Holy RAD! I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the only thing more Nerdily Awesome than a ukulele made out of Legos would be be playing strip Dungeons and Dragons with Princess Leia (wearing her slave costume, of course). So, since that's probably never going to happen for you, at least the Lego ukulele thing in still real.
Head over to Makezine to learn more about these little slice of radness. And, if you aren't already a subscriber, you should consider it. It's easily my favorite magazine in the world. I think there have been 2-3 articles on how to make your own cigar box guitar as well as all sorts of bitchin' electronics howtos. If you have nerdy leanings and you aren't already reading this magazine then you should be ashamed of yourself.
Kala has really revolutionized both the Ukulele and the Bass guitar with their U-Bass. Heck, the U-Bass has been featured in live performances and studio recordings for the likes of Sting, Paul Simon and Jimmy Buffett. I was lucky enough to play one at a local music store and it blew my mind. The strings feel like nothing you've ever played. What's even better is that if you close your eyes you'd swear it was an upright bass. It has BUCKETS of bottom end.
So, what did Kala do? Yup, come out with a solid body version of this bad boy. Now I have to explain to my wife why we need to have two ukulele bass guitars in the house. Heh. I just finished convincing her that I just HAD TO buy my new 1973 Gibson EB-0 bass. Doh!
Feast your eyes on the Kala Solid Body U-bass:
Kala Solid Body U-Bass
If you want to see a demo of this beast, check out this video of Hutch Hutchinson pretty much slaying it.
Got $900 burning a hole in your pocket? I'm sure you do, right? Well then, friend, you are in luck! Check out this rad Rock 'em Sock 'em Robot Tenor Ukulele (aka the Robolele).
Rock 'em Sock 'em Ukulele
Celentanowoodworks, from Ashville N.C., will build you one of these babies to order. Looks like the ukulele is mostly maple and can be made to different sizes, if you so desire. Can I get a "hell yeah" up in this piece? If you think this is rad, take a look at the other cool instruments the etsy shop.
The broken and rusty gears in my brain are definitely spinning now. You see, I have a good friend who also lives in Ashville (at least, I think that's where he lives). Maybe I can talk him into heading over to Celentanowoodoworks' house and southern-charming them down on the price. It's worth a shot, right? While we are talking about my friend, you should probably check out his rad Etsy shop for his ceramics and pottery and stuff. His store is called Mudstuffing.
I've been meaning to post something about Sean Kochel for quite some time. I'll be honest, the holidays make me incredibly lazy. But now I am, officially, off my ass so here goes.
About 3-4 years ago, I was at the People's Market here in Missoula. The People's Market is sorta like the Farmer's Market (and it happens on the same day) except it's more about crafts and whatnot. Anyway, I was drawn to a little tent that had about a half dozen cigar box guitars. I spent some time talking with the craftsman involved in their creation (Sean Kochel) and I got pretty excited. The fret markets used 22 caliber shell casings and the nut and bridge of the guitar were made with elk bone. I pretty much had to have one and I'm pretty sure I paid less than $100 for it. This was my first cigar box guitar purchase and I was already addicted. That first cigar box guitar had 4 strings and it was tuned to an open G. But, it didn't take much thinking for me to realize that I needed a Cigar Box Ukulele!
So, shortly thereafter I asked Sean to make me a ukulele. It was made from reclaimed barn wood and this one actually used a hand-wound pickup instead of a piezo. Oh wait... maybe I didn't mention that before. The original cigar box guitar I bought from Sean was electric! It sounds pretty rad out of an amp. Here, check out this video:
Well, here it is, several years later and Sean is making all sorts of stuff now. Here's some pictures:
Sean Kochel - Juniper Ukulele
Kochel Guitars - Bluebird Ukulele
Kochel Guitars - Stompbox
As you can see, Sean isn't just making cigar box guitars or cigar box ukuleles anymore. He's also making Stompboxes and cigar box amplifiers! If you want to learn more then just check out the Kochel Guitars Facebook Page or the Kochel Guitars website.
Well, it looks like aNueNue has released U-900 Ukuleles. Yup, and the one for the bear is even an pineapple uke! These are just starting to trickle in, but we're likely to see more in the coming days and weeks.
Here check out a picture. This is what the U-900 Rabbit Soprano Ukulele looks like:
U-900 Rabbit Soprano Ukulele
And as if that weren't adorable enough, check out the case for that uke:
U-900 Soprano Ukulele Case
And, of course, the Bear needs his uke to be a pineapple shape, right? Yup. Take a gander:
aNueNue U-900 Bear Pineapple Ukulele
And here's the case for the Bear:
aNueNue U-900 Bear Pineapple Ukulele Case
So, if you are looking for one of these little beauties, then just check below. This page will update to show you which aNueNue U-900 Ukuleles are available on eBay at all times! Warm up your refresh button!
Oh yeah, and if you have my name for Xmas.... GET ME ONE OF THESE!
I just got word from Rich that these beautiful solid Koa wood ukuleles are now in stock. These are going to move pretty fast. People are snapping up just about anything that aNueNue is making these days, they can barely keep up with demand.
