Ukulele Tuning

Having trouble tuning your soprano Ukulele?  Try this video:

The Epiphone Les Paul Acoustic/Electric Ukulele

Hello!


So during one of my searches for amazing new instruments to show you guys, I stumbled upon a beauty. I can honestly say that the musician inside of me squealed a little when I saw it.

Sweet, right? But it's not just the appearance that's hot. It's tuning ability features 14:1 geared machine heads. So, unlike traditional "friction" tuners, this uke's tuners have fine-tuning capability and will not slip. It comes with premium black nylon strings and has a pickguard that not only looks cool, but also protects the flame maple top. It's Rosewood fingerboard features a concert length 15" scale and 21 nickel/silver frets with a 16" fingerboard radius. It's equipped with a high-quality, piezo film pickup located under the saddle. The body is accurately captured and routed to it's durable all-metal, rim-mounted 1/4" output jack.
But I haven't even gotten to the exciting part yet: It's an acoustic/electric ukulele, so how does it sound? Well, here you go:

Can you see why I love it so much?


-Ashley

Lunch Box Ukulele

UkeLounge would like to introduce a treasure we stumbled uppon: Tate Chmielewski's Metal Lunch Box Ukulele.

While reading through Tate's description of his odd Uke, I couldn't help but wonder how a vintage lunch box would sound as an instrument.  But to my surprise, the lunch box sounded great as a Ukulele!  It has a warm, bring your heart to a sandy Hawaiian beach, sound.

This particular Uke deserves a listen to.  Check it out here:
http://www.sterainstruments.com/sounds/LunchBoxUkulele.mp3

For all you Ukulele collectors, players, or anyone looking for a unique instrument, I would say this Metal Lunch Box Ukulele is a must have!

Tate Chmielewski's Etsy Shop has quite the assortment of instruments: from a gourd Banjo, ammo box Electric Guitar, to a two string Guitar made with a Mountian Goat skull!

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on any of our posts.

-Lauren

Makala vs Mahalo

In this post I'd like to introduce you to the Makala Ukulele.  

When I decided to learn the Ukulele I didn't have any money saved to buy the instrument, but I was determined.  

I did hours of research, trying to find the lowest priced Uke possible.  

I decided on a Mahalo Ukulele with prices ranging from $20-$30.  Cheap.

I listened to several people play the Mahalo on YouTube, and honestly the Uke sounded terrible.  Wouldn't hold tune, and sounded like a toy.  

I listened to the Mahalo one last time before purchasing it, when I stumbled upon a video of the Mahalo being compared with a Makala Ukulele.  Hearing the Makala being played changed my mind completely!  This Uke was around the same price as the Mahalo, but sounded great!  

Within 20 minutes I was the proud owner of a Makala Ukulele.  It is sunburst purple, and has a wooden dolphin bridge.  Just my style.

I was very pleased with the Ukulele.  It holds tune perfectly and has a decent sound.  It was just the right Uke to learn on.

The Makala is available in multiple colors.  You can usually find it online, with a case, for around $35.

For anyone who wants to learn this instrument, but doesn't have much to spend, I highly recommend the Makala Ukulele.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on any of our posts.

-Lauren

Gravikord

The gravikord... As you can see it has a very unique look to it, and the sound is just fantastic. It's an electric double harp, and was invented and patented by Robert Grawi in 1986. It's modeled after the 21 string West African kora. It is made of welded stainless steel tubing, with 24 nylon strings but with no resonating guard or skin. The bridge is a synthetic material made very differently from the kora and its range in pitch is greater. As you can tell from the video, the playing technique is very similar to that of the kora, though the hands are in a more natural position to the strings.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on any of our posts.

 -Ashley

Kora

A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half, is covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any single category of western instruments and would have to be described as a "double bridge harp lute." The player uses only the thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings in polyrhythmic patterns (using the remaining fingers to secure the instrument by holding the hand posts on either side of the strings).

Here's the video:

Check out its newer form, the gravikord!

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on any of our posts.

-Ashley

Violin

Here is a free Violin fingering chord chart:

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on any of our posts.