36

Keli’i Ukulele and Why We No Longer Sell Them

A year or two back I wrote a blog titled "The Truth about Kanilea". It was just a grabbing title because the conclusion of the review was that they were a great company. Which is what most of my blogs are about. I rave about what I like and try to refrain from negativity. I fear the day that I ...
6

The Most Beautiful Uke in the Room

This is a new instrument from the Ko'olau custom shop. It's a CS model tenor with an all koa body, koa binding, koa faceplate , and for the first time from Ko'olau, a one piece koa neck. In the past few years the CS has become my favorite model ukulele. Why? - #1 reason is the rich, sustaining tone and balance all ...
32

Start With a Tenor – Top 4 under 400!

New players that come into the store or visit us online can feel overwhelmed with options. Where to start?  One way is to first determine the size. The smallest and original ukulele size is the soprano. Concert is slightly larger and loved by many, but the most popular choice, especially in the last few years has been the tenor. Why?  ...
5

Red String and a Blue Mic-

In this blog I’m going to discuss two topics. They’re seemingly unrelated, yet both can be heard in the video below. The first is  the new and improved Aquila Red Plain Low G  review and sound sample. But can you trust sound samples? Put on some good headphones and listen to the beautiful truth.  This was recorded with the woodpecker ribbon …

21

Ukulele Strings

1.Aquila’s are the most popular and probably best in the tension/volume ratio. D’addario’s new version Nyltech , made in conjunction with Aquila, have a slightly higher tension but better articulation and often better intonation. I predict those becoming more popular as people try them.
2.100% percent Fluorocarbon. Many string companies, 100% same material……..

10

New Gretsch Ukulele- Review and Sound Sample

If I were given a million dollars to buy more ukes for the store… I would mostly just explore more custom builders.  Offering every affordable brand would be a disservice to your time, a roadblock to your  musical accomplishments, an obstruction to your enjoyment.  Too dramatic?  LOL!  Basically, certain models give a better value and that is what we focus on.

With that said, I’m here to tell you…this new ukulele line from Gretsch is

1

Pepe Romero Cigar Box Uke Prototype!

This is the second of two prototype Cigar Box Ukuleles that Pepe Romero recently made. We know Pepe makes a phenomenal, mini classical guitar style, tenor ukulele. A regular Romero model is extremely rich in tone with a full spectrum of frequencies to enjoy. This is an entirely different voicing (of course).This is a tenor scale and Pepe built the ...
1

Tutorial -Singto Numchok’s “Ukulele… I Love You” – with Print out

Download and Print from PDFChords and Words for   –  “Ukulele…I love you” This is a great addition to any ukulele songbook so feel free to print it out from the PDF above. The tabs are not notated because you dont just strum the chords once open. The strum rhythm you learn in the video is carried throughout the song. Have fun …

3

A Visit from a Hawaiian Music Legend- Benny Chong!

Benny is a one-of-a-kind bee-boppin baritone jazz artist. Benny taught himself ukulele when he was a young kid but left it to be a professional guitarist for many years with Don Ho. One day he brought a baritone to the gig and at the end of the night Don told Benny, “Anytime you wanna play ukulele, it’s fine with me”…

Imua Garza – Artist Profile & Advanced Techniques

I first met Imua a few years back when we had Hawaii Music Supply in Wahiawa. Before I actually met him, though, I heard him across the store, in the keyboard section, Chick Corea/ Stevie Wonderish type stuff ,and killin' it! soulful and harmonically interesting. I thought, wow, this is one of the best keyboard players I've heard. Turns out, ...