What do you guys think of Ukelele & Mandolines?

It seems like a good today, as I have seen some ukeles for around $30-$40. If I bought one, it would be, as you said, something to mess around with. Also, it can be a "travel fretted instrument" rather than a travel guitar (it doesn't exactly replace your guitar)

Forgot to mention

Baritone ukeleles are the same tuning as a guitar.

If you do get one, and need replacement strings, i know that Martin makes some ukelele strings

Townshend has done some beautiful stuff, with what I assume is a mandolin.

I'd check out a bouzouki if I were you though!

Guy Fletcher and his Chinese uke
http://www.guyfletcher.co.uk/guyedit/2005td/2005td15.html

Knopfler got so fed up he bought him a Martin
http://www.guyfletcher.co.uk/guyedit/2005td/2005td75.html

Hmm, that Guy, ain't so dumb. :P

I looked at them once and decided that the $30 Johnson was the minimum for something I could play... The 'celtic' bouzouki and the octave mandolin look fun too, but a lot more money for a good entry level one.

The music I'm involved in has a strong uke component; mostly bari's and tenor's - not so much the soprano uke's though. They're of different tunings, but the bari is DGBE (low to high), so there's a familiar chord structure.

4-string Tenor guitars are also tuned like that.

They have a nice 'high' sort of sound which blends well with guitars and bass on our recordings, especially when you layer them together.

I played a mandolin years ago and would like to get another at some point - it's tuned like a violin (GDAE) and basically fills the same role (musically) as a violin would. A solo type violin. Like the ukes it adds a nice 'top end' to recordings and is great for fills and whatnot. You can strum it too but I like it as a single-line melodic fill instrument.

I highly recommend that guitar players pick up a mandolin (or uke) at a certain point just to expand what they already know into the higher ranges. You can do the same thing just by playing up high but it's a little different when the entire low to high range is moved up. On the guitar there's the tendancy (or habit) of going down to the low EAD strings when you run out of ideas. With the higher instruments, you just have to stay there and go up, so to speak.

Best regards.

I generally don't like the tone of Ukes. That, and they remind me of horrible experiences during music class in 2nd grade.

Mandolins are more rounded and sound less like they consist of rubber bands across a tissue box.

A friend of mine got one for his son. It included the electronics for something like $150. Cool as heck. Plugged it into my line-6 and wailed away at some crazy tones.

I've got one of those cheap Johnson ukes from MusiciansFriend. I bought it on "scratch & dent" for $20. I don't get around to playing it much, but it's a fun little thing. Not top drawer, but soundly built and quite playable.

Mandolins are pretty hard to learn to play well, IMO.

I've got one of those cheap Johnson ukes from MusiciansFriend. I bought it on "scratch & dent" for $20. I don't get around to playing it much, but it's a fun little thing. Not top drawer, but soundly built and quite playable.

Mandolins are pretty hard to learn to play well, IMO.

Yea I found a cheap Oscar Schmidt one on eBay I might get...with built in electrinics...it is a 4 string one (I think they all are?)...I believe mando's are 8 string...but I would rather get one of the "mini" Ovation mando's...a bit pricey right now!

I've got one of those cheap Johnson ukes from MusiciansFriend. I bought it on "scratch & dent" for $20. I don't get around to playing it much, but it's a fun little thing. Not top drawer, but soundly built and quite playable.

Mandolins are pretty hard to learn to play well, IMO.

Yea I found a cheap Oscar Schmidt one on eBay I might get...with built in electrinics...it is a 4 string one (I think they all are?)...I believe mando's are 8 string...but I would rather get one of the "mini" Ovation mando's...a bit pricey right now!

Tiples are 10-string, which are kinda neat.

Mandolins are a little difficult, but as far as fret space, they're about the same as ukes. For tuning, Tommy Tedesco used to tune his mandos (and every other 'ethnic' instrument he doubled on) to the top four strings of a guitar to make things easier.

It's worth the effort though; either one makes you think in the higher registers. Mandolins, when played with tremolo picking, duplicates the long, drawn out lines of a fiddle or violin, and that slows things down a bit and makes you think melody rather than speed. Though I have to say there are some CW and bluegrass guys who just totally rip on mandolin, doing all those incredibly fast and intricate fiddle tunes.

Ukes are mostly accompaniment instruments, strummed usually, but someone like Ota San - and some of the newer guys in that tradition - do all these jazzy chord melodies and single note things that are on par with other instrumental vituosos. They're not commonly or widely known because traditional Hawaiian (and even contemporary Hawaiian music) aren't in the mainstream, but they're there if you look for them.

My wife's got a whole collection going on for herself - a Lanikai, a coupe of OSs (tenor and soprano), and a Gianinni. I've got one of those Johnson bari's just to fool around with. Sometimes I put it into violin tuning just to space out on.

Musically, one thing I've gotten to appreciate about the uke is how great it is for rhythm playing. Like in the old 30s bands (before archtop rhythm guitar got popular). The rhythm section would have a banjo going on and that sorta morphed into archtop 4-string tenor guitar (you still see them on eBay), and then to regular 6-string. My wife's got an old flatop tenor guitar as well, and sometimes when I'm laying tracks or playing along, I sorta envy the fact that she - either on the tenor guitar or uke - doesn't have to deal with those two extra low strings. Like when you're doing a full strum and have to either damp the strings (D chord), or purposefully 'miss' them when strumming. On the 4 string instruments you don't have to really worry about that, about having the root in the bottom and strumming the whole thing. Lots of times the root isn't there and it's just easier to strum. Like with a D chord (which is the key most of our songs are in), the root is right there on the bottom. But with a C major, the 3rd is there and the G, the 5th is there. And you just strum right across the whole thing and not have to worry about, say, the G below the C in the C major chord on guitar, or having the 5th in the bass of other chords.

And that leaves a LOT of room for the bass guitar to fill in. It really stays out of the way. Sometimes when laying rhythm tracks I'm half tempted to take the 2 bottom strings off the guitar - both 6 and 12 strings - just so I can play with abandon.

Hey, maybe I will. Either that or try and find some tenor guitars in left-hand!

On a related topic...what is a Bajo Sexto guitar? Is that aclassical or Spanich guitar.

The same problem as always.Now i have to go and find out a left handed mandolin :evil: (and even if i find out , its out of my reach to buy it :( )

I play mandolin all the time...I grew up playing violin (mando and violin use the same tuning) and I've played Irish/Celtic music for years, so the mando was a no brainer.

As far as a uke, I've never tried one, but after reading the article about Jake Shimabukuro in the new Frets, I might have to give it a go.

Bajo Sexto is a 12-string, but not sure what makes it different from a regular 12-string. Used a lot in norteño and Tex-Mex...

The same problem as always.Now i have to go and find out a left handed mandolin :evil: (and even if i find out , its out of my reach to buy it :( )

You ought to be able to score a sweet Sitar though, right?