Apparently the downside to being hungover for three days after your birthday is that you apparently are prone to missing out on important announcements.
Take this one as a fer instance. Musician's Friend is having a HUGE sale on used items! I just checked out the sale and I see 13, count em 13, ukuleles! Quite a few Fender ukes and a Rogue ukulele for $10.50. Holy smokes!
BUT, the sale ends tonight! ACK! I promise to not be so damned hungover next time. Hopefully I can keep you guys better informed.
I have been meaning to post this for awhile, but freaking summer just gets busier and busier. Anyway, Rick from Kala sent me a press release about Kala's new "Round About" Ukulele Amplifier. I know I've talked about the Roland Micro Cube before and I do love that amp, but as far as looks go, the Round About is the winner. It comes in three styles: Black, Pink and Tweed! What great choices! The whole look of the amp feels really retro and fun. It seems like something a foxy lady in the 60s would carry around with tiny white earbud headphones. Or maybe something that Frankie Avalon would bring to a beach party. Here's some pictures:
Kala Black Round About AmpKala Pink Round About AmpKala Tweed Round About Amp
The amps are 10 watts with a 5" speaker. If you want more details, here's a YouTube video talking all about the Round About Amp:
The rule I use is Koa Ukuleles sound best with Aquila or D'addario Strings. Mahogany Ukes sound better with Worth. The exception to this is Koaloha. Spruce goes either way.
Laminates generally like Aquila Strings (except for Kiwaya) as well. I think Worths are so much better than Aquilas on Flukes and Fleas. Kiwaya laminates tend to like the fluorocarbon types, including Worth. The same rule applies for their solid ukes. 🙂
@hermanvdc had this to say on the subject of Ukulele Strings:
Indeed, Aquila helps give more brilliance to cheap ukuleles but on good the better ones Worth and especially Orcas sounds better!
So, I figured that I should post this so that everyone can make up their own mind and then give you some links to buy Orcas and Worth Ukulele Strings.
Two weeks ago I was running pretty much ragged with work and family visiting, etc. I pretty much didn't know which direction I was headed. But, sometime during the two weeks window of insanity, I had the clarity of mind to order some new Aquila Ukulele Strings and then pack them into my ukulele case (for my Lanikai CK-TEQ). Then I surprised myself even further by remembering to pack my Ukulele and my flipVideo when I had to leave town for a week-long job. Long story short? I had new strings and the means to make a before and after video in my lonely hotel room. Boo-yah!
Hopefully you can tell a difference from that video, but I think it's definitely more clear during the single note stuff. On the Aquila Strings it's just so much more percussive and it really rings out. I'm totally loving these strings!
I mention Musicguymic in this video. He's a big eBay seller and I would consider him a great resource for any ukulele-related purchase. Hell, he's got almost 600 ukulele-related items up for auction right now. I'll include a few sample items at the bottom of this post, or you can check out Musicguymic's eBay Store.
I was going to make a video showing everyone how to string their Ukulele, but I'm not a big fan of re-inventing the wheel and Aldrine from UkuleleUnderground.com already made this great video:
So, if you need to re-string your uke (and if it's been so long since you've done it that you can't remember, then it's time), I would highly recommend Aquila strings!
So, @MandolinChick on Twitter turned me onto this cool handmade ukulele gigbag that she made. It's pretty rad so I wanted to let everyone know about it. If you aren't already following @MandolinChick, then you probably should be. I'm pretty sure she plays Mandolin, Ukulele, Penny Whistle and probably something else as well. She's also into sewing and whatnot. I'm pretty sure I've seen that she's made Penny Whistle cases besides this cool Uke case. I'm sure there is more as well. Check out the fabric on the Uke Gigbag, it's pretty rockin!
Handmade Ukulele Gig Bag
Here are some notes from the auction:
Handcrafted by me,this soprano Ukulele gigbag has velcro closure "buttons" spaced along the top. Fully lined with a groovin small zebra print fabric-entire gigbag is 100% cotton made in the USA. It's padded on both sides with batting. Reinforced handles you can carry with confidence.
Um... did that say Zebra print on the inside? RAD!
