The trials of being Schrödinger's Ukulele Reviewer - RANT

I'ver not written a ukulele rant for a while, and I suppose this isn't a rant, more an observation which I think I need to personally process, but also, I suppose, try to explain a bit. The trials of being Schrödinger's Ukulele Reviewer.

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Got A Ukulele take on the 'Setup' debacle..

I toyed with a full on rant on this ukulele topic, but figured it better to offer a more measured response... maybe it IS still a rant..  Most importantly - I am NOT a ukulele shop... but a few words on 'that' YouTube video. 

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Impartiality of Ukulele Reviews and the dreaded talk of money...

Just posting this here for reference. I have blogged on this topic before, but there you go. Impartiality of reviews and the subject of money and funding.

I put this up 'under the radar' on YouTube last night as not an easy subject to go with. But the responses were lovely, so sharing it here. As I say, have talked about this before, but I was prompted to re-iterate the impartiality point for a few reasons.. namely.....

1. One too many comments in last couple of weeks suggesting I live in a house with hundreds (if not more) free ukuleles. I don't...

2. An increase in discussions online about brands that give free ukes away in return for favourable reviews. I got involved in one such discussion and one of the brands (who shall remain nameless, but we all know the sort they are) private messaged me to say they were not happy. Not happy? Try NOT giving product away in return for reviews!! These brands will never get on the site that way and if I review one I will have bought it. Yet... seems I am guilty by association.. This is what the concept does. It makes people suspicious of ANY review. Yay.. thanks for that...

3. A comment, not aimed at me or even on a post of mine, but by a person who had taken flak for reviewing a said 'free uke' who responded with 'Baz gets free ukes all the time'. No, no, I don't... Please don't lump me in with that crowd.

The comments on the video when it went up were very kind, and yes I should rise above (and no, it's not getting me down!!) - but... it still needs to be repeated because it's important.

Also - most importantly, wanted to say a BIG thanks to the people who DO help fund the site and keep it going - and they are nothing to with the brands - the readers!

Anyway - here you go... THANK YOU!

© Barry Maz
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Got A Ukulele Rants - Online Reviews

Here's a subject that Got A Ukulele readers who follow the channel on Facebook probably see me going on about more than is probably healthy. Shills, marketeers and reviews that are not to be trusted. As a reviewer who strives to be totally impartial, this troubles me.

So.... I recorded the video below..

I don't want it to sound like sour grapes - it isn't. I am just GENUINELY concerned about new buyers being taken in by positivity online for reasons that are not particularly fair. Got A Ukulele will NEVER be bought, be paid (in cash or kind) to write nice things, will shill you, will act as a marketeer. I don't live in a house with hundreds of free instruments - they get sent back.  If they don't want them back they are sold to get more instruments for review and in time when that has run out of steam get given to the local school / charities.  In fact, that  is the ONLY way to offer a fair and real review. You can't fairly review something if you are being given inducements.

All that matters on this site is my own personal uncoloured opinions about instruments. Even if the brands I dearly respect send me something shoddy, I WILL say so and they know this!

Brands that choose to pay for nice words, shilling their customers are making it an unfair playing field for many other brands (new and old) and in time will destroy credibility in the market for all (themselves included). And yes, I KNOW this has always plagued product marketing. Doesn't make it right.

Now I have recorded this, lets hope this is 'therapy' and I don't need to go on about it so much. (I probably still will, because it stinks)...




Go carefully!

© Barry Maz
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Why Are You Treating Your Ukulele Like A Museum Piece? RANT

One of the more common questions I see from new ukulele players on the many forums around on social media relates to minor bits of damage and strumming marks on their musical instruments, and more particular, how they can prevent them. What's going on here? Why the desire to keep a ukulele in shop condition?

credit - Marc Gallagher

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A Word of Support For The Humble Soprano Ukulele

Whilst it hasn't been deliberate, you may have noticed an increase in ukulele reviews for Soprano scale ukuleles on this site lately. And looking at the review schedule going forward there are even more to come.

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A Little Imagination In Your Ukulele Headstocks Please!

There's a point you may have noticed me raising often in ukulele reviews on this site, and that's a grumble about less than imaginative ukulele headstocks. Recently I had someone message me asking me more about my gripe, so I figured it would make an interesting discussion piece.

My gripe is quite simple really. From what I can see, there is a massive preponderance of ukulele headstocks that simply choose to copy the Martin three pointed crown style. What is the three pointed crown style? Well, you know it. I am sure you know it. You know it because it appears on SO many instruments. You don't? You DO! They look like this...

