I’ve made up with Ian now and we’re agreed we’re equally twattish).
Photos: James Hill Plays the Ukulele, My Favourite song, Rock N Camilla, uncanny Jimmy McGee impression, awww, bless.
re: custom ukes. We think of the instruments like having a child. Acoustically, you never know exactly what you’re going to get. After building 300 instruments, we have great consistency & predictability (so things like the neck and specs are well defined). But, the acoustics of each set of wood is unique, just like the personality of a child.
There are players who absolutely want a custom uke–they want to know that it was built for them.
But, there are others who have very specific ideas in mind, especially for the acoustics. For them, it is best to let “the instrument choose the player.” They need to play several and pick the one that sounds best to them. For these musicians, a custom instrument is usually not a good idea–their expectations are so specific, that it is unlikely that the instrument will be exactly what they imagine.
Of course, any custom instrument should not be a surprise in terms of dimensions, specs, fit & finish, etc.