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Original Post By:
musicguymic
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Date: 7/1/2009 1:46:47 AM |
would you like to see more offerings of imported to keep cost down good made resonators or banjo ukes..just curious????
and what scale lengths |
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Posted By:
allenhopkins
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Date: 7/1/2009 2:09:34 AM |
Sounds like RISA will be selling European (Romanian? Czech?) made resonator ukuleles in the near future. The Johnson and Republic Asian import reso ukes were getting mixed reviews (I'm OK with the engraved Johnson I bought for a couple hundred $$, but don't play it much). "Well made" Asian resonators might have a market.
Gold Tone has a resonator-backed and an open-backed banjo ukulele in their catalog. I've been pretty satisfied with the Gold Tone instruments I've bought -- cello banjo, "banjola" (large mandolin body, 5-string banjo neck, like the old Pollmans of the turn of the 20th century), "piccolo" travel banjo. Thinking of the same price range, or less?
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Posted By:
AlanJ
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Date: 7/1/2009 11:07:43 AM |
Resonators, concert/tenor scale. Baritone would be a nice option. Banjo ukes, soprano/concert although I'd be intrigued by a tenor scale banjo uke. Haven't been around one to try it.
MGM, do you know if Kala's considering on extending the fretboard for the Soprano Thinline travel? I dig the size and sound but gotta have an extended fretboard.
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Posted By:
drubin
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Date: 7/1/2009 11:22:30 AM |
| A low cost, high quality tenor scaled resonator would fill a big hole in the market.
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Posted By:
Hilo Greg
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Date: 7/1/2009 12:10:02 PM |
| If there's a big hole in the market, let's fill it up with banjo ukes. :)
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Posted By:
Kirbster
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Date: 7/1/2009 3:32:01 PM |
Why not both? The only banjo ukes on the market today are Gold Tone and Tyler Mtn, and they are basically the same thing. Not to forget Waverly Street banjo ukes, but production-wise, there are only two.
As far as resonators go, the choices are $300 or $1200 and up. It would be great if there was a nice, playable $500-$600 resonator out there, wood or metal body. Maybe even one with the fret markers at the tenth fret...... sorry, but that is the one thing that has kept me from buying a Republic. You'd think after the first batch came out with dots at the ninth fret, they would have corrected it before the second or third series was released.
Just my personal opinion. I'm sure they play fine.
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Posted By:
Diesel
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Date: 7/1/2009 3:51:58 PM |
| Is there a 'none of the above' category? What the world really wants is an all carbon fibre concert scale uke. Leastways thats what it looks like the world wants from up here in my ivory tower...
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Posted By:
AlanJ
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Date: 7/1/2009 7:14:47 PM |
| Aaron Keim's Bean Sprout banjo ukes are not to be overlooked. Marvelous lil' devils.
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Posted By:
Kirbster
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Date: 7/1/2009 8:22:20 PM |
| Of course, how could I forget Bean Sprout ukes. I stand corrected.
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Posted By:
lumpy
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Date: 7/1/2009 11:20:33 PM |
| I'v had a Republic reso for about 2 years and really enjoy playing it. I payed about $200 for it , which is about all I can pay for my ukes. I would like to get a Banjo uke but they are over my price range. If you could get one down around that price I might buy one. I have 3 other ukes that all were under $200. A Lanikai tenor, ohana vita and my first one was $20.
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Posted By:
RedHotBlue
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Date: 7/2/2009 12:42:03 AM
(Updated: 7/2/2009 12:43:14 AM)
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Nice to see Rigk getting into the Reso game.
I would like to see an affordable tenor scale reso built from Mahogany/Sapele. On Risa's prototype, I really like how the f-holes are done, and the t-shaped, stamped tailpiece/coverplate look like vintage Regal. A subtle tobacco-burst finish would be nice too!
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Posted By:
William
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Date: 7/3/2009 2:39:14 AM |
One does not have to go to Asia to get what you are asking for in a great resonator in concert-tenor-or baritone scale. It already exists at
http://www.Donmo.com .There is no bragging rights for bling, There is no AAAA grade wood. It's just a good playing,good sounding resonator. Put Guadalupe strings on it and it even better than with Aquila strings! (and I sell only Aquila strings)
Stuart Wailing makes a beautiful resonator. If he would at least offer to put the spot at 9 or 10, it would probably get him better reports/more sales. Dots on the side as well. Closing up most of the front f holes really improves the tone and volume. It probably is a real winner in France, it has that french nasal quality. Oh... giving an option of a low tail piece which makes it easy to string as opposed to removing the reso cover would certainly make it more endearing to potential buyers.
No one mentions Giannini's beautiful banjo cavaquinho, or the Portugese cavacos which string up as wonderful ukuleles.
There are many reasons why I will not buy any chinese ukuleles. There are enough people in the free world creating products . The country is about as ungreen as it gets.
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Posted By:
counterbug
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Date: 7/3/2009 1:47:56 PM |
| I've got a banjo ukelele "Maybell" Slingerland and would very much like to have a resonator on it, but can find one. Anyone know of one?
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Posted By:
cowbelle
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Date: 7/3/2009 2:21:11 PM |
| would love to find a reasonably priced tenor banjuke. Only one I've seen was created by Duane Heilman and somebody beat me in buying it.
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Posted By:
ukola
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Date: 7/3/2009 8:55:38 PM
(Updated: 7/4/2009 10:32:17 AM)
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| Dave Gjessing of Waverly Street ukulele makes a good sounding inexpensive made in the USA banjo uke. I felt that the frets were sharp. I had to file them, mine may have been an anomaly, and I would recommend putting Aquilas on. This is the web site: http://www.wsukes.com/forsale.html Here is a video of a young man playing one (not me). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3_-KOgZetQ
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Posted By:
Grampie
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Date: 7/4/2009 2:32:44 PM |
I have a concert-scale Recording King metal-bodied reso-uke that is my favorite of the resos I've owned. I paid $300 for it. I've previously owned (and sold) a concert (IIRC) and a tenor Beltona, and about three Nationals, two of them mahogany and one maple. I've found intonation of the Nationals always seems to be a bit off as you go up the neck. The tenor Beltona was fine, can't recall why I sold it except that I wasn't using it at the time.
As to banjo ukes, I've been very happy with my Gold Tone open-back. But I also own a Gold Tone plectrum banjo that I tune DGBE and capo at the 5th fret to get an even louder, more forceful uke sound. That actually sounds the best of any banjo uke I've played, to my ear. Add a bridge mute and you've got four instruments in one: Plectrum banjo; muted plectrum banjo that sounds somewhat dulcimer-like; steel-string banjo uke; and steel-string banjo uke that sounds a bit sweeter.
Beltonas used to be around $600, what's happened with them? Has the price greatly increased? Are they still being made?
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Posted By:
Mike
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Date: 7/4/2009 3:50:55 PM |
| I will soon be receiving from Steve Evans at Beltona a custom made Beltona tenor 'blue' reso uke that cost $950 including shipping and a case.
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Posted By:
William
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Date: 7/5/2009 7:08:58 PM |
The Don Morrison made concert, tenor or baritone are all $900 usd which includes case and shipping, if I read his web page correctly. For $200 usd more, one can get nickle plate over brass. That model can be etched. Deb does a beautiful job. The site is done quite nicely. It shows Australian ingenuity
The was a member of this list who brought his custom Beltona for a visit. He thought the Donmo produced the sound he wanted. His Beltona lives with someone else.
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