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ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Carolina Ukulele Strummers - CUKES > Considering buying a baritone ukulele ... |
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| Considering buying a baritone ukulele ... - Carolina Ukulele Strummers - CUKES - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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martind_gibsona Approved
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I'm not a ukulele player, but I signed up for membership on this board so I could pick the brains of those of you who are. I currently play guitar, mandolin, mandola and bass with a Raleigh-based trio that does a mix of bluegrass, Irish/Appalachian fiddle tunes, Southern blues and traditional folk (The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Norman Blake, etc.). I also perform with another friend of mine for retirement homes doing mostly the traditional folk thing all on guitar and vocals. I'm looking to add another instrument to the repertoire, more for the retirement centers than for the eclectic mix that the trio does, and am thinking about a baritone uke as there'd be no learning curve insofar as the chords go. However, I have no idea what a baritone uke sounds like and don't know if it would really work for that purpose, although I'm reasonably sure it would sound good along with a guitar. I suspect it *wouldn't* work very well in the trio ... but then I've been wrong before! ;-) So would a baritone in fact work strictly as a rhythm backup instrument for fiddle tunes, blues and folk? (I'm pretty sure the answer is "no" for bluegrass.) I'm also thinking of a tenor banjo which is tuned exactly like a mandola (CGDA) and would probably work for both situations. So I'd like to know what thoughts you good folks have on the subject. Would you go the baritone uke route or the tenor banjo route? I can spend around $500 which will get me into either, so cost isn't an issue. If I decide to go with the uke, I really want a nice solid wood instrument. Elderly Instruments has two listed on their Web site: BUSHMAN JENNY BARITONE VINEYARD BK-150 BARITONE Does anyone have any experience with either or at least know something about them? Is there a reason to prefer one over the other? Is either of these available locally? The only baritone I can find listed in the area is at Harry's Guitar Shop, a Lanikai LU-21 Baritone. However, it's all laminated and as I said, I prefer solid wood. But if I went down there and played it, would this one still give me a good enough idea of what a baritone sounds like? What other brands -- Lanikai, Hilo, Fluke, Flea, Samick, ? -- should I consider and are they available locally? Finally, the ukes I've seen seem to come with neither an endpin nor a hole for one. Is there a block at the butt end of the instrument that can be drilled for this? Many thanks in advance to anyone who replies. Don Smith
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UkeForever Approved 
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" I suspect it *wouldn't* work very well in the trio ... but then I've been wrong before! ;-) " Why wouldn't it? Who needs an E and A string anyway? "So would a baritone in fact work strictly as a rhythm backup instrument for fiddle tunes, blues and folk? (I'm pretty sure the answer is "no" for bluegrass.) " Yes. Why wouldn't it work for bluegrass? Dean on these boards-1four5-did all sorts of weird fingerpicking things with his baritone before more or less hanging it up for banjo & slide. I'll bet it'd be interesting as a bluegrass instrument. Probably would need some sort of amplification to go with mando and banjo. "Would you go the baritone uke route or the tenor banjo route?" If you're going for a particular banjo sound, there's no substitute for a banjo. I believe you can tune some tenor banjos DGBE, though, if you get the right strings. RE: BUSHMAN JENNY BARITONE VINEYARD BK-150 BARITONE Not really any difference in the build, as far as I have been able to tell. The Bushman is glossy, maybe a prettier instrument if it doesn't have too many finish flaws, and might use nicer tuners. Make sure there's a return policy from wherever you order the instrument. Of the other brands you mentioned, they are all laminate, and Fluke does not make a baritone yet. Solid wood has distinct advantages if you're into both sound and volume. No reason to look at any of them too seriously, unless you need a beach uke. There is a block at the tail for an endpin drill. I'm not fond of the saddle piezos for pickups. Too chunky sounding. (Yet I have one in my Lanikai CK-TEQ.) Last edited on Mon Feb 13th, 2006 12:08 am by UkeForever ____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs 
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martind_gibsona Approved
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I'm seeing a LOT of "good press" on the Web about the Jenny Baritone; does anyone know what the nut and saddle are made of? (And is saddle correct? I saw it referred to as a bridge bar somewhere.) Don Smith