I haven't played one of these solid Koa models yet, but if the aNueNue banjo ukulele I own is any indication then you can expect these to be incredibly high quality. The top, back and sides of these ukuleles are all solid koa wood. The neck is mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard. The bridge is also rosewood and the nut and saddle are both made from buffalo bone. You can get these Oahu solid koa ukuleles in soprano, concert and tenor. Make sure you let them know I sent you.
So, during the same lunch hour in which I recorded my introductory video for the aNueNue concert banjo ukulele, I also needed to record a song. During this particular take, my son's guinea pig had something to say.
I guess I could have moved to a different room, but I've never a recorded a video in here before and I wanted to showcase my son's sweet Star War sheets and pillows. So, I just put a pillow over the guinea pigs face and everyone was happy for the second take (which I'll upload later today or maybe Monday). Jokes!
Jimmy the guinea pig is just fine and dandy, don't worry. Besides we could always replace him the a Zhu Zhu Pet, right? Gross.
I guess he had a reason to be pissed at me. I had clipped my Flip MinoHD to his cage using my gorillapod, afterall. Honestly, though, I don't think he was scared. I just think he thought the gorillapod was food and he was mad that he couldn't reach it. You see, he's a real lard ass.
Anyway, the real take is coming soon, but until then, enjoy the guinea pig sabotage:
Well, after my broken string problem yesterday (NOTE: you should probably triple knot your strings before you slip them through the tailpiece on these bad boys) I got this baby tuned up last night and then I ended up drinking wine, playing banjolele and singing too loud until about 1am. That would have been fine and dandy but my wife is out of town and I have both the boys. So, 7am came earlier than I remembered this morning. But blurry-eyed and happy, I still managed to get food in them, make a lunch and get them to school and Grandma's house (respectively).
To celebrate, over lunch, I made some videos with my new favorite possession. First off, I once again want to thank Rich of ABetterGuitarStore.com for the screaming deal on this banjo ukulele. Also, I think the aNueNue folks had something to say about it, so huge thanks to them as well! I would have gladly paid $500 for this ukulele! If you want to get one for yourself, check out my newly added aNueNue section on the website.
Anyway, here's the video introduction:
Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll make another video. I've also recorded a video of me playing Five Foot Two with this baby (because it really seems to lend itself to standards like that). After I post that video, I just remembered that I never posted the drunken escapade that became the escalating electric fence wager. So, just wait for that. It's barely ukulele-related at all, but it's pretty funny. Happy weekend all!
So I got an e-mail from a nice fella named Rich Cichowski. He runs an eBay guitar store (www.abetterguitarstore.com) and he's a big fan of Orcas strings. So, we get to talking and he's telling me about Orcas strings (which I will review now that I have some) and also about the new Tenor Banjo Ukuleles from aNueNue. I'm super intrigued especially when I see how pretty these things are. Check it out:
Click on the uke to go to their site and see what else they offer, but then come back here because they don't sell direct and Rich has the goods! The banjo ukulele in the picture is a concert, I believe, but the one Rich sent me to test out is a tenor. I literally just opened the package but I was so excited that I had to tell someone. Don't worry, though, videos and reviews will be forthcoming on both the aNueNue Banjo Ukulele and the Orcas strings. Although, I already broke a string with my stupidity, so I'm going to order another set from Rich as soon as I post this. Heh... no one has ever accused me of being the Ukulele genius, thank god.
Anyway, in the meantime, check out Rich's stuff. Here is his Orcas stuff:
Holy smokes. I'm freaking excited! My first banjo ukulele experience!
EDIT: Turns out the aNueNue Banjo Ukulele I'm testing out is a Concert, not a Tenor like I said above. I think I got it confused because Rich was talking to me about aNueNue's 6-string tenor ukuleles and I transposed it somehow. Anyway, I've got the aNueNue Concert Banjo Ukulele out of the case, I've got the floating bridge in place and I'm stretching the strings right now. The tone is soooo much more different than I'm used to. I'll tell you more once I get a video recorded.
So, I had a few beers last night and it started out that I was going to be searching eBay to find a replacement/upgrade for my Danelectro Hodad Guitar. I played an American Fender Stratocaster at band practice and, while I did enjoy it, I think I'm too used to my Hodad's whammy bar and I really like the thin sound it has (see, it's made of masonite). Anyway, that's how the evening began. I'm not totally sure how it ended but here is what I do know.
I had to clear more than 4 beer cans off of my desk this morning
I had about 30 eBay browser tabs open
I had e-mail from eBay saying that I had made an offer on a Banjolele
I discovered the Tahitian 8-Stringed Ukulele
I'm most excited about number 4. You see, I never knew there was such a thing as a Tahitian Ukuelele. What's awesome about them is that they are all carved into cool representations of sea creature. So, some have pairs of dolphins on them and others look like gigantic manta rays! The bad news about this discovery is that it's only a matter of time before I have to buy one of these. Regarding the Banjolele offer I made, though, I heard from a guy today that's going to let me review a Banjolele soon. If I like it, I'll probably buy it as well, so I'll make sure and show it off to you guys.
