Martin, National: Ukulele Window Shopping
July 3, 2009
Quite a number of Martin ukuleles on eBay this week. Particularly catching my attention are this Style 3 Taropatch, this 1926 Tiple and this Daisy 5M.
I’m going to have to buy a Le Domino one of these days.
This week, shame on me, I’ve a g**tar catch my eye. A 1930s Slingerland Songster from Jake Wildwood.
National are the resonator makers. So it’d be interested to hear what their bottom of the range resophonic ukulele sounds like. That one looks like it’s been used to hammer nails into a barn door. But people seem to be bidding on it enthusiastically.
Brand names that don’t suit the ukulele #1: Conqueror. Save it for your range of condoms.
It’s July. Where are people selling ukulele Christmas ornaments?
Saturday UkeTube
June 13, 2009
In a rare occurrence, the best video I came across this week doesn’t have a uke in – although I’ve read the band has a uke song. Despite that, Katzenjammer’s skiffle-tastic Ain’t No Thang is probably the best thing that has ever happened to my ears and eyes simultaneously. There are a million things I love about it and I’m very tempted to list them all. The song includes a bass balalaika solo. But that wouldn’t even top the list. I have to make it the featured video even if it is ukeless. I just wish their whole album was that raw.
Once you’ve watched that a few dozen times, this week’s UkeTube includes Izumi (who I’m 100% sure I subscribed to but somehow missed her stuff and had to be reminded by KDUS – to make up for it I included her twice), one of Jake Wildwood’s finest songs, Krouk blasting out the Smeckisms and plenty more.
Ken Middleton, Jake Wildwood: Friday Links
June 5, 2009
Ken Middleton has released his first ukulele ebook: 12 Tunes for Bluegrass Ukulele. If you’ve been following his videos and his tabs, you’ll know he makes great arrangements and this ebook is definitely no exception.
Last chance to sign up for my How to Play Fingerpicking Ukulele mini-course – it’ll be taken down tomorrow (Saturday).
Jake Wildwood has a new album out and you can download it for free on his website.
The London Uke Festival people are keeping tight-lipped about who’s on the bill. They have a couple of acts listed here. My team of private investigators reveal the expected presence of The Bobby McGee’s, Joe Brown, The Re-Entrants, The Sugarsnap Sister (including Tricity Vogue and Cousin Alice) and a “smattering” of the UOGB. But the most interesting part for me is that I’ve always felt there’s a big disconnection between the London ukulele scene and the online ukulele scene. So it’d be nice to get together and be one big family. Or, failing that, have a Sharks-vs-Jets style dance-fight. If you’re feeling generous, you can sponsor my part in the festival here.
If you missed Dent May’s debut EP first time around, you’ve got a second chance to download it here. And you can watch a performance and interview from SXSW.
Armelle’s fascinating trip around the world of ukulele languages continues with Girls Aloud in Latin and a trip to Oceania. You can catch up with the full list here.
At the risk of starting a bidding war between Emily and Zoe, last week’s moustache ukulele is available to buy here.
This new uke website has popped up. Not much there yet but thought I better mention it before I forget.
Build your own ukulele speakerdog (via Ukulelia).
KDUS has animals doing people things – including playing the uke.
I usually only link to photos I can say something droll about. But I’m linking to these because they’re rather beautiful and they give me a light boner*: You might sleep, but you’ll never dream, Untitled, Ukulele.
*Yes, that link is safe for work. What’s going on in your head?
Ukulele Window Shopping: Gibson and Martin
March 20, 2009
After last week’s Tiny Tim heart attack ukulele, this week sees a bunch of ukuleles with rather more modest claims to fame. But they’re very nice ukes. And plenty of very nice, none famous, ukuleles too. I should get a job as a banker so I can be incompetent and walk away with millions because I need all of these:
- Martin Tenor ukulele signed by Chris Martin. No, not that Chris Martin. Chris Martin as in C.F. Martin IV.
- Gibson Tenor once owned by Harry Von Zell: Yes, THE Harry Von Zell.
- Martin once owned by Al Hendrickson: Off of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.