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Will Approved 
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In a band setting, you could try playing the baritone uke with a flat pick for increased volume, and try different brands of strings, as well. I don't own either of the baritone uke brands you are considering, but I do own 2 solid spruce top baritones, an Amigo AMB-7 and an Oscar Schmidt OU53-S. Here are some live recordings using these ukes, in a band setting: The Chicken Reel (Amigo baritone, miked) http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?band_id=245&song_id=1059&mode=song_hifi Mama Don't Allow (Amigo baritone, piezo disc pickup) http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?band_id=245&song_id=1083&mode=song_hifi Sweet Betsy From Pike (Oscar Schmidt baritone) http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?band_id=245&song_id=1147&mode=song_hifi
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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1four5 Approved 
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I've got the Jenny Baritone, and I really love it! Plastic nut and saddle. I've done a LOT of experimenting with it, and it's currently tuned to open G, where it's great for banjo type finger picking and slide blues. UF is correct though, I hardely touch mine anymore since I started picking banjo. One thing I can say though is that I've tried to combine some of my rot gut uke recordings with guitar and/or banjo tracks and so far nothing has worked good enough to keep. If played with an instrument tuned the same way or close, it just doesn't hold it's own, or blends too much. I've also played a lot of uke in acoustic guitar jams, and it's no contest, the bari just blends in and almost goes away unless you play radicaly different, and just about destroy the thing playing it as hard as you can. The little size with nylon strings just doesn't have the volume. If your playing with guitars, I think your going to get drowned out unless your mic'ed. If just playing with a fiddle (I have no experience here) I think it would work great...but you'll never compete with the volume of the fiddle (someone with experience correct me if I'm wrong). I never thought I'd say this...but...my experience with smaller ukes is only from playing them at the music stores...but their higher frequency may be different and biting enough to cut through other instruments better than the bari uke.
____________________ These are the good times! |
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UkeForever Approved
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Here's some cool sounds with baritone uke in action: http://www.myspace.com/ukulelejazz
____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs
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Neal Approved 
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Sweet Uke, thanks for the link John. Now I need a Baritone, Damn.....
____________________ http://ezfolk.com/audio/NealPaisley http://www.indiependencemusic.net/paisleylawler http://www.myspace.com/nealpaisley |
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martind_gibsona Approved
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1four5 wrote: If played with an instrument tuned the same way or close, it just doesn't hold it's own, or blends too much. I've also played a lot of uke in acoustic guitar jams, and it's no contest, the bari just blends in and almost goes away That's kinda what I thought; sounds like I need to look at the tenor banjo. Thanks to you and everyone else who replied. Don Smith
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Will Approved
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Don: I play a tenor banjo tuned DGBE. I mail ordered mine 2 years ago from Lark In The Morning. It's a starter model for about $250. http://www.larkinthemorning.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_BAN006_A_Tenor+Banjo_E_  Live recordings using the above tenor banjo: Sloop John B - http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?band_id=245&song_id=1007&mode=song_hifi Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Dixieland style) - http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?band_id=245&song_id=1008&mode=song_hifi Gold Tone and Deering offer a number of tenor and plectrum banjo models. Deering's tenor banjo's have a short 17-fret neck ("Irish tenor banjo" to accomodate GDAE tuning); Gold Tone offers them in 19-fret and 17-fret models. The plectrum banjo has 22-frets - same scale and nech length as a 5-string, and can also be tuned to DGBE. These models have brass tone rings. Gold Tone Cripple Creek tenor banjo ($336.75) http://www.music123.com/Goldtone-Cripple-Creek-Tenor-i125982.music 
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Carolina Ukulele Strummers - CUKES > Considering buying a baritone ukulele ... | |
