Ukuleles of "One Ukulele" #4: Dougf's "Fluke in the Mountains"

I've enjoyed UU member Dougf's jazzy songs a great deal; his lyrics are so intelligent and so timeless, I have dubbed him the "Mose Allison" of the ukulele (and that is a high compliment for those of you who may not know of Mose). It thus goes without saying that I was thrilled Doug has submitted an image for "One Ukulele," especially since if fit perfectly over the lyrics "one ukulele's gonna sing all the songs..." The image is so breathtaking, I asked Doug to take a few minutes to describe it, which he kindly did:

"Mike, thanks for including my 'fluke in the mountains' photo. It was taken this last July at Aneroid Lake in the Wallowa Mountains of NE Oregon. My wife and I took a little road trip to visit our son who had a summer internship working for Wallowa Resources. I had bought the fluke just a few days earlier at Pacific Winds Music in Eugene, OR, specifically so I could take it along on hikes and backpacking. In addition to being light and durable -- essential qualities for backpacking -- it also sounds great. I ended up giving it to my son after taking it along on my trip to Yosemite later in the summer.

"As for me, I credit backpacking with my renewed interest in the ukulele. A couple summers back on a backpacking trip to Yosemite, my brother-in-law decided to bring his daughter's child-size guitar along for fireside strumming, so I brought my Kamaka soprano that had been collecting dust for years. We had some great jams, but after hearing what he could do with that toy guitar, I decided it was time to really learn some uke. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."

It's rewarding for us, too, Doug. As proof, I ask readers to listen to the playing and lyrics of my favorite Dougf tune, "I'm Just Me," embedded below:



-Mike

Dave, aka TCK, Delivers: "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"

Wow, the same day we post the story, Dave, aka TCK on ukuleleunderground.com, comes through and does a wonderful rendition of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" on his fabulous Martin Type 3M. What can I say, Dave, other than that I am honored to share the song on this humble site. This video helps prove my point of how "One Ukulele" can do amazing things. It's possible!



P.S. I'm sure you made Shirley smile!

The Ukuleles of "One Ukulele" #2: Beardco

Beardco of ukuleleunderground was the first member to respond to my call for stories about the ukes featured in One Ukulele. His Oceana Ukuleles custom made uke is even more special than I imagined, but I will let beardco tell the tale:

"In May of this year I was at the Seattle Folklife Festival & happened across Oceana Ukuleles, a relatively new luthier. My only knowledge of ukuleles was seeing Tiny Tim play in the '60's, but all of Oceana's uke's looked really nice so I had to stop in. The one I picked up looked great & sounded very guitarlike. Zac Steimle, the owner, was pretty patient with me and didn't even laugh at my questions. I thought it was such a great size guitar for my soon-to-be life in a campervan traveling around the U.S. & Europe, so I bought it on a lark. It wasn't until a few weeks later when surfing the internet for music that I understood I had stumbled onto a very popular instrument, and then I saw Jake's famous Youtube video. My respect for my impulse buy had just increased substantially.

"Zac spent several years in Ecuador working with a small-guitar luthier and recently came back home to the pacific northwest to make ukuleles full time. Mine was made in Ecuador completely by hand with no power tools. It is all Bolivian rosewood, a mahogany neck, balsamo fretboard, walnut binding, bone nut & saddle, and Gotoh closed gear tuners. The great part is that the mahogany neck came from a house in L.A. built in 1903. The wood was taken out of the house and put in dry storage for 40 years, and then shipped down to Ecuador for my tenor ukulele. Every time I pick it up, I smile at my 100 year old neck and think about the minor part I've played in that wood's life.

"How does it sound? I don't have anything to compare it to but, I was recently visiting someone with a cat that scratches and bites anyone that gets near her. I was playing a simple tune I learned from Ukulele Underground & the cat came out from under the sofa, laid down at my feet, and started purring. I'm taking that as a positive sign but, the cat IS a little crazy.

"I actually do own just one ukulele. For now."

One ukuelel is all it takes, especially when it's as special as this one. Beardco's beautiful Oceana appears at 2:45 in "One Ukulele."

Mike

The Ukuleles of "One Ukulele" #1: My Jake Cordoba

Every ukulele has its own story - well, that's what this "One Ukulele" concept is all about. My plan is to contact the members of the ukuleleunderground who contributed images for the video and have them write a little something about their ukuleles. As I wait for the stories to come in, I'll talk a little about the few of mine that made it to the final cut. And that first one, pictured to the left, is my Jake Shimabukuro signed, highly modified Cordoba 20TM-CE all mahogany tenor.

The most unique thing about this ukulele, of course, is its "Aloha, Jake" signature, which I got after seeing Jake for the first time in November 2009 at the Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While I did not see a lot of people toting ukes to Jake's 2010 concert there a few weeks back, sad to say there were about six of us "Middle Aged Guys with a Ukulele" who sought to sharpen their axes under Jake's pen. Being such a wonderful person, Jake signed every one of them, along with the CDs and shirts and any other items us fans could think of.

Maybe a ukulele with Jake's signature demanding being something more than a $179 Guitar Center special (not to say anything bad about either Cordoba or Guitar Center), but a short time later I was awakened to a very strange pinging sound - as I looked around in my darkened room, there sat my Jake Cordoba in an ill-fitting guitar stand, his rosewood bridge separated from the sound board and dangling from the strings. Oh, no! I'd never seen anything like this.

Fortunately, I happen to know Dan Voight, an up-and-coming, super-talented mandolin maker who I knew could easily reunite body and bridge. As we talked a little more, Dan suggested we make an entirely new bridge (at something like $40, which is incredibly cheap for a custom made bridge). Dan also did not like how the undersaddle transducer separated the saddle from the bridge's surface, so he took the transducer and its connectors out, leaving the "unplugged" preamp and phono jack alone but inoperable.

Because it was so hard to see the fingerboard markings, I also had Dan put some nice pearl dots along the side of the neck. That, along with the bridge, a new bone nut and saddle, and an upgrade to Worth clears worked out great. It was an all new instrument worthy of its famous signer.

While the instrument had more sustain and felt better than stock, I still wanted the action a little lower. Living very close to Dave Talsma, I took it to him; he shaved down the saddle and re-worked the nut and now it plays like butter. Dave also put my electronics back in but, being the cheap stock setup, I really need to upgrade to a Mi-Si, if I can ever afford it. Oh, and the stock tuners, which are horrible (at least on my model) need to be replaced as well, but I could use some help here with suggestions for a good brand. I ordered a set of Grovers but was very disappointed as one of the four was much too sticky as it turned.

While it's still a work in progress, my simple ukulele has become a relatively super work that has been touched by three masters - Jake, Dan, and Dave. I used it in my "Tip Toe Redux" video and was very, very happy with the sound and playability. Once I get that Mi-Si, it will no doubt be my axe of choice.

MBK

PS: I should note that the actual picture of my Jake signed Cordoba in the video is the one taken with it snuggling up with my Lanikai S-TEQ spruce top tenor, signed by Danielle Ate the Sandwich, who I saw a few weeks ago at the Ark.