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I'm Tired of the Ukulele Versus Guitar Debates - RANT

It has been a while since I went off on a ukulele rant, but this one has been bubbling away for some time now. It's the endless 'the ukulele is easier than the guitar' statement that people seem to use as some sort of badge of honour in ukulele circles. And some go further than just commenting on the 'easy' thing and actually step towards being openly hostile to the guitar.

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My Ukulele Doesn't Hold Its Tuning - What Can I Do?

Probably one of the most common ukulele beginner gripes this one, and a subject I continue to see so much terrible advice about online. A Ukulele that doesn't hold tuning.

Actually, I am going to start this ukulele beginners post from another angle as this was the one that prompted me to go over this subject again.. An that is the completely unhelpful advice I regularly see given out to people who are asking for ukulele recommendations. That advice goes along the lines of...

"I recommend [Brand X] ukulele because this one holds tuning really well..." 

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Choose Your Ukulele Dealer Carefully!

In a conversation this morning helping out a new ukulele buyer, I once again came across the issue of choosing your ukulele shop with care. It was being answered by the usual suggestion of buying from Amazon...

This Stagg ukulele was rated one of the best ranked ukuleles on Amazon - it was more fit for firewood...

Now this is a subject I have touched on in various other blog posts, but realised that I hadn't written a more consolidated advice guide on where I think you should consider buying your instrument, particularly your first one. Well, that and why I don't recommend the 'Mighty Zon'..

I regularly see comments made online on this subject that say, 'That chap at Got A Ukulele doesn't recommend buying from Amazon'. And it is almost always followed with someone saying 'Well, I bought from Amazon and it was absolutely fine, so he doesn't know what he is talking about'..

Let's be clear - NO, I don't recommend buying from Amazon except in certain cases. Same goes for eBay if you are a beginner, and in fact also goes for a worrying number of big brand music stores too. I will deal with the exceptions further on in this piece, as like anything there is no one size fits all here, but lets first look at where and why I make the general warning against the big A.

The likes of Amazon, big selling channels on eBay and the large brand music stores come with a couple of issues for me. First of all, those sellers tend to concentrate (in the main) on the cheaper end of the ukulele market. We are talking the sub £200 price point with a particular focus on the sub £100 (or even sub £50) price. And the second point is that direct purchases from Amazon (and sadly, many big brand music stores) mean that for online shopping the ukulele will come to you unopened. In other words what the factory sends to Amazon is exactly what you will get. And here lies my problem.

It is a simple fact that the cheaper you go with a ukulele, the greater the chance you will find that the instrument needs (at the least) some setup work (adjustment of the saddle or nut to ensure accurate intonation), or something more serious like a warped neck or misplaced bridge that means that it should have been weeded out from sale altogether. Not every cheap ukulele needs that, and of course such issues can occur even with higher end instruments, but it's about percentage chances. Trust me - the cheaper you go, the more the chance a ukulele will need checking over before being shipped. Enough instruments have come through my hands over the years to see the pattern.

And Amazon just don't do that checking over. Big channels on eBay just don't do that and even big brand music stores who have jumped on the uke bandwagon just don't do that. So why is that such a problem?

Well put simply, the majority of buyers of instruments at this price may well be beginners. It may be their first instrument in fact. Do they really know how to adjust setup on a ukulele, or how to reject an instrument that has a fatal build flaw. In fact will they even know that there is an issue? I see lots of beginners talking about cheap ukuleles saying things like 'this one is good because it holds tuning, the other one I bought sounded out of tune'. I've seen beginners suggesting that wonky tuning is actually a 'feature' of the humble ukulele and is to be expected. Holding tuning is not something that is good or bad and specific to certain brands - it's something that can be fixed on ANY ukulele. That is part of setup! But I think more often than not, if they hear an instrument playing out of tune, they tend to blame the strings and not the setup. And no, wonky tuning is NOT a feature of the ukulele.

And for those people who DO recognise there is an issue with the ukulele, what do they then do to resolve it? Return it? Have a go themselves and get frustrated? Take it to a shop and pay them to fix it? All of a sudden that cheap ukulele isn't so cheap any longer. If you spend £30 on a ukulele, then another £10 on strings because it sounds out of tune because somebody on the internet told you its a string issue, but then that doesn't fix it... You then pay another £20 to get a shop to set it up and all of a sudden your £30 ukulele becomes a £60 ukulele complete with a load of extra hassle and wasted time.