- 1920s Gibson Style 3: Love the colour of it.
- 1920s Koa Taropatch: Restored by Jake Wildwood.
- 1930s Dobro
- Tangi Violin Ukulele: Why did they stop making something that cool?
- Balalaika adapted to play like a ukulele.
- Photo of a guy playing the uke whilst hanging off a horse.
Ukulinklinks: New James Hill Album
March 6, 2009
You can listen to excerpts from James Hill’s upcoming album True Love Don’t Weep on his website.
Chalmers Doane has posted all nine of his and the Halifax’s uke albums on his site. And the music is as kitsch as the covers. (Via HUG).
And related to both those, the new edition of Ukulele Yes! is up. (I wish they’d put up an RSS feed. I completely missed the last one. And I’m still not subscribed despite numerous attempts and assurances from the man himself).
Ukulele Cosmos has been shut down by its host for using too much bandwidth. Stay away from Bluehost and scammers who recommend it. They’re a notoriously crappy host but they’re very generous to affiliates.
Des Cordes et Dubois has a very challenging tab of Allegretto Op. 30 by Mauro Giuliani.
Jimmy McGee tells us how to be annoying with a ukulele yet fails to mention the most annoying song to play on the ukulele.
Ukulele spotting: Phil Jupitus and Lauren Laverne uke it up in a caravan – at around 5 and 9 1/2 minutes (thanks to Andy for that). The Saturdays break out the uke for Comic Relief at 1:50 (should I be worried that I find the uke the most exciting part of that video?).
Jake Wildwood’s other half, Bonnie, has these cute banjolele-playing gnome doodads for sale (it took me a while to realise that’s a pipe rather than some Gene Simmons gnome action).
Taking the Flying V concept one step further.
Baby Bosko. Awww bless.
UkeTube: Rocky and Balls
February 21, 2009
I try not to feature two videos from the same act in a week, so I’m fudging it by having one video from Rocky and Balls and one from just Rocky or Balls (I give it about 3 weeks until they’re on Boing Boing). Along side them are plenty of old friends (including GUGUG, Jake Wildwood, the Bobby McGees and Rod Thomas doing a mashup of Same Old Lines and The Sign) and new faces (including Olivier Ruldry with some seriously smooth picking).
And I wanted to post this video because those two are superstars. But, well, I really hope she thinks she’s singing about lollipops. [Read more]
UkeTube: Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer, Justin Nozuka
February 7, 2009
Hi! My name is Al and this is my entry into the Frunky McNorman World Bring The Mmmbop Blog Posts About 80s Ukulele Videos Ukulele Video Contest.
Monday Exposure: Jake Wildwood
February 2, 2009
Jake Wildwood – I Will Follow (MP3)
Jake Wildwood – Orion’s Belt (MP3)
Jake Wildwood – Kansas James (MP3) from Home to Be
Jake Wildwood – Undine (MP3) from Queen Anne’s Lace
If you’ve been following the blog a while, you’ll be familiar with Jake Wildwood already. I’ve featured his YouTube videos on a number of occasions and co-opted him into answering ukulele repair questions way beyond my knowledge. As well as repairing and restoring instruments in idyllic Vermont and blogging about the vintage instruments he repairs, he’s found the time to record his latest album, Home to Be, that you can download for free on his website. I caught up with Jake to ask him a few questions.
What are the lyrical themes of the new record?
I think moving, separation from friends, love of life, acceptance of death, and the strength of love all play out through these songs. All of them, to me, are driven by our move from hectic Providence, RI to pastoral Rochester, VT. Home to Be was the first song I wrote since moving — we have a river right out our front windows, and the wind whips through the valley in winter, so it felt right that we were borne along to our new life on the back of the north wind.
Other songs like Bear Cubs, Orion’s Belt, and Bird on the Wing are pretty much open appeals for people to show their better rather than their worse sides.
