Bulletin Board: Anyone own Elderly's kona blaster? Close Window   

Original Post By: Guest_keith block 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!
Posted By: Guest_Mark Alhadeff 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
Posted By: Guest_Rainer W. Busch 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....
Posted By: Guest_Mark Alhadeff 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
Posted By: Guest_Rainer W. Busch 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...
Posted By: Guest_keith block 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.
Posted By: Guest_Tony Alderson 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?
Posted By: Guest_keith block 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?
Posted By: Guest_Rainer W. Busch 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
Posted By: Guest_Tony Alderson 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.