And that price issue is really the reason why people choose Amazon. They are highly competitive, and also offer excellent and cheap delivery options. Similar ukuleles, when you consider shipping, from independent specialists may cost you more money and people vote with their wallets. What I am saying is it's completely false economy if you are going to have to spend more money down the line. And it's for that simple reason that I recommend specialists who will look the instrument over and adjust the setup if needed. It's called peace of mind.

Now, back to that comment of 'I bought one from Amazon, and it's fine' that I always get in defence. I never said that it's impossible to get a good one. In fact you could buy ten ukuleles from Amazon and find that they are all setup just fine. Great. I'm really glad for you! But I'm afraid there are many examples that are not fine and just because you did well doesn't make it a hard and fast rule for all. Case in point is the Kaka ukulele I recently had from Amazon for review. The saddle needs adjustment and so does the nut. Those are fixable if you know how, but the bridge that is in the wrong place is more fatal and a massive job to fix  (if it's even worth it). I see a LOT of instruments from Amazon, and trust me - these things happen more than I would like. And it's a fact that a good ukulele specialist would have weeded this one out from sale. I've seen many like that from Amazon. Oh, and bear in mind that ukulele specialists that do setups do so for a REASON.

One other worrying trait I have seen with Amazon ukuleles in the last couple of years are the huge numbers of new brands that hit the Amazon sales pages (usually from China) that look utterly generic and in a short space of time start to amass huge numbers of 5 star votes. How can that be? Well, it's well documented in the press that with many product lines the Amazon review system is, frankly, broken. That's because a lot of these reviews are faked one way or another. In fact I have evidence of several brands who are effectively 'paying' people to write good reviews in return for free instruments. I even saw one who was paying hard cash for people to write pre-prepared product questions and answers on their items. And why? Because lots of activity and lots of 5 star reviews makes the product appear higher on searches when you tap in the word 'ukulele'. So what that means for the seaching consumer is they are faced with at least three full pages of brands that never appear in music shops, with impossibly low prices and massive 5 star vote counts. Totally unethical.

So what are those exceptions I talked about? Well there are a couple of situations in which I wouldn't hesitate buying from Amazon.

1. When you already know how to undertake a full ukulele setup. I do, so I know that if a uke arrives with a high saddle, high nut or dodgy tuners, that I can easily put it right. I wouldn't want to tackle a warped neck however, but I can sort the majority of issues that instruments face. If you are not comfortable with this though, I'd recommend using a dealer who will do that for you and remove the worry.

2. That you are dealing with a real specialist who is using Amazon or eBay as a marketplace storefront. When you look at your product listing - have a look whether it says who is fulfilling the order. If it is coming from Amazon it is coming direct - from a shelf in a warehouse and will NOT be set up by anyone. It may however be coming from a marketplace seller who is a reputable ukulele specialist. I know a few great stores who use Amazon this way - those sort of sales are fine because you KNOW that you are getting one from a dealer who has opened the box before shipping it to check it over.

But sadly that's it.

People often ask why my list of ukulele dealers isn't longer. It's short for the simple reason that I only list stores that I know will check instruments over before despatch and may offer a full setup a part of the price. And the sad thing is - there are not all that many of them, even globally. Just because a big brand music store is on every high street and happens to sell ukuleles - doesn't mean they are ukulele specialists. In fact for online sales, most of the big brand stores are despatching, unopened, from warehouses themselves. So I'd still really urge sticking to the stores who know and understand the instrument. Trust me, it will be less of a headache in the long run.

And yes, I know that some of you can only rely on online shopping, but most if not all the specialists I list offer that. And yes, even the specialists can get things wrong too - but again, it's all about the chances. Think of it like Russian Roulette. Mistakes do happen with any store, but at least the specialists are opening the boxes which is more than can be said for the big box shippers..

Go carefully!

© Barry Maz


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Why The Fear Of Changing Ukulele Strings?

Not done a rant on Got A Ukulele for a while,

but a few discussions regarding changing ukulele strings on various social media channels lately brought me back to thinking about the real fear some people have in changing uke strings.

This isn't intended to re-hash the arguments over 'when should I change my strings' or 'what's the best brand' as I covered that subject before here. No this one goes back to something far more fundamental - and that's the increase in the number of people who really panic or avoid changing their strings altogether.

