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Original Post By:
mLKauai
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Date: 6/27/2009 6:33:36 PM |
One of the joys of getting a new custom uke is sharing on FMBB site.
Well here's my last, a short scale bari/jumbo tenor; 19" scale, Hond. Mahog. with BBox soundboard/ust pickup, Pegheds.
It has vintage era headstock, blackface, wood rosette, ebony binding... nothing fancy.
The other bari on the page shows a conventional scale baritone, with paua rosette.
William does have fancier lookin ukes, but as all Honduran Mahogany is my favorite ukewood along with all Koa, I am going for ultimate in sound and playability.
I plan to start out in Bb with Savarez strings William put together, and maybe move up to C tuning with the right strings.
Here's the link:
http://www.chantus.com/journal/
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Posted By:
yodelinglee
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Date: 6/28/2009 1:20:50 AM |
| Michael, what a beautiful baritone. Can you give some dimensions of the body? and it would be great to hear a sound clip of your jazz playing, thanks.
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Posted By:
Craig
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Date: 6/28/2009 1:42:39 AM |
| Looks great Mike and I too am looking forward to a sound clip or two!
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Posted By:
drubin
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Date: 6/28/2009 2:38:06 AM |
| Congratulations, mLkauai! If I didn't have to live on a grad student's salary, I'd be vying for the second baritone! Georgous work, Mr. King, as always. Looking forward to hearing (and seeing) the music you make with this uke, mL!
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Posted By:
Dutch
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Date: 6/28/2009 7:11:34 AM |
Beautiful work. I can't wait to hear how the Bb tuning works out. The concept has crossed my mind. It should work well on a small bari. I haven't been able to get the right results with Bb on tenor. You may have hit the right combination. The joy of sharing is certainly appreciated.
Strength & Honor
Dutch
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Posted By:
musicguymic
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Date: 6/28/2009 3:44:10 PM |
| Great looking Bari Michael....I think you are the William King Kingpin.......who mostest with the boostest....
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Posted By:
mLKauai
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Date: 6/28/2009 9:28:14 PM |
i seem to stay on the edge with King ukes, as i instigated a 16" scale concert a few yrs ago, different scale tenors.
some uddah bruddahs bring out King's bling skills too.
I am expecting it expressed here very soon.
Dutch, I have gotten away from Bb lately, but with all the transcribing tools available today, like my Band in a box, and Transcribe program, I shouldn't have a problem.
On the 19" scale, Bb should be the ideal tension with the right strings.
This BBox pickup is soundboard and under saddle transducer combined; looking forward to how that sounds too.
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Posted By:
Craig
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Date: 6/28/2009 10:25:10 PM |
| William's photos of his ukuleles truly define the term, "Ukulele Porn"! Again Mike, it looks great.
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Posted By:
vjflrd
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Date: 6/30/2009 1:52:12 PM |
| How does the B-Band compare to the Mi-Si/Baggs?
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Posted By:
William King
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Date: 6/30/2009 3:34:12 PM
(Updated: 6/30/2009 6:00:39 PM)
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vj, the B-Band XOM system in Michael's baritone uses two transduers, one under the saddle and one under the soundboard. The transducers are based on electret technology like that used in many condenser microphones. It has volume and mix controls mounted inside the soundhole, which is convenient for a performer who isn't sitting near their amp. The B-Band system uses a 9 volt battery mounted inside the instrument, although i think a phantom power setup is available from them. B-Band claim that their electret technology produces a clean high dynamic range sound free from artifacts typical of some piezo based systems.
The Mi-Si Acoustic Trio uses a single LR Baggs under saddle transducer constructed using piezo-ceramic material. The Mi-Si preamp doesn't require a battery. It uses a high value electrolytic capacitor as a battery which is charged via the output jack using a small Mi-Si provided charger. It doesn't have a local volume control. Because the Mi-Si system is battery free and, unlike the B-Band XOM system, the preamp is integrated with the output jack, its possible to install it in a very small instrument like a soprano.
How does the sound of a B-band XOM system compare with a Mi-Si system ? I'll go out on a limb here - its hard to be objective because there are so many factors that contribute to what you hear when you try to assess these things, including the instrument, the amp, the player, the recording techniques etc etc. To my ear, in my instruments, the Mi-Si with a LR Baggs UST sounds a little compressed, the XOM a little cleaner with a wider dynamic range. Each has its place in the scheme of things. For pure convenience, in a smaller instrument like a soprano or a concert, the Mi-Si is hard to beat. In a larger instrument an XOM system or a RMC Acoustic Gold setup works well.
You can read about the B-Band system at http://www.b-band.com/ , the Mi-Si system at http://www.mi-si.com/ and the RMC Acoustic Gold system at http://www.rmcmusic.com/ .
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Posted By:
mLKauai
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Date: 7/1/2009 4:13:04 AM |
my lack of techspertise is evident by saying it is a BBox pickup; whoops... so I rely on creditable sources for my decisions often, in this case William's.
IMO the ideal uke sound is one that is larger than life, as it is a small instrument and should be heard clearly above or distinct among a group, and loud enough solo to be heard by others.
MI/Si ust is great, but as William implies, the B-band system should take it a step closer to ideal.
l'll check it out and have something to show soon.
I have a new tune close to being able to serve up.
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