Ukulele Stands, Bushman Baritone Ukes

Dedicated ukulele stands a few and far between. Usually you have to make do with a mandolin stand. But now there are these ukulele cradles. They are more expensive than any ukulele I own. But, still, very pretty.

If you’ve got a few low level luthiering skills, this set of five Bushman baritone ukuleles could be a good investment. They’re factory seconds and are just the body. But stick on a bridge, a nut and tuners and you shouldn’t have trouble selling them on for a profit.

Despite some ferocious bidding, this Custom Martin Style 5 failed to reach its reserve. It’s very unusual: mahogany, black and monogrammed.

I’m not a big fan of pictures on ukuleles. The obvious exception is the ultra sexy Le Domino. But sometimes they work when they’re hilariously naff or on the back (as with this Gibson Royal Flush.

Ukulele Kitsch of the Week is a fiercely fought title this week. Any other week the ukulele sushi set and the Hawaiian Santas would have triumphed. But there’s no competing with a necklace covered in pink flamingos playing the ukulele.

If this is your first visit here, you can find the chords/tab in those posts by clicking on the song title in red.

eBay UK Ukes, Mahalo Les Paul

There are quite a few interesting ukes for sale on eBay UK right now. Hank’s Guitar Shop has a bunch of interesting ukuleles including Martins, Kamakas, KoAlohas, Fleas and Flukes.

Mahalo have been making Gibson Flying V style ukes for a while and now they’ve moved on to Les Pauls. You can buy them in Cherry and Black .

Also on eBay UK is this Gibson which has been attacked with a drill, but might still be worth watching.

Still in the UK, but confusingly on ebay US, is this strange “Trad Jazz Special” plastic ukulele.

There seems to be even more photos of topless ukulele girls than usual this week, but the photo that really caught my attention was this photo of a German boy from 1866. As well as the distractions of the hat and thrown, that’s a very interesting instrument he has there.

Ukulele Collection Sell Offs

Three cheers for the credit crunch. Hip, hip. Hazzah!. Hip, hip. Hazzah!. Hip, hip. Hazzah!.

While the papers are full of doom and gloom about job losses and repossessions, the real story of the credit crunch is that eBay is crammed with people selling off their vintage ukulele collecions. Duane Hielman is selling off a pile of vintage ukes from a private collection. All ukes start at $1. Pick of the current crop are a LeDomino and an unnamed koa ukulele.

This seller is also selling off the family jewels including a Kumalae 3K.

This seller is flogging a friend’s instrument collection. A number of tenor Martins have already been and gone, but there’s a soprano and a baritone still left.

Of course, if the credit crunch isn’t biting you at all, you could spend a few hundred dollars on a Hello Kitty ukulele. How can they charge that much?

You don’t see K Wave ukuleles on eBay very often, but there’s one up for sale right now here.

Gibson, Plastic Ukuleles and Koa Martin Ukuleles

I think working on Buy a Ukulele has started to drive me stir crazy. I set up a section on Ukuleliana and, gosh, there’s a lot of ukulele-shaped tat out there. A ukulele shaped sushi set? Lighter? Recipe holder? Or an inflatable ukulele?

Also, a lot of plastic ukuleles seem to turn up in the Collectibles section rather than the Musical Instruments section (which means there might be less competition for them). There’s this this Lisa ukulele (as used by Gus) with no bids, a few hours left and only $15 starting bid, a Carnival with its original packaging, and this Maccaferri currently at $10. Out-kitsching them all is this plastic uke which must be overpriced at $200. Back in the musical instruments section is a Baritone Maccaferri Islander. I love that the baritone has the same shape as the Maccaferri guitars (as made famous by Django Reinhardt).

For those of you who prefer the more refined tone of koa ukuleles, there’s a delicious Martin 3K currently attracting plenty of bids. If you’re on some sort of Brewster’s Millions type mission, you could always buy this Martin 5K and this 5K for firewood.

This Swagerty Trehopipee has got me wondering. How do you find strings for a Treholipee? The Worth double length strings might do the job.

I’m only guessing, but could the scratches on the back of this Gibson Uke-3 be caused by storing it in a pine tree?

eBay Ukulele Window Shopping

The head-doctors said it wasn’t possible, but I’ve fallen in love. Here she is: 20s/30s Martin 3K. Bids start at $1,600.

If you want a bit of Martin magic but can’t afford that, you might like to check out this battered and bruised Martin ukulele. Full credit to the seller for the extensive and very clear pictures of the damage. The number of bidders that item has had just goes to show that being completely upfront about damage is the best way to go. Compare it with the pictures for this style 3 Martin. The seller says the cracks on the back have been fixed, but the blurry picture half way down the page raises some questions. Unsurprisingly, no bids so far.

If you’re after a Martin, it’s often worth looking carefully at any Oliver Ditson ukuleles that come up. Martin made a large number of ukes for Oliver Ditson. You can check out the picutures on this page (including a Ditson Style 0 next to a space age meat grinder).

If you’re looking to practice your uke repairing abilities, this whole pile of clapped out koa ukuleles should give you plenty to go at.

Potential bargain of the week: Slingerland MayBell banjo ukulele. It’s in a pretty messy condition, but there are currently no bids and a $25 opening bid. Because of the typo in the title of the listing (uklele) it might be that people are going to miss it. Has to be worth watching.

On a more modern note, this Custom Pahu Kani Super Tenor Ukulele makes me giggle every time I see it.

eBay Ukulele Window Shopping

Nina Coquina dishes out some sound advice on buying ukuleles on eBay that’s well worth a read. It amazes me what some people think they can get away with. Like this guy trying to sell a “Vintage Martin ukulele” for $1,500 on the basis of one line and three dark photos. He should look at the photos for this Gibson ukulele and this Martin (both attracting plenty of bidders).

Curio of the week has to be this Swagerty Singing Treholipee as played by GUGUG. The brochure alone went for $45 so there’s obviously a big demand for it.

No surprises that the Black Bear Cigar Box ukulele is a cut above the standard cigar box uke.

The Ashbory Bass is a strange beast. It’s a bass guitar the size of a baritone uke. It sounds good next to a ukulele as well.

One day I’m going to get myself a National Reso-phonic ukulele.

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.

Window Shopping eBay Ukuleles

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.