By way of some examples, these range from the 'oh I still have the same strings on that were on the uke when I bought it two years ago as I don't fancy changing them' to the 'I broke a string, but I had to take it to my club / friend to get them to change the strings for me'. Most bizarrely of all is an increase in the number of people reporting that they actually choose to PAY someone to change their strings for them. In one discussion I saw a guy explaining that he was paying around $30 for a string change because it gave him 'peace of mind'. Seriously? Sorry, to me that just seems completely crazy, particularly when you consider how easy it actually is.

You see, when you choose to play a ukulele (or any stringed instrument for that matter), you really need to understand that you WILL need to change strings at some point. At some point they will either just become impossible to tune properly, or at some point a string will snap. Fact of life, they don't last forever.

More importantly, strings are MEANT to be changed on a ukulele. They are consumables. They are meant to come off and go back on. And surely as part of your decision to start learning the ukulele, alongside other practice regimes you put yourself through, surely surely the practice of changing the strings on your instrument should really form part of that learning? Think of it as like the importance of knowing how to change a wheel if you buy a car, changing the  fuse in a plug if you are a homeowner, changing the ink cartridge in a printer, or even changing a light bulb. Granted, those three things have different difficulty levels, but here's the thing - changing a ukulele string really is right there with changing a fuse or a lightbulb.

And there is something else to string changing that I think is important and isn't often talked about. The process of doing it will work wonders for your connection with the instrument and how it works. You are getting right into the heart of what makes the ukulele play and getting hands on with your instrument. Add to that, the process of tuning up from scratch and it really is a good bonding exercise with your uke. Seriously.

I am interested in where this 'fear' comes from that pushes people to foist their ukulele on someone else to do the job for them. At the end of the day, changing a string only requires one knot and a bit of winding at the other end. You are not going to damage the ukulele, and nothing is going to happen that cannot be simply reversed. In fact if you get it wrong (and first time, you probably WILL) the worst that can really happen is that you snap the new string and have to get another, or at the least it will ping out of the bridge or peg and scare you half to death. (That still makes me jump..) Not really a big deal though is it?

So what are the biggest challenges that people worry about? Well the first is the bridge end of things. 'Oh, I can't understand those knots...' Really? With a slotted bridge it is simply a case of tying a granny knot (or perhaps two) that are big enough to not let the knot slip through the gap. With a tie bar bridge, granted the knot looks a little more complicated, but it really isn't. In fact it's just a granny knot too with a couple of extra winds. In fact in the world of knots, the bridge knots on a ukulele are significantly easier than tying a bow in a shoelace.

The second challenge is the 'but they keep slipping off the tuning peg' point. This does happen, but the simplest way to stop that happening is to actually tie the string to the post.  That is to say, pull the string all the way through, then feed it back through the hole and pull it tight - then start winding the strings. There is no way that is going to slip, but it can look a bit messy. With practice though you will learn how to get the wrapping right so that the coils themselves lock the string firmly.

I suppose the other fear is the 'but they just keep going out of tune' point. Yes, yes they do. Nothing I can say will change that, it's perfectly normal and you haven't done anything wrong. It just happens. Leave the ukulele tuned up a step or play it hard and keep re-tuning. They will hold eventually. This issue affects EVERY single person who has changed a string, so it's nothing to panic about.

Don't ge me wrong, string changing is a chore that nobody really enjoys, but that isn't because it's difficult. It's because it's boring and takes a bit of time! But I would still encourage any new player of the ukulele to start practicing this early. Get a new set tomorrow and put them on. If you go wrong, take them off and try again. And again and again. Get it right? Take them off and do it again, and again anyway. Trust me, you will soon see it as a shoelace and wonder why you were avoiding the process.

You may have already seen that I did a couple of videos regarding string change knots at the bridge (both tie bar and slotted types) which may help you below. But the best way is just to get on with it! I do wonder sometimes though whether ukulele ownership should come with a Compulsory Basic Training course!






© Barry Maz

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Making a Case for Ukulele Cases

It's something in the ukulele world, in fact actually something in the musical instrument world generally that has always made me think.

Why don't ukuleles come with cases as a matter of course? Do we have a strong case for cases?

Whilst there are of course some exeptions to this rule, it's fair to say that the majority of new ukuleles won't come with a case unless one has been added by the dealer as part of a store package - in other words - they don't tend to come with cases from the factory. And I wonder whether they should.

