My Bushman Ukulele
Many, many years ago, about 14 or so, YouTube recommended a video of a cute blonde playing the ukulele and having a lot of fun with her friends. I completely blame my ukulele addiction on Julia Nunes. That video triggered something in my creative side and I was off to find myself an ukulele and learn how to play. Julia had won the first Bushman ukulele contest and I watched the excitement in her unboxing video. And then I saw a couple of the members of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain were playing Bushman ukuleles. Within a few months I had seen both Julia and the UOGB live in concert. And set my heart on getting my own Bushman ukulele. I entered the Bushman contest, hoping to win a gift certificate toward one of these beauties. And did okay with my original song, I Learned to Play…
A Visit in the Berkshires – The Magic Fluke Company
Driving through the Berkshires on Highway 7, you will encounter beautiful scenery and picturesque views. And if you know what you are looking for you may spot a small building as you enter Sheffield, Massachusetts, just north of the Connecticut border. Nestled in the shrubbery is a colorful sign for The Magic Fluke Company. This is the home of the company where all the Flukes and Fleas are assembled, where customization is done and the final inspections are completed. I had mentioned in a Facebook ukulele group that I was taking my Fluke with me to avoid any issues regarding the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as my wife and I crossed the Canadian border on our ten-day road trip through Canada and New England. Another member suggested we stop by The Magic Fluke Company. Dale and Phyllis Webb started in the company in 1999, with encouragement…
My New Talsma Pineapple!
A bit more than a week ago, my favorite ukulele luthier put a post on Facebook: Soprano Pineapple Ukulele, 13.625″ scale. I built this for fun and to sell during my lock down. Quilt Mahogany top, back and sides. African Mahogany 5 piece neck with koa center. Curly koa bindings. Emerald green tint head plate, fretboard and bridge. Grover Champion tuning pegs. This is built nice and light with a very thin satin lacquer finish, sounds great. It could be yours – PM me if interested. Well, I was interested, so I sent the PM. I had been thinking about another Talsma for about a year. And I was debating about size and shape and how much I wanted to spend and what features. Another friend was considering selling one of his and was giving me first refusal. I was thinking hard about it and he decided to keep it…
Photographing Your Ukulele for Identification
I get lots of requests from readers that would like me to tell them how old their Martin ukulele is and what style it is. I love getting these requests! Most of the senders think to include a picture or two, but they are often not very helpful in allowing me to answer their questions. So I thought I would provide some examples of what information and what types of photos can help with identification. The first piece of information is going to be the overall length of the ukulele and/or the length between the saddle and the nut. For those unfamiliar with the instruments, the saddle and nut are the two ‘bars’, usually ebony, that the strings go over at each end of their run. For an ukulele you are going to get 13 inches, 15 inches or 17 inches. There are larger ones as well, but these are…
What Year Was My Martin Made?
So, you looked at my article Identify Your Vintage Martin and determined what Style your Martin is. And now, like the dozens of people who send me emails, you want to figure out what year that ukulele was manufactured. While each of the specific styles have their own characteristics that can help identify their age, this article describes some of the common factors across the styles that can narrow down the time frames. And, as always, there are exceptions to the general rules. Specifics by style will be found in future articles. Fret marker location. When they began making ukuleles, Martin marked the frets at 3, 5 and 9. In 1920, they moved the fret marker at 9 to the 10th fret. The inside stamp. The inside stamp ran parallel to the strings until mid-1916, at which point they turned it to run parallel to the interior brace. If the…
Umiee Concert Ukulele Mahogany Starter Kit
Umiee Concert Mahogany Ukulele Starter Kit Rating – 4 out of 5! Umiee asked for reviews so I put this together. I ordered the instrument through Amazon on Friday and it was delivered the following Wednesday afternoon. I was concerned about the rough shape of the Amazon box being crushed in, but the interior box was undamaged. The Instrument This set centers around a concert size instrument with a light colored mahogany face. The joints and edges are all tight and clean. There is a clean white binding on front and back with some additional striping on the face of the instrument. There appear to be some flaws in the face along the binding. The finish is a flat finish. The side of the neck is pretty smooth. There are a number of places on curves next to the head and the bridge that are a bit rough. The most…
Aklot Ukulele Review
Aklot Mahogany Concert Ukulele Kit AKC23 Rating – Aklot asked for reviews and I was excited to participate. I ordered the instrument through Amazon on Tuesday and it was in my hands Friday afternoon. Nicely packaged in a solid box with pretty graphics. The Instrument This set centers around a concert size instrument with solid mahogany face. The edges of the top are a bit more rounded than usually found, making it less likely to dig into your forearm as you play. The sound hole rosette is laser engraved with a simple attractive pattern. The joints and edges are all clean and well polished. The side of the neck is very smooth and polished, the fret board is actually bound so there is absolutely no catching on the fret ends as you slide up and down the neck. There is no fret marker at three, but there are markers at…
Identify Your Vintage Martin – Caveat Emptor
I’ve been learning about vintage ukuleles made by the C.F. Martin Company for years, ever since I heard Brian Hefferan and Dave Passant playing their vintage Martins at various events. The sound of these instruments is distinctively different than any other. So I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a deal, checking out online auctions, For Sale listings and yard sales for several years. And educating myself on identifying the different styles and how to determine the time frame during which it was made. My primary source is the definitive reference, The Martin Ukulele: The Little Instrument That Helped Create a Guitar Giant by John King and Tom Walsh. The archives of the C.F. Martin Company were used by the authors to create this volume. This book has the history of the instrument within the Martin Company as well as pages of information about the differences between the Styles and…
Instrument Review – 21″ Mini Size Ukulele from ebay
21″ Mini Size Ukulele Exquisite Workmanship Spruce Ukelele [sic] Ultrathin M3K9 This was an ebay purchase and was listed as a Buy Me Now at $35.58, with free Economy Shipping. The pictures on line were very attractive, I figured for the price, let’s give it a shot. It is listed as unbranded, but has an IZ (ZI?) in a crescent logo on the head. The top is listed as Spruce and the back and sides are listed a Sapele, an African wood often substituted for mahogany. The neck is supposedly mahogany, but as it is completely covered in paint there is no way to tell for sure. The label inside simply has Model No: LA03-21 on it. It showed 15 frets with markers at 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15. Ox bone nut and saddle with rosewood bridge and fingerboard. My biggest reservation was that it was listed as…