Kansas James is the spookiest one for me. I had a (remarkably coherent) dream one Friday night that John Wayne was in “my cabin” (what cabin??) somewhere out west and he told me his story (that is, the one of the cowboy whose sister is killed in the song). I immediately wrote it down when I woke up and it became the song, complete with the chorus that references /Big Rock Candy Mountains/. Well, a few hours later, a friend calls us up to tell us another friend’s brother has been murdered in Boston. Sometimes I get the feeling that overtones are channeled via people who know one another over long, long distances.
There are plenty of references to nature on this album how much does your environment influence the songs you write?
You’re right on the mark with that question! Environment is what focuses the sound and subject of my music dramatically. I think places and the feeling of certain places is extremely important to anchor a song in reality.
Nature figures largely in my songs because it’s lasting, tangible, and a clear signifier of “good” in the world, at least for me. Nature in my songs is often written in direct contrast to what people do to each other and the world in general — people are constantly at odds with their consciences, beliefs, and ideals just as they are at odds with what lets them live their lives in the first place. Many of my songs are reflective on these contrasts.
What connects with you about the old songs and styles?
Oh, hmm. I’m a closet historian, for one thing, so I’m always in search of older and older recorded music. I don’t consider my songs true old-time songs or folk songs, though a lot of my techniques are somewhat borrowed from old styles that I enjoy.
I think what most connects me to older American music is that the sounds and ideas you hear in it are closely tied to the landscape and people’s day-to-day struggles — which often run straight down a river of history right to our times, today.
A lot of folks think of “old-time” as a handful of tunes that’ve been played-out and a lot of old ideas that can’t make anything new. I understand that assumption as a lot of modern old-time and traditional musicians shun deviation from a few particular styles and a big box of similar tunes as if anything outside of their little house is against their “bible” — but as a student of musical history, especially early American music in various styles, I can easily say that a lot of what’s considered “traditional” now was very new and very much alive and changing back then.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I really value our musical legacy as a people and see no problem in continuing it to make new songs and interpret different styles in different ways.
How did you get into instrument repair?
That’s an easy one! I used to take apart guitars, fix them, and sell them as a hobby, and as a way to fund purchases of new gear. Arriving in Vermont, with a bunch of my grandpa’s old tools, and needing to make work for myself, I set out to make my own job doing something that relates to my different passions — music, history, and working with my hands.
What’s the best uke you ever played?
They don’t exist. After working on a zillion ukes I can say that I appreciate good, light construction, but that I’m especially excited to see how so many older makers made fantastic ukes with widely varying sound — all of them great to play and hear, and all suitable to different situations and different players. I own my favorite one: a c.1920 Regal built all out of koa, with a sweet, powerful, and bell-like tone — perfect for banjoey fingerpicking. My favorites after that, and significantly more “professional” in terms of build-style and looks, are a c.1925 Lyon & Healy “American Conservatory” concert-scale banjo uke and a c.1920 unmarked koa soprano with rope binding that I just sold recently. That last one had a very nice bright, but full sound.
You seem like quite a prolific songwriter. How do you keep the ideas coming?
Oh, yes, I have to admit I have a bad habit of writing a lot. I have a lengthy back-catalog of songs that I have on my “to be recorded” list. I think in the last couple years alone I’ve written about 150+ songs, some better than others, some half-finished and waiting. I think that for a songwriter who really loves his or her craft and respects it, one can’t help but keep writing. Every moment of your life when you interact with anyone else, bits and pieces of what can be songs eventually, fall into place. Every time you ask yourself: why do I think this? Why are things this way? What’s really going on here? — is a chance to write a song. Looking at the world with wide eyes, and coming to respect everything in it, and especially your fellow peoples’ lives and your own life, means that there’s fertile creative ground on every inch of soil around you.
Songwriting for me is also therapeutic — I tend to write songs when I’m trying to understand myself or someone else and what I’m thinking about or they’re thinking. Some people can get a little cross with me when they see themselves in a song of mine, but like as not I wrote the song about myself! Humans are treasure chests of strange contrasts — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I loved your Queen Anne’s Lace EP, any plans to do more electric stuff?