The other observation I would make is that the vast majority of ukulele buyers getting hold of anything above the cheapest of the cheap instruments, tend to look to get a case. It's a given. On that basis, wouldn't it be helpful for the brands to include one? I mean, the players are going to get one anyway!

First of all, I am not naive to what is going on here - a lot of ukulele manufacturers would like you to pay more to get one of their cases - it's more business for them.  And I suppose, yes, it's the same as all sorts of things. Apple want you to spend more on a case for your iPhone, camera manufacturers want you to spend more on a case for your new camera. But just because it's the norm... you know... meh. That annoys me too.

And I am not suggesting that they should be free at all, but it stands to reason that the stronger buying power of ukulele brands would surely enable them to include a case with their ukuleles for a lower total price than we customers could buy the two items separately, so why not? They still sell their ukulele, plus a bit extra for a case and everybody is happy?

To be clear, what am I talking about here? A hard case? No, not necessarily. I just think it would be great if the 'norm' when you bought a ukulele was that it came with a branded good quality gig bag. I actually dont think it should blow the budget either - I mean Mahalo include a really nice zippered bag with pockets and straps on a solid wood ukulele and still keep it under £80. And it's not only the cheapest brands - Godin include a really nice padded gig bag with their MultiUke, Martin do with their Koa series and Kala do with their travel series (but sadly not as a matter of course with their others unless you get an Elite.). Fleas used to come with their own bags, but to the best of my knowledge they then started making them an extra. I think that's a crying shame.

But,  there is another angle to this. The constant drive from customers to get the absolute cheapest they can get - because after all, as the myth goes - 'The ukulele is cheap'....    A ukulele without a case even if it was only £1 less in price would sell more than one with the case because so many people shop around to get the absolute lowest price they can. It just seems to be the way it is, and it's the same mentality that sees people buying badly set up instruments from Amazon, because they are £1 cheaper than getting one from a bricks and mortar ukulele specialist...

But if you are going to end up buying one anyway, and you will then probably end up spending MORE anyway to get the two items separately - wouldnt you accept, say, a £10, £15 or £20 premium on an instrument if you knew they came with a decent branded gig bag? It wouldn't bother me.

You may say 'but I dont want a gig bag, I'd only get a hard case anyway' - but still, I am not talking a huge premium here and you'd still get a case that would come in handy I am sure. Heck - having them arrive in padded gig bags would probably make for safer postage and delivery too! Even better - offer them with an included gig bag, but offer an inflated price version and include a hard case!

So I say, lets make a case for cases - come on brands. Some of you are doing it, but don't you think it would make sense for all? Nothing hugely fancy, nothing hugely expensive, but something protective and something you can advertise your brand name on? Given the choice of two similar ukes, I'd almost certainly go for the one that comes with it's own case.

But maybe it's just me...




© Barry Maz

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UK Ukulele Festival Overload?

A difficult and contentious topic this one, but one I am seeing discussed more and more on social media. Are there too many ukulele festivals in the calendar year?

Some will immediately agree with that statement, some will recoil in horror. I would like to think that Got A Ukulele has established a name for itself in not shying away from the difficult subjects and doing a certain amount of telling it like it is. I think it would therefore be wrong of me to avoid the subject. Bear with me....

Regular readers will know that for the last few years I have been compiling the Ukulele Festival Calendar on this site. Even a swift glance at it will show you just how many festivals there are these days. Pretty much one per weekend through the summer months and in several cases, more than one on the same weekend. I should also just make clear that I think the congestion is related mainly (if not solely) to the ukulele festival scene in the UK. It's not anywhere near as busy in mainland Europe, and whilst there are a lot of festivals in the USA, that kind of makes sense as the country is so large.

But the UK is a small place geographically, and has a small (ish) population, so when you have one per weekend (or more than one) so consistently, and ultimately not that far apart in distance - is there a danger of the whole thing becoming overloaded?

There are several ways of looking at this, and clearly there is a clear distinction between the artists that perform and the punters that go to watch.

For artists, naturally they WANT to play festivals and be heard. It's what they do, and if not their actual job, it's certainly their devoted vocation. It's totally understandable that they want to perform and perhaps in that sense the more the merrier? Perhaps. But I actually think there is another angle worth considering and that surely has to be over-exposure on the circuit? If you are the sort of person that likes to go to lots of festivals, having the same acts on the bill of each one would (for me at least) get extremely repetitive. I prefer variety and certainly wouldn't go to non-ukulele music festivals if they all had the same acts each time. Perhaps the artists themselves are aware of this and try not to appear everywhere, but I guess it's hard if you are doing very well and every festival is asking you to play. Artists dont like turning down gigs!

