Bosko and Honey Auctions, Ko’olau CE1: Ukulele Window Shopping

Bosko and Honey are auctioning off ukuleles to raise funds for their Safari. First up is a Kiwaya KC-4.

The solid body Ko’olau CE-1 is a very nice piece of work.

Broken Lanikai LU-21TE. Asking price: $95,000. If you’re thinking of buying it, I have some magic beans you might be interested in.

I can’t begin to imagine how it’s possible to play one comfortably, but that’s not going to stop me wanting a Harmony Aero ukulele.

A pair of Lyon & Healy 5Ks.

Ukulele pictures: Odd man, Marilyn shaking her ass, ukulele calendar pin-up

Morelli, Santini, Expensive Tiples

Some dizzyingly expensive instruments from MGM this week: a pair of Lyon and Healy 5k ukuleles $22,000 the pair, and a John D’Angelico Tiple at $30,000.

On the subject of tiples, there’s a Kamaka Tiple up for sale.

The cavalcade of oddly shaped Lyon and Healy ukuleles continues this week with a Lyon and Healy bell shaped uke. As I write, bidding is lower than the price of one of Oscar Schmidt’s bell ukulele modern copies.

Six Reasons I Wouldn’t Buy a Santini/Morelli Ukulele

1) “Hand Built by a Master Luthier” – really?
3) What the hell happened at the bottom of the fretboard? That’s the picture they use to advertise it? This is the work of a ‘Master Luthier’?
3) I could only find them for sale via one distributor.
4) This looks very photoshopped to me.
5) ‘Teacher Approved’ Thank God for that.
6) They don’t seem to have any ideas of their own.

eBay: Ukulele Jones, Shrine, Kala Mango, Martin Taropatch

From what I can gather, eBay were giving away pins at their live event in Chicago this year. One of the pins featured a character called Ukulele Jones. They’re currently all over eBay.

After last week’s Camp uke and Venetian ukulele, there’s another one of Lyon and Healy’s oddly shaped ukuleles up for sale this week a Shrine. Unlike the one MGM has for sale at 26 grand, it’s mahogany and it’s been battered around a bit. Should still fetch a nice price.

Kala are coming up with some very nice looking ukuleles of late. There’s some seriously sexy grain happening on this Mango Concert and the Curly Mango Tenor ukulele.

Martin Taropatches turn up fairly regularly on eBay, but it’s not often you see a Martin Style 3 Taropatch. According to the blurb it’s, “only known 8-string Taro-Patch ukulele to have been crafted by C.F. Martin & Co. with the inlay & keys made of ivory.”

Chantus ukuleles are always worth a look and William King’s blog is packed with ukulele pr0n. At the moment MGM has one of his longscale concert ukuleles up for sale.

Jupiter Creek, RISA, G-String

There have been three Jupiter Creek ukuleles crop up on eBay this week. The baritone has gone already, but you still have a shot at a concert and a tenor. There’s also a soprano for sale on eBay France.

It’s not often you see RISAs on eBay, but there’s a Meltocaster on there right now. It’s a guitarlele rather than a uke, though. And I still can’t quite come to terms with that shape.

The RISA isn’t the only strangely shaped ukulele on eBay at the moment. There are ukes shaped like a biscuit tin (strangely inelegant for a Lyon and Healy ukulele), a teardrop (I’m pretty sure that’s also a Lyon and Healy: a Venetian ukulele) and, best of all, an aeroplane.

It’s not often that there’s a ukulele I’m lusting after more than one shaped like an aeroplane, but this week that’s the case. MGM has a James Hill Signature JSM-2 ukulele up for sale right now (made by G String). I can always kid myself that if I had one, I’d play just like James Hill and no one can prove otherwise.

There’s a banjo ukulele collector who’s selling off his collection on eBay UK. There’s a Gibson UB3, a Maybell, a Bruno (made by Harmony ukuleles and an Avalon. All look very well cared for.

Most ridiculous ukulele/cavaquinho of the week: Del Vecchio Resonator. Even more strange than the uke itself is the video that’s presumably made to help sell it.

eBay Ukulele Window Shopping

The eBay ukuleles I’m trying desperately hard not to buy.

I do like a good f-hole (and not just because I’m immaturely obsessed with double entendres). They’re also exceptionally sexy and look like they should be played by one of the characters in Heroes. So, I’m very impressed with Kala’s new electric archtop ukuleles available in black and sunburst and a dangerously affordable $225 price tag.

Martin stopped producing the 3K model in 1938. Is this a Martin 3k from the 1960’s? Apparently so.

For those of you that yearn for the heady days of 80’s hair metal, here’s a Les Reitfor double-neck ukulele.

The design on this 1920’s Lyon and Healy concert uke isn’t to my taste but it looks nicely done.

Finally, here’s the winner of the most endearingly ugly ukulele award.

Lyon and Healy, Martin Tenors

My latest tactic in combating UAS (ukulele acquisition syndrome) is to only look at ukuleles at the other side of at least 106.4 million square kilometres of water and which I couldn’t afford short of selling one of my uglier children into slavery. Here a few ukes currently causing me to dribble all over my keyboard.

If you’re on some sort of Brewster’s Millions quest, you might want to add this Lyon and Healy 5K style Koa Shrine ukulele to the fire wood pile for $26,000. But if all your assets are tied up in long-term debentures, you’ll have to settle for the Black Bear replica at a very reasonable $3,360

In a more recognisable shape, there are a couple of Martin tenors.

Or if you find the Lyon and Healy a little too conventional and mundane, you might like a Manta Ray Tahitian ukulele.

While some ukes go for head-turning craziness, this Laughlin 3k soprano modeled after a Martin 3k gets my vote as prettiest ukulele. The maker says it’s, “so close to the original that it is like being able to go back to 1928 and buy a brand new 3k.” Which has to be up there with ’shoot lil baby Adolf’ on the list of things to do when you invent a time machine.