I always plan to do more electric but it hardly ever pans out. Wood and wire is where my heart’s at and inevitably songs get recorded in the manner that I wrote them. I do have a bunch of older songs collecting moss, though, and have been planning to record them in the manner that I wrote (and used to perform) them: an electric guitar, a bit of reverb, and two mics — one with some echo. I’ve even got a title I’ve been meaning to use: Jake Wildwood Sings the Songs of His Youth.
What can we expect from you in the future?
In the near future I have two albums I really, really want to work on: one will be shorter, like /Home to Be/, and entirely made up of a set of songs I wrote on a single cold night in December, each one about a particular tree, bush, shrub, flower, that I’ve come to know up here. The other one will be full of the many more recent songs that I felt didn’t fit with the feel of Home to Be. Both albums I’m planning to play a bunch of different instruments on each song, and uke will weave in and out of forefront and background. In fact, as far as the “green” album goes, I penned the tune for each of the songs on a re-entrant baritone uke, which was a nice change of pace.
Download Home to Be free on JakeWildwood.com and visit his instrument repair blog
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Jake’s Workshop: Martin Tuners, Out of Tune Mahalos…
January 22, 2009
I get asked quite a few questions about various repair and restoration questions and I am absolutely the worst person to ask about anything practical. I don’t even open a wine bottle without a fully stocked first aid kit and three fully trained medical professionals on standby. So I’ve enlisted the help of instrument repairer extraordinaire Jake Wildwood of Antebellum Instruments to answer the questions.
I found a Martin uke at an estate sale. Probably a 1940’s era. The plastic on the tuners is completely rotten and beyond salvage. Where can I get original Martin tuners (parts) to keep it original and perhaps a case to carry it in?
Bill
Good luck! You can find vintage tuners once in a while on eBay or other online auction sites, or possibly pay a high price for a set that a collector might have on some obscure backwater website. Fortunately for you, new tuners don’t seriously (or at all?) hurt value on an old Martin, because friction tuners due to their nature will wear out after a time. I’d suggest some of these to replace them.
Those are nice, simple, and look the part, but if your tuner holes aren’t big enough to accept the new bushings, do yourself a favor and don’t enlarge them, but rather use properly-sized washers to install with instead and forget the bushings.
As far as a case: watch the ‘bay, and pray. You can always find new cases, and I strongly vouch for those Asian-built tweed ones, but vintage cases command pretty steep prices, in general, unless they’re beat to a pulp and barely-functional.
I have a Mahalo UK2LTD2. Not sure how much it was or what quality level it is and don’t really want to ask, but it seems to have a drama with the second string down(C) where it doesn’t seem to keep its tune as you go up fret by fret. I play piano so I have a tuned ear, but it seems maybe the bridge gap where the string sits is too narrow which causes it to grab and stretch the string making every chord sound a bit funny.
Is this a common problem or could it be a fault with this perticular one? Should I try to file out the gap or be patient for a couple of weeks and send it bak to the eastern states of Australia to get assessed/fixed?
Kelwyn
I’m not familiar with your uke, but the “bridge gap” (is this the cut that holds the strings?) should not be the issue here. It sounds like either the nut is too high or the saddle angle is bad. Does the uke go out of tune sharp or flat as you go up the board towards the soundhole? When you tune the uke perfectly, and fret the C string on the first fret (C#) is the C# a lot sharper than it should be? That would be a sign that your nut is too high — and that when you have it in perfect tuning open, it will play a little sharp on all the frets except the ‘zero’ (though dropping off in degree of ‘extra sharpness’ towards the soundhole) on that string. This is due to the extra length the string has to bend when traveling from ‘above’ the fret to contact with the fingerboard. You’ll see this on lots and lots of older ukes which had less precise setup work done at the factory, and very often on Asian-import instruments with the same problem.
Also — if this is not the case — have you tried different strings? I find that many people have problems with brand-new ukes simply because the factory (cheapo) strings are still installed and simply don’t play in tune due to bad thicknessing, poor materials, etc. Try a set of new strings — I suggest fluorocarbon or nylgut strings — I don’t use anything else anymore due to the fact that they stay in tune better (in changing weather and temp), sound better, and have a smaller diameter in general as opposed to standard nylon — in sizing they are comparable to the thickness of gut strings.
Do you know if there is a way to preserve a signature on a high-lacquered ukulele so that it will not rub off with contact?
Depending on what kind of pen or marker made the signature, a similarly-glossy varnish applied very carefully should do the trick. One thin coat over the signature should be enough to keep general handling wear from ruining the signature. Be sure to check first if the varnish/finish you’re using will make the ink run beforehand, however!
I found an old 6 sting ukulele (or toy guitar) at a thrift store that I want to turn into a project. It is missing the nut, bridge, a tuning peg, and strings.
I was thinking about cutting the head down so it’s just a regular 4 string ukulele. The body and neck are in good shape, polished wood and everything, and the fret board is already made.
However, I brought it to a local music store and they told me that it was useless and that I was better off buying a new ukulele. (which isn’t the point.)
ANYWAYS.
Long story short. You guys seem to know a lot about ukulele’s, is it hopeless? The music store told me I won’t be able to find a ukulele bridge or nut to buy. Is this true? I can send pictures of it if you want.
Thanks so much for your time.
- April
While I’d agree that the music store was right in saying that your project seems to be more effort than worth, you have a couple of things to consider. First, if this is a small (or child-size) six-string guitar, your neck width will be far wider than a typical uke fretboard, making string spacing, even if you were to simplify it to four strings, rather cumbersome. If it is a six-string uke, you’ve made a good find, though lacking a bridge, peg, and nut, you may be dissuaded from the project. I’d really need to see photos to advise you better on how to advance: whether the project is worth it monetarily or not, or if you have the necessary tools and knowledge to proceed.
Suffice to say, you can craft a nut fairly easily, even out of something as simple as a birch paint stirrer or scrap of plastic that you cut down. You can also find uke bridges for sale, or on eBay, in various places… but in all likelihood you’ll need to craft a bridge to fit the instrument you have, as bridges are something that need to be perfectly placed, glued well, and of the right height to function well. If you have someone else do this work, the cost will skyrocket — bridge work is some of the most expensive repair work you’ll find as it is some of the most difficult, after neck resets.
So — unless you’re crafty, willing to learn about instrument setup, have some tools on hand, and have your heart really set on this uke/guitar — I’d say call it quits and invest the time and effort into something you’ll be happier (most likely) with in the end — either a project uke with more parts and less wrong, or a new uke in serviceable condition.
You can visit Jake’s blog here and download his latest album for free at JakeWildwood.com
Friday Ukulele Links
December 19, 2008
Thanks to everyone who has bought How to Play Ukuleles for Peace already (six days left to get the ebook at the cheaper price). And an ever bigger thanks to everyone who promoted it including Valerie who made a video for Project 4 Awesome promoting UfP. I’m going to keep going on about this until everyone’s bought it – it’s my last chance for avoiding eternal damnation. I think the only way to counteract my lifetime of coveteousness, apostacy and making girls cry would be to bring peace to the Middle East.
If you were quick off the mark and downloaded an early version of So You’re Just Got Your First Ukulele, you might have found some of the links didn’t work (specifically, the ones with numbers in). It’s been fixed and you can download the new version here.
If you’ve been following UkeTube, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Jake Wildwood. As well as the old-timey songs, his videos always have him playing the gorgeous vintage instruments that he repairs and restores. And he’s now started a blog Antebellum Instruments. There’s already a healthy amount of ukulele pr0n including a Regal Soprano Ukulele.
Two excellent new ukulele CDs out: Craig Robertson’s DeChirico Street (buy it and get a free MP3 here) and Allo, Darlin’s Christmas EP (available on MySpace).
Friend of the blog, Tzu Ann discovered this Sapelele for sale whilst out Christmas shopping. It’s a cross between a uke and a sapeh.
New fish-tacos/ukulele song from Flight of the Conchords. (Thanks to Zak).
Wii Music creator Shigeru Miyamoto plays the ukulele in real life.
Bucky Greenhorn: Hollywood’s next leading man.