There are also a couple of angles on the punter side of things. On the one hand a large number of festivals spread around the country gives more people a chance to go and see one without ridiculous travelling times. In fact some people struggle with travelling full stop, so perhaps one in every town makes sense. There are people who adore filling their summers with festival after festival, and for them, the calendar is a real treat. On the other hand though, there are the people who are still addicted to the ukulele and for whom going to quite so many events would just not be financially possible. These things cost and it certainly adds up. So perhaps having so many becomes a temptation they just can't realise, and then find themselves bombarded on Facebook with pictures of their friends enjoying what they couldn't justify. I know a few people in this camp and feel 'left out'  by not being able to go to more.

And aside from the artist / punter side of things, it's worth considering another important point. Just how many ukulele receptive audience members are there in the UK? The answer to me is clear, but it also is an answer that many people I dont think actually want to hear. Whilst I dont know of any reliable census information to be definitive, it is surely a fact that the number of ukulele players in the UK is TINY compared to general music fans. It's a niche thing, pure and simple. If you are within the bubble it may be hard to see this, but it's true.  This is no Glastonbury (175,000 attendees), or even something more niche like a folk Festival (Cambridge gets an estimated 10,000, Cropredy and estimated 20,000). No, ukulele festivals tend to attract anything from small multiples of 10, through to a few hundred and in the case of the biggest ones, perhaps 1,000 or so. These are small numbers of potential customers, and expecting those numbers every weekend of the year (pretty much) is a big ask I would say. And at the rate that the small festivals are developing into big ones, I just dont see how the audience numbers are sustainable for everyone.

Looking back a few years, there were still lots of ukulele events around, but as I say, it's the scale of the festivals seems to have changed in the last 1-2 years. In the past you had a couple of large festivals and then a host of smaller, often free or charitable events in towns and villages around the UK. The larger festivals had the bigger names, often international players included, but the local events served to showcase up and coming talent and local clubs more (I even ran one myself). All were enjoyed, and there were far fewer cases of people having to think 'which ticketed event do I choose to go to'. These days some of those local events still happen, but they now also find themselves competing with a big increase in larger, ticketed events themselves. And if you are running a ticketed event you DO have costs. You are either needing to make money, or in the case of many, not make a profit but to avoid LOSING money. And to not lose money means getting people through the door. And so lies the problem. We have a finite number of weekends in the year, and a finite and small number of potential customers. Some will go to lots, but many can't afford that and need to pick and choose. And that surely puts pressure on the organisers with some struggling to get the numbers they need to avoid being in debt. That just seems a crazy situation. The concept of 'build it and they will come' just really doesn't apply when there is cost involved and the country is on the verge of heading into another recession. And bear in mind that in to 2017 it looks like the UK will be going into recession. There will be less disposable money around for most people, and the value of the pound in your pocket will be far less. All in all it's not conducive to the survival of so many large events.

Like all my rants, some people misconstrue them as me telling people 'what to do'. They aren't and it's sad that I need to point out that they are just discussion pieces that I hope make people think. And that's the case here. It's not for me, or anyone else to tell any festival team what to do, or tell small festivals that they can't grow. They can do whatever they like. I am however entitled to an OPINION of my own, and I have been saying this for some time. I personally think there are too many large events, and if they continue growing in the way they have in 2016, I think that will ultimately (and fairly swiftly) be to the detriment of all ukulele festivals. And that will affect both punters AND artists alike. And I think that would be really sad - both for punters and organisers. I'd love to wave a magic wand to allow every event to be over-subscribed, but that's impossible.

So what do I suggest? Well certainly more of the obvious - and thats COMMUNICATION between organisers. There really should be no need for events to clash with a bit of advance communication, but in fact clashing isn't the only problem here. Having large events week after week after week must surely affect which ones many punters choose to go to. I think that communication should extend to keeping the larger festivals spread out as much as possible. I know a few festival organisers and I know how much work they put in to doing exactly this outreach work. Clearly though, a look at the calendar shows that this doesn't apply to everyone. And if everyone is not playing nice, the system then falls down. It's the 'this is why we can't have nice things' argument. The few making it difficult for the many.

For me, in a country the size of the UK with a ukulele fanbase as big as I think it is, I would suggest (please - it's only a suggestion!!) that a couple of large festivals in England, plus one in Scotland, and one in Wales would be plenty. Then fill the rest of the year with smaller free events for local clubs to try to get on the ladder. Kind of like it used to be really....

