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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Hilo? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Sep 6th, 2004 09:52 pm |
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1st Post |
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Sam Approved
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I am new to the ukulele, and I have been playing guitar for about a year, so I can pick it up alright, but since the ukulele is not really a mainstream instrument I'm kind of left in the blue about the quality of mine. It is a soprano Hilo, that my mom bought to play in her pre-school class for about 30 dollars. I'm sure its not very good, but I'd kind of like to get a scope on the world of ukuleles. I'm sure I have other questions, but if anyone has any input on this it would be greatly apreciated. Thank You, Sam
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| Posted: Tue Sep 7th, 2004 08:42 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Richard Hefner Administrator 
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Hi Sam, You're right that the quality of the $30 ukes is not that great. I would encourage you to get a better uke if you really like playing. It's a little hard to say a particular brand to buy because there are so many different ones and people have different tastes as far as what they like in sound, looks, and playability. If you're in a city where you can find a variety of ukes in a store that would be ideal, but if not you can find some pretty safe choices on the Internet. If you're like most uke players you'll also be somewhat of a collector too, so don't worry too much about about making a wrong decision and being stuck with a uke you don't like for the rest of your life... you're likely to end up with several before long and you'll see that each has its own personality. I have several ukes right now and my favorite is a Larrivee. I've also got a Fluke, a pineapple Akulele, an electric Applause tenor, 2 Lyra ukes (a baritone and soprano), a Giannini baritone, a Regal soprano, a Risa soprano, and maybe a couple of others. I just ordered one of each of the three Samick ukes offered by Music123 so I can see how they are. They look like an outstanding value ($99 for the good soprano and $129 for the baritone) but I won't know until I'm actually able to play them myself. If you haven't seen the Samick ukes take a look at the following page... they're the first three listed: http://www.ezfolk.com/uke/Shopping/ukuleles-for-sale/ukuleles-for-sale.html They look great but I'll know more about the value after I get my hands on 'em. I'll post a review after I check them out. Richard 
____________________ Richard Hefner MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11th, 2004 07:48 am |
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3rd Post |
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1four5 Approved 
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My first Uke was (still is) a Hilo baritone. Cheap yes, toylike sound yes, rotten intonation yes, hight action yes. However...since it was so cheap, I wasn't afraid to mess with it...I shaved the bridge down so that I could shave the saddle down and still have clearance...this gave me killer action. I beveled the saddle to help a bit with the entonation. I took the stupid stick on fret markers (what a joke) off, and drilled and replaced them with 1/4" dowel fret markers...this also gave me the opportunity to move the 10th fret marker to the 9th where it's easier on my brain...as well as add the 3rd and 15th that weren't there. The strings that came on it (whatever garbage they were I don't know but they were dead with a capitol D) got thrown in the trash and it's now restrung with Martians. It's still not as nice as my Lanikai...but the cheapo Hilo came alive and is now a real player. I keep it in my locker at work for lunch time jams, and I'm not afraid to give it hell.
____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11th, 2004 09:02 am |
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4th Post |
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UkeForever Approved 
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Like others, we will probably all agree that Hilo is a low-end uke. I have the 2652 model--right around $30. I bought it as a joke. My first uke was a Lanikai tenor, and I thought I'd get the little soprano as an example of the smaller size. I thought it'd be impossible to play and I'd hang it on a wall or give it to my kids to play. I changed the strings (put nice Hawai'ian blacks on it) and all of a sudden the uke was a real uke. It really plays music. I was shocked. I loved the small scale. I now have about 10 soprano ukes. I love that size the most. It looks cool, and it is the real ukulele size for purists. And every time I think I'll get rid of that old Hilo in favor of my better wood ukes, I play a couple of songs on it. It sounds damn good. Not good as my old Harmony, but pretty great considering the outlay was only $30. Every time I consider getting a $500 uke, I ask myself if it'll give me the same ratio of enjoyment, bang per dollar, as that Hilo. Usually the answer is no. If you're interested in a better uke, I'd go the all-wood route. There are several middle-of-the-road possibilities, namely the Bushman at http://www.jumpingflea.com or the Pono at http://www.koolauukulele.com/. The Pono is more expensive than the Bushman. From what I can tell: one and the same thing. These are contract-made ukes, and someone has figured out a way to break into the market with these at a pretty decent/fair price. As far as Samick or other Korean/Asian-made laminates--including Mahalo, Oscar Schmidt, etc: You're getting a better intoned, sometimes better looking uke. But don't expect great dynamics or sweet resonance or volume. In my book, those are just more expensive versions of the Hilo. A great middle ground, but why go there when you can have all-wood for another $100 bucks. Mow some more lawns. Last edited on Sat Dec 11th, 2004 09:04 am by UkeForever |
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11th, 2004 09:50 am |
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5th Post |
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Pauline Leland Approved 
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What to buy comes up all the time on music forums (and, I'm sure, bike forums, car forums, ...). Uksters need something like this reply, written for first time guitar buyers, http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=000047. Scroll down to the third entry by Steve DeRosa. He gives guidelines on how to evaluate an instrument. A lot of what he says applies to ukuleles. Something like this might be a good article for this site, Richard?
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11th, 2004 11:31 pm |
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6th Post |
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1four5 Approved
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Thanks Pauline...that is a very good article! Speaking of Hilos, like I said, I tweeked mine quite a bit and got it to play really good...in fact I recorded a real raunchy blues tune with it today, and REALLY like it's thunkyness  ...HERE is my song played on the Hilo.Last edited on Sat Dec 11th, 2004 11:33 pm by 1four5 ____________________ These are the good times! |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 12th, 2004 03:41 am |
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7th Post |
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Richard Hefner Administrator
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Pauline... that really is a good article and it would be nice to have something like that on ezFolk. I don't think Acoustic Guitar magazine would take kindly to me swiping it, and I don't currently have time to write something like that. Any chance you'd want to take it on as a project? Not to copy that whole thing but to take different aspects in the same way and present them in a way people can understand. We could then post it in the tutorial section so people would have access to it. Think about it.
____________________ Richard Hefner MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 12th, 2004 04:47 am |
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8th Post |
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Pauline Leland Approved
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Richard, I'm flattered. Maybe I could. I wouldn't be able to do anything until January. If you find another volunteer or tackle it yourself that might be faster. Pauline
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