As the ukulele market has exploded, competition for sales has got fiercer. It’s interesting to see how various companies have attempted to spread the word. There has been quite a variety of tactics.

Disclaimer: These are my idle musings. Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental.

Product Lines – Kala

Kala have really pumped out new models. But it’s impressive how they’ve managed to keep an overall identity and, even more importantly, have each new model distinctive and targeted on a specific type of player.

They’re very much lead by what is being demanded. For example, the Acacia tenors are perfect for those who want to be Jake but don’t have the wallet.

They also did a great job of spotting the potential of the Road Toad bass and turning it into a more affordable U-Bass.

It makes life really easy for me because when people ask for a recommendation it’s easy to match their requirements to a specific Kala.

Upside: It’s easy to sell people something they already want.
Downside: You have to keep up with the scene and keep innovating.

Community Building – Mainland

Mainland have done a great job building up passionate followers via their participation in Ukulele Underground and UWC. Those of us outside the gang might be left scratching our heads but why worry about that when there are a bunch of people singing your praises at every opportunity?

Upside: Fiercely loyal customers.
Downside: Takes a long of time and commitment.

Storytelling – KoAloha

How could you not love Alvin Okami? He’s a ripping good storyteller. These stories give the instruments an extra dimension. They give you a much better idea of what the instruments are about and what the makers value. Without the story it would still be the same instrument but it wouldn’t feel so special.

Upside: Cheap and effective way to spread your message. Attracts people that are going to like what you do.
Downside: You have to be an Alvin and really believe in what you’re doing.

Brand Recognition – Fender

With a number of guitarists picking up ukes, Fender have taken advantage of their exceptional good standing in the guitar world to sell some rather less exceptional ukuleles. It’s no coincidence that guitarists like Rivers Cuomo and Baldie off of Train play/smash Fenders.

Upside: Instant trust.
Downside: Takes about 50 years to build up.

Competitions – Bushman and EleUke

Bushman’s ukulele contest has become such an institution that it’s easy to forget they actually make ukuleles. And it certainly helped that they through quality considerationns to the curb and picked Julia Nunes as a winner. She seems to have moved onto Kala but they got plenty of mileage of her.

And having two contests in a row has certainly brought EleUke to the fore. And they need to do some damage control because their ukes certainly used to be crappy (I don’t like mine at all) and ugly (a problem they haven’t entirely overcome: the a 90s throwback and the semi-acoustics are nasty). And I do think the winner of the last contest had a nice performance marred by the sound of the EleUke.

Upside: Cheap and quick.
Downside: Little last effect. The rules you’re supposed to abide by for international competitions are massively complex and regularly broken.

Endorsements – Mya-Moe and aNueNue

Both Mya-Moe and aNueNue have spread their names by getting their instruments in the hands of players. Mya-Moe with the likes of Mumford and Sons and Victoria Vox and aNueNue with The Re-entrants and U900. Both have used this tactic to quickly establish themselves and it’s worked pretty well for them.

A smart move by Moe-Moe is having headstocks that are instantly recognisable a mile off. Even in a video like this you can tell he’s playing a Mya-Moe.

Upside: Quick way to get your name out there.
Downside: Cost and possibly not that effective.

Manitoba Hal’s new album Huckster is available to download. I’ve shelled out for my copy and I highly recommend you do likewise.

A few people enquired after tab of the version of 7 Nation Army in last week’s UkeTube. It’s now up on Ukulele Boudoir

Tricity Vogue is looking for backers to get her debut album off the ground.

Ukulele thief – if you’re going to do a smash and grab, get something better than a Mahalo.

Get a uke, build a village.

2011 ukulele calendar – I don’t think even I’m a big enough uke-nerd for that one.

La Mer/Beyond the Sea on Uker Tabs.

‘Ukulele’ is one of the easter eggs YouTube topics (warning: not worth doing).

MP3s: Bossarocker’s Sad Song, polaroid has Everybody Tesl’s Sciabarabarappa.

I don’t often do instrumental versions of songs. I think they can turn out cheesey and boring (particularly if the person listing isn’t familiar with the original). But I had to do this one because it’s an incredible song and all the cool kids are doing it (if you’re a Domino fan, don’t miss Rocco La Bete).

I wasn’t originally going to tab this one so it’s played quite loosely in the video. The tab is more of a basis than an exact transcription of the video. In the chorus in particular, try to make the melody notes stand out against the supporting notes (the ones in brackets).