And I'm having second thoughts about running the festival calendar in 2017. As much as it serves to help punters, I had always hoped that it would help organisers know what is happening where and when to help avoid congestion and clashes. Clearly that didn't work. No doubt it's been helpful for punters, but less so for organisers.

But as I say, it's not for this site to tell anyone what to do. I do hope though it creates some discussion and I would very much like to hear your own perspectives. Are you a punter that relishes the thought of attending something every week, or are you the sort that can only justify one and has to think very carefully about what to miss out on?

(nb - I am happy to take comments on this post, but any comments naming names on festivals wont be published. This is a general discussion post and not intended to target any particular events)

- STOP PRESS - 

I kind of knew that this piece would create some debate and difference of opinion. That was the point - to get those with differing opinions actually talking about it. Because there ARE differences of opinion. Sadly I am seeing those who think the number of festivals is 'just fine' are now deliberately scoffing at those who dare say different. Making out that because I  dare to question what we have is in some way troublemaking. This morning this led to one festival organiser claiming publicly that I am 'hoping ukulele festivals will fail'... The fact that this piece has the intention of avoiding EXACTLY THAT happening, seems lost on people. That's not only pretty stupid, but it's pretty hurtful.

Yes, of course - if you love going to lots of ukulele festivals, of course you will support the busy calendar - the blog post even SAYS that as being a valid point of view, but to just ignore any contrary position as not being relevant is crazy. I've had direct comments in praise of the piece from people who say they have been 'totally put off' ukulele festivals full stop because of the repetitive nature of events. And I've had even more messages of support from people who simply cannot afford to go to more than one. And that final point was perhaps my main concern - you can bleat all you like about how great it is to have lots of festivals, but if they start losing money because they cannot get punters through the door, you will soon have very few again....

© Barry Maz

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The Ukulele and the Hawaiian Assumption

Going out on a limb on this rant, but then I have never shied away from the more difficult ukulele discussions (and nor do I think it is healthy for other people to do that). But I realised that I hadn't actually talked about this issue before. What is it with the assumption that we all need to prostrate ourselves to Hawaii if we play the ukulele? (Bear with me here - do read on before immediately jumping for the email button..)

I've been prompted to write this based on a couple of recent heated debates (and comments left on this very blog) that, to be honest, left me a little irritated. They were comments that essentially tried to guilt me (and others) by suggesting that I was NOT showing any reverence or respect to Hawaii, because I didn't feel the need to dress like one or speak like one. It's quite absurd. A suggestion of an automatic contract that you have to sign up to when you start playing uke. Surely that can't be right can it? I'm not from Hawaii - I was born in the rainy north west of the UK... Surely you can acknowledge the origins without being full on Maui about it?

Let's deal with some basics first. Of course, the ukulele is most commonly associated with Hawaii. That much is obvious because it was Hawaii that appropriated the instrument from the Europeans (possibly Portuguese, possibly Madeiran, possibly the Azores depending on which of many varying stories you believe) and gave it that name - a Hawaiian word. But note - 'appropriated'. The instrument already existed as a box with strings. So it was really only the taking up of the instrument and naming it 'Ukulele' which is the Hawaiian bit. And that was back in 1880's - there has been an awful lot of ukulele playing around the globe since then.

But fair enough - the ukulele IS most commonly tied to an origin in Hawaii. The instrument is revered over there and is intrinsically linked to establishing Hawaiian culture. It was promoted by the King and used in ceremonial royal events. The instrument is incredibly important to that society.

And I acknowledge that. Totally. But it really isn't being disrespectful if I choose to play one without taking up Hawaiian acoutrements to go with it. You see, I don't think that's how respect works.

Personally, I have more time for quiet and serious respect for any 'thing' rather than going the full on gaudy about it.

Take a cheap Chinese ukulele brand churning out terrible instruments that most Hawaiians would cringe at, made by cheap labour and in poor working conditions, but labelling their website and their boxes with Hawaiian flowers and pictures of surf boards. Is that respect? It isn't. It's just lowest common denominator marketing spin.

Is being a bloke or a lady from ukulele club being respectful by wearing an ill fitting Hawaiian shirt that was made in China together with some plastic flowers around his neck respectful? Perhaps, to some degree, but I suspect it's more about having a bit of fun with friends.

How about a brand of toilet paper / cars / anything using some ukulele music in their adverts to sell more product and choosing a Hawaiian style sound. Is that respect? No, just capitalist marketing again.

It's everywhere. The branding, the outfits, the song choices. And let's be clear - if you want to dress like that or you want to play a ukulele decorated in flowers then that is absolutely YOUR choice. But that is not the point. Doing so does not make you any more reverential to the origins of the ukulele than someone who doesn't.

Being disrespectful to Hawaii about the ukulele would be trying to re-write history to remove the connection of the instrument from the Islands, or have it re-named. That isn't actually as absurd as it sounds as when the islands were originally annexed by the US, what followed was a period where traditional Hawaiian culture and language WERE sidelined / not taught, and rather forcefully at that. But it's 2016. That really isn't the case in the modern world any longer and I think the chances of the ukulele losing it's connection to Hawaii would be slim to nil. In fact, the very fact that so many of us are playing the damn thing and the fact that I truly have never met anyone who didn't know it originated in Hawaii... well, I'd say that the respect to Hawaii is alive and well myself. Should we forget that history? Of course not, but I just don't think approaching the whole respect thing as some sort of weird cosplay event isn't my kind of respect.

Of course, celebrating culture and keeping traditions alive is important. I regularly attend UK folk festivals for (partly) the same reason. Those events thrive and in part are keeping alive very earliest British folk music traditions. It's the same thing and the events keep it alive.  But I dont dress like a Morris Dancer on any day of the week. It doesn't mean that I don't respect the history though.  Hey, I really respect the guitar too, but I don't speak with a Spanish accent or dress like Paco de Lucia.

And as the instrument continues to grow in popularity that in turn has allowed many Hawaiian names to go on to great success on the music circuits GLOBALLY. I've featured a few on this site. When arguably the most famous player of the instrument today is Jake Shimabukuro, a Hawaiian, it seems clear to me that the roots of the instrument are hardly being forgotten, regardless of how I pronounce it or what shirt I wear. The popularity of the instrument itself IS growing the pool of respect for the culture. How can it not?

Hawaii is clearly a very beautiful place (I have never been). It's also a place that automatically conjures images to me of happy people and a rich cultural heritage. This bloke from the rainy UK automatically thinks that and I believe most other people do to. I think I always have. In my mind Hawaiian culture is a wonderful thing and I would sorely like to visit. That automatic link with the ukulele and Hawaii is ingrained in all of us I think.

So, please don't tell me I am not showing enough respect because I don't choose to go with the faux adoration. Don't tell me that having spent years writing a ukulele site that specifically aims to encourage people to play the thing that I am not doing enough for the support of this instrument. And don't assume you know what I do and don't respect based on how I dress and speak.


You can read my many other rants on various topics surrounding the odd world of the ukulele on this link.

© Barry Maz

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Please Stop Arguing Over How Ukulele Is Pronounced.

How do YOU pronounce ukulele? It's an argument that has been running for years and years. I kind of hoped it must have run its course by now, but no. The 'what is the correct way to pronounce ukulele debate' is alive and kicking. I lose the will to live with it. Anyway, I thought it was probably time to nail my colours to the mast. (Or at the very least give me an easy to find statement that I can just share on the next discussion that I see going on and on).. 

Please note - this is 'irony'...

Only very recently on a very well known social media group this debate raged YET AGAIN and ran into around a hundred comments... In the red corner: Those who claim that it must be pronounced 'OOK-KUH-LAY-LAY' and in the blue corner, those who claim that it muct be pronounced 'YOO-KUH-LAY-LEE'. Both sides fight their corners with venom, some making quite outlandish claims and always with a sprinkling of 'i'm offended'.. And it's not the first time - many people witnessing the debate were shaking their heads thinking ' please...not this again..'

So who is right? Well, they BOTH are. And that is what makes the argument quite so ridiculous.

The Ook brigade are, in the main, traditionalists who choose to pronounce the name of the instrument in the native Hawaiian style. In fact, in Hawiian the instrument is spelled with an apostrophe type symbol before the U, so it reads 'Ukulele. That's called an 'Okina' and denotes that the pronunciaton should be a soft U, giving you the 'Ook' sound. Compelling huh?

Well, I cannot argue with the Hawaiian tongue as being correct, but only IF YOU ARE HAWAIIAN. If you are Hawaiian that is exactly how you will pronounce it because you are, errr.. Hawaiian. I am not. I am from the rainy North West of the UