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Original Post By:
Guest_keith block
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Date: 6/22/2000 |
Hello there all you fellow ukulele
superheroes, just call me Newbert.
"Frets" didn't seem too hip on my
questions on electrifying ukes so I
will put it to the forum - In
general,
what is the best path to a fully
electrified uke that will sustain
and interact with standard guitar
effects gear? Does anyone have any
experience with the Kona Blaster
uke that Elderly Instruments sells?
I'm asking for advice from
"outside the box" types on whatever
Frankenstein methods there may be.
I've got the acoustic sound down,
now I'm looking to electrify,
although I'd sure love to avoid
metal strings...OUCH! |
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Posted By:
Guest_Mark Alhadeff
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Date: 6/22/2000 |
Hey:
I've got a Konablaster and I love
it. I use it with a Wah Wah and a
Dan Echo delay.
Keeping in mind that I am the
world's worst uke player...even I
sound good on this thing. And
keeping in mind that I have a
collection of crappy ukes, this
one is a breeze to play in
comparison - with excellent
action and a nice feeling fret
board. I am pretty calloused, so
the stell strings don't bother me
at all.
It is tricky to make it sound like a
uke though. So I just ordered a
Fluke with a pick up to see what
it does.
I do Ramones songs on it,
make Sonic Youthy noise, and
generally ruin other people's
lives.
Good Luck,
Mark
P.S. Remove no spam from
email address if responding to
me directly
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Posted By:
Guest_Rainer W. Busch
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Date: 6/23/2000 |
Hi Keith, I play the konablaster
as well. For it's price it is very
good. Mark is right, it isn't
sounding like an Ukulele. It
sounds like an e-guitar up the
seventh fret (I tune it in D). It
has nice sustain and you can use
it with any imaginable effect. The
down thing (at least with mine) is
that the pickup is set for a
mandolin string spacing. So some
strings on it are hotter than
others. The action on my K.B.
isn't as good as Mark's. I
restringed mine with an octave
lower A. That gives it more punch.
I play a lot of Jazz, some Rock
and Pop. It works wonderful but
more like a guitar. It is (for me)
painless to play. No problems
there. You could have a glimpse at
the Mandoblaster. You can see it
at Elderly's as well. You can
retune it to Uke-Tuning. And the
string spacing then will be just
right. I never had it in hands.
But I heard that it works very
well. So you could give it a try.
It has about the same scale as a
soprano Uke. I wouldn't compare
the K.B. to a FLuke with pickup.
It's just as if you would compare
a Strat to a steel string acoustic
guitar. Enough for now. I'll be
around....
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Posted By:
Guest_Mark Alhadeff
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Date: 6/23/2000 |
Hi Everyone: I got my fluke today.
It's quite excellent. Rainer sounds
like a real musician, but I will
say this...playing through an amp
with distortion it sounds great.
Uke-like, but different. Easy to
play, although being concert scale
it's gonna take some getting used
to after playing regular soprano
uke
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Posted By:
Guest_Rainer W. Busch
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Date: 6/23/2000 |
Hi Mark, thanks for the compliment!
Hope you'll never here me, so you
can't tell how bad I am really!
;))) I didn't want to say that the
Fluke is bad, oh no! But what I
wanted to say is, that you can't
compare a solidbody Ukulele with
steel strings to an acoustic
instrument with a piezo undersaddle
pickup. I guess, if you'll play the
fluke in a very loud band, you'll
have feedback problems. You won't
experience these with a K.B.
(konablaster not keith block,
although... let me think... I'm not
sure about this! hihi. what do you
say Keith?). It all depends, I
guess. But to me it sounded as if
Keith wanted an upvolume
instrument. And then a solidbody
instrument is the choice.
Keep strumming...
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Posted By:
Guest_keith block
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Date: 6/24/2000 |
Kind thanks to all who responded,
your info is quite helpful. So the
KONABLASTER is a bit spotty quality
controlwise? Hmmm, and metal
strings too. Well I guess it was
bound to happen sooner or later.
I've always been a wee bit alarmed
at the intonation of most sopranos.