There have been quite a few ukulele apps released since my last app review. So time for a new round-up comparing the various ukulele chord apps that are out there (plus a quick review of one non-chord app).

Ukuchords

Price: Free

What is it?

Chord diagrams. Major, minor, 7 m7, 7M, dim, 6 m6, aug, 9, 7b5, 7#5. gCEA tuning only.

What’s good about it?

– Dead simple. There’s no faffing about with pictures of the fretboard. You just get chord diagrams. Easy to use – no unnecessary options.
– A range of inversions at various points on the neck.
– It actually has Em as 0432 as the default (most of the other apps here go for 4432). Which suggests the chord diagrams were looked over by a human who knows how to play ukulele.

What’s wrong with it?

– No sound.
– Not visually stunning.
– gCEA tuning only.
– No fingering suggestions.

Worth it?

I’d say definitely worth a download. This app should be all that most people will need.

Ukuchords on iTunes

Ukulele ChordKuma

Price: $1.99

What is it?

Chord diagrams for major, 7, minor, m7, dim, aug, 9. gCEA tuning only. With fingering suggestions. There are also tuning notes (gCEA only).

What’s good about it?

– Pleasent, simple layout.
– Nothing to confuse beginners. So no inversions, different tunings.
– It has an option for left-handers. The only app I’ve found that option on.

What’s wrong with it?

– No sound.
– Some of the chord names aren’t fully displayed: e.g. Ebm is shown as E…
– No suspended chords (which crop up more often than augmented or 9 chords).
– All listed as flats (so no indication that C# is the same as Db).
– Some questionable fingering. It seems to be particularly fond of barring. As you saw in the Ebm example, it used the 3rd finger for g and C strings rather than including the pinkie.
– There’s a link labeled ‘History of the Ukulele’ which just goes to the Wikipedia page for ukulele. Thanks, but I think I can find Wikipedia when I need it.

Worth it?

Not so obviously better than Ukuchords that it’s worth paying for. Might be worth the extra for left-handers.

Ukulele Chord Kuma on iTunes

UkeBank

Price: $2.99 (full disclosure: Chris, the app’s developer, sent me a copy for free)

What is it?

Chord diagrams with fingerings for major, minor, 7, m7 , maj7 6, 9, diminished and sus4 in gCEA, aDF#B and DGBE. With fingering suggestions. Sound of both chords and individual notes. Translation of various phrases into Hawaiian.

What’s good about it?

– Very beginner friendly and easy to use.
– Sound. Full chords or individual notes (but not the constant strumming you hear in the video).
– Multiple tunings but…

What’s wrong with it?

– The chords for both ADF#B and DGBE tuning are wrong. The ADF#B chords are written as if the tuning was FBbDG (i.e. a step down from standard rather than a step up) so a C chord is displayed like this. DGBE tuning is a step too low so a C chord looks like this. To confuse matters further, the sound for ADF#B matches neither the correct pitch or the chord shape.
– It doesn’t always show the easiest chord shape. So D is 2225 rather than 2220 and Em is 4432 rather than 0432.
– There are also some smaller niggles: I don’t know what the Hawaiian language bits are on there for. It would be better to get rid of that and replace it with a nut so you can see you’re at the bottom of the fretboard and so that open strings can be displayed.

Is it worth getting?

Not at the moment. The main advantage it has over ChordKuma is the multiple tunings so it needs fixing (Chris is working on it).

UkeBank on iTunes

UkeMaster

Price: $3.99

What is it?

Chord diagrams for major, 6, 7, M7, m, m6, m7, mM7, aug, dim, dim7, sus2. In high-G, low-G, D, G (baritone), Eb, A and Bb tunings. Made by the sheep entertainment people.

What’s good about it?

– Lots of chord options and inversions.
– Plenty of different tunings (although some weird options).
– Reverse looked up: you can punch in the chord you’re playing and it will tell you the name.

What’s wrong with it?

– The layout isn’t so easy to use (and it looks a bit ugly). And having the
– The chord options aren’t laid out in the order they’re most used. So the minor button is the 5th on the list.
– Lots of chords options but no sus4?
– Another app that doesn’t like open strings. So again Em is 4432 rather than 0432

Worth it?

It’s a bit pricey but might be worth a look if you’re expecting to be assaulted with some jazzy chords (or if you decide to play in a bizarre tuning).

UkeMaster on iTunes

UkuFingers Free

Price: Free ($3.99 for full app)

What is it?

Chord and scale diagrams. Chords: major, minor and 7. Scales: major and natural minor.

What’s good about it?

– You can see more than one chord at once. The app is in landscape mode and easily accommodates three chord diagrams side by side.
– Option to have note name, relative note (R, 3, 5 etc.) or just a blank circle for the dots.
– Chords and scales on the same fretboard. It’s an interesting idea.

What’s wrong with it?

– Difficult to use. Took me a bit of playing around before I figured out how to do things.
– Very limited chord options (more on the paid version).
– Very confusing for newbies. It tries to show all the possible inversions over five frets or so at once. They’re colour-coded but not in a way that I intuitively grasped. Unless you’ve got a good idea what you’re doing, you’ll be lost.

Worth it?

If you’re a beginner, stay away. But there are a number of ideas in this app that are worth exploring. It’s not a ‘me too’ chord app, so it’s very different to the other apps (for better and worse). But it wasn’t enough for me to shell out for the full version.

UkuFingers Free on iTunes

miSonata

Price: $1.99

What is it?

Not a chord app! A sort of Rock Band type game. You play along to a song as the notes scroll down the screen. Songs include Sakura, Aloha Oe, Canon in D and Fur Elise. There’s also a mode where you can widdle away playing whatever you like. They’re partnered with KoAloha.

What’s good about it?

– Fun little game.
– Nicely laid out.

What’s wrong with it?

– It’s not going to improve your playing anywhere near as much as actually playing a ukulele would.
– It’s quite fiddly to use.
– It’s not a game I’ve kept going back to.
– The ‘About KoAloha Ukuleles’ link takes you to a 404 page.

Is it worth getting? Not really. Get Rock Band instead.

miSonata on iTunes

One More Thing

I’m thinking about doing a few reviews of more general musical education apps (ear training, rhythm training etc). If you think it’d be worth it, let me know in the comments.

I need your opinion. In the chord chart I’ve put the chord names in red so it’s easier to spot them amongst the lyrics. Is it worth doing it in future? Or does a more calming blue look better(display purposes only – it’s not quite right)? Let me know in the comments: black, red or blue. (Anyone who says, “Do all three,” gets a purple-nurple). UPDATE: Here’s the old B&W version for the traditionalists.

I was going to wait until Sophie Madeleine’s new album came out before I did this one (its title track) but I got over excited and prematurely tabulated.

Suggested Strumming

This one’s in 3/4. Here’s a strumming pattern to get you through:

d – d u d –

Just once for each chord until you reach the end of the Bridge section. On that D chord, play it four times. In the Middle, play it twice for each chord except the G on ‘keep us dry’ (where you play it four times). Then it’s back to once per chord for

You can add a bit of variation by just doing three down strums for the occasional chord (works best on the Bm or A).

Twiddly Bits

The bum-pas work quite nice on the uke like this:

Bum-pas

Sophie Madeleine on Bandcamp or you’ve got a few days left to secure yourself a signed copy of the album when it comes out.

Some videos I watch and my critical faculties are screaming out that I shouldn’t feature a video but they make me giggle so hard I can’t resist (henceforth to be known as ‘oh, I wanna suck ’em and put ’em in my mouth’ songs). Two such videos this week.

At the more acceptable end this week are 6 Day Riot (I am expertly informed those aren’t vampires in the video, just goths – it’s so hard to tell these days), Howlin’ Hobbit (pick up the chords to his song on his blog), an excellent uke group arrangement of 7 Nation Army and a kid even I think is frickin’ adorable.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Radio Ukulele.fr has a lovely selection of tunes (in the right-hand column). Highlights include Ohta San, Jesse Kalima and The Old Blind Mole Orkestra.

I confess, I’m completely addicted to the ShayTards. And now they have a ukulele theme tune.

Atomic bomb responsible for ukulele revival.

German take on the ukulele revival.

Nice to see an add that’s not using the uke for beachy associations but the noble tradition of lightly disguised filth.

The Pixies uke it up on the tour bus. (Thanks to Paul).

A solo session from Jimmy of the Bobby McGee’s (starts about 28 minutes) including the legendary 69 Ways To Make A Woman Come.

I went to see the Black Keys last week and they were incredible. They’re at the perfect place in their career. They’ve got an extensive enough back catalogue to provide a set with no flat moments but they haven’t got to the stage where they’re just plodding through the songs until it’s blue M&M time.

So in homage to them for the best gig I’ve been to this year (sorry UOGB) here are my five favourite Black Keys riffs arranged for uke – in order of decreasing uke-suitability.

10 A.M. Automatic

Being mostly chord-based, this one works pretty well on the uke. I beefed up the chorus a bit.

Riff

Act Nice and Gentle

Originally, a Kinks song but the Black Keys overhauled it, made a feature of the melody-line riff and made it their own.

Riff

Tighten Up

A few variations in this riff through the song – some of which stray too far out of uke range – this one is based on the one that starts at 1:08 (1:32 in the hilarious video).

Riff

Your Touch

The intro part of this one sounds a bit wimpy on the uke, but the chord part works well. The chorus riff is the same as the verse riff with a few additions.

Riff

Modern Times

My favourite Black Keys riff but there are a few problems ukeing this one. The final A is too low. If you’re on a low-G, that’s not a problem. For the high-G, I’ve added in the C# because the extra harmony confuses the ear a little so it doesn’t stand out as being an octave too high in quite the same way. Also, if you’re using low-G you can knock the chorus riff down an octave.

Riff

Buy everything the Black Keys have ever released or consign yourself to a life half lived.

It used to be that Asian-made ukuleles were all hastily slapped together and shipped out as cheap and quick as possible. But that is changing with the likes of aNueNue in Taiwan putting quality at the top of the priority list. Now Maestro, a guitar maker in Singapore, has moved into ukuleles and is making high-spec ukes.

I threw a few questions at, Maestro main-man, Hozen and he returned some interesting answers.

How long have you been making ukuleles and how did you get started?

We had been making guitars since 2004 and had only caught the ukulele bug 2 years back. We were intrigued by the Ukulele when we first saw it and we just decided why don’t we try to make it for fun! It was never meant to be serious as there was no ukulele community 2 years back and we were the only ones supplying Singapore with it until the Chinese import started to flood the market. We told ourselves that we have to make something to stand out and if we are going to do it, we do it well.

What sort of players are your ukuleles aimed at?

Our ukuleles are aimed at everyone who are keen in picking up the instrument. We have the budget range which we like everyone else on the market outsourced it to China. Those ukuleles which we make in SG are targeted at the more serious ukulele players who desire for something better. With traditions steep in our veins as guitar builders, we prefer to build something more traditional. Our Soprano ukulele is base on the martin ukulele and our concert and tenor ukuleles are base on traditional Hawaiian shape by other traditional builders.

What separates Maestro from other ukuleles?

The main selling point for our ukuleles would be boutique class ukuleles which do not cost a bomb and everyone can afford to own a good old handcrafted traditional quality ukulele. We like to use raw materials which had been proven on guitars to build ukuleles and we focus a great deal of our energy on the timbre quality of our instruments. We also employ good old technology like a tight dove-tail joint for our ukuleles.

One of the world’s famous ukulele builders based in Hawaii once told me when I visit their factory: It doesn’t matter that our dove tail is not tight because the glue will hold it in place as the tension of 4 strings is just too small.

Well, I beg to differ and I would like to say some things are better left unchallenged.

What do you think makes a great ukulele?

A ukulele that plays well and is able to interpret the expressions of the songs you play on it. Something that just makes you want to play it without the urge to put it down.

The image of Asian-made instruments is usually of cheap, mass-produced ukes. How’s the industry there changing?

To be honest, many of the reputable brands we buy out there are of Asian origin but there are very few Asian builders who wish to spend the effort to think about what they are building and do something well instead of doing more and more. The ukulele industry is evolving as more and more people are converted to playing the instrument, as the pyramid gets bigger, there will be increasing demand for both low end ukuleles and also high end ukuleles. While the rest of the Asian builders prefer to go to the bottom of the pyramid, we on the other hand would prefer to do the opposite and challenge the builders on the upper echelons with an equally built or better built instrument at half the price of what individual builders can achieve.

How do you think making ukuleles in Singapore influences the instruments you make?

Singapore has the unique position of being at the cross-road of 2 very distinct cultures and we find our resulting designs being internationalized and easily acceptable by people from most cultures. Singapore has the good reputation of being a reliable and efficient country with a high standard of living but yet doesn’t cost you a bomb and we would like to think that our ukuleles are somewhere along the same line: A high quality ukulele that is not out of reach and most importantly something that inspires you to keep playing.

Visit Maestro.