I've never had a Martin, maybe
they're ok but about all the
sopranos I've had were pretty poopy
intonationwise. The string spacing
thing also gives me pause. Are
there any other solid body ukes,
perhaps with a longer scale length
out there that might be a bit more
reliable? I'd be using it mainly
for recording and tonal correctness
is imperative! The fluke sounds
great but I already have a perfect
Surf-a-lele. I also have a Marco
Polo soprano that's pretty decent
and a cherry Favilla baritone with
the Fishman acouctic dot matrix
natural saddle pickup. These are
all great axes, but I want the
advantages of sustain and
electronics too.
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Posted By:
Guest_Tony Alderson
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Date: 6/25/2000 |
Rainer mentioned retuning the
Mandoblaster as an electric uke;
that was my solution and I like it
much. I tune it in C, and the low G
string really adds to your range
for picking rock and jazz. "Secret
Agent Man" is a gas on this. My
only complaint is the finish is too
thin on the neck; I've already worn
a spot on the back. So I expect
I'll eventually have to refinish
the neck. Lucky for me, I bought
this before the price started going
up... But, hey, if Dylan could go
electric, why not ukesters?
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Posted By:
Guest_keith block
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Date: 6/25/2000 |
Thanks again for all the
help folks. I truly do
appreciate it.
Hmmm, this mandoblaster sounds
pretty good, particularly if the
string spacing matchs up to the
pickup correctly. I've looked at
mandolins before and thought about
using one as a uke (as a
drummer, I look at any stringed
instrument and wonder how it
would work tuned like a uke) but
they are so goshdarned
skinny-necked that I just can't
imagine playing one.
I'm accustomed to tenor scale
and soprano ukes are small to me,
but playable. Mandos look
inky-dinky. Is the mandoblaster
this small too?
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Posted By:
Guest_Rainer W. Busch
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Date: 6/26/2000 |
Hi Keith, that was my concern when
I first heard about the
Maboblaster. I guess, the
fretboard will be very narrow. But
somebody told me that there is a
difference if you play the
mandolin with 8 strings or with 4
strings. The mandoblaster only has
4. I never tried it, so I'd be
curious. I know definitely that an
8 string Mandolin is too small for
me. I tried it and even with my
very small hands it's tooo hard to
play comfortably for me. I am
personally planning on a custom
made Tenor solidbody with
steelstrings and two pickups.
Well, that'll be a long time to
wait, cause I haven't got the
money in the moment. But I'm
planning and dreaming and have the
specs in my head! Well, nearly.
And every other day they change.
regards Rainer
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Posted By:
Guest_Tony Alderson
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Date: 6/28/2000 |
Zounds! As the only one playing a
ukelized Mandoblaster, I guess I
owe ya'll a bit more info. Some
stats: My Martin "O" soprano has a
nut of 1 5/16 inch, with a string
spacing of 3/8 inch. This is my
favorite uke. My Martin Backpacker
has 1 7/16 inch nut w/ string
spacing of 13/16 inch, which I
consider barely playable. (But it
has a clunky squareish neck, and
I'm learning to get along.) The
Fluke is a little narrower than the
BP. It's OK, but I prefer my "O." I
have a Harmony tenor guitar, with a
nut of 1 1/4 inch, and a strings
spaced a little over 5/16 inch. My
Mandoblaster has a nut of 1 1/8
inch with strings spaced 5/16 inch
apart. That's thin for someone used
to a tenor uke or a guitar, but I'm
used to soprano ukes and mandolins.
I agree that one human's neck is
another's noose...you'd be well
advised to play before you pay. I'm
6'1" tall with fairly large hands,
and I like it, but I mostly strum
the MB with a flat pick. This may
not be OK with you. MB also makes a
5 string, and they might be willing
to put a 4 cut nut on a 5 string
neck, but you'll pay for the custom
work. I've retuned 8 string mandos
to uke; this was not a sucessful
experiment; but the MB 4 string
works fine for me. Some chords are
easier to play... You'll have to
take your own chances. People have
their own preferences, it's hard to
predict, but very important to each
individual. This is a serious
problem with buying instruments
over the internet. Personally, I've
pretty much decided to pay the few
extra bucks and get my next uke at
McCabes after I play it. Not that
I've been burned, but I'd be
happier to feel the thing first. If
you live near Los Angeles, drop a
note and I'll let you take a test
drive on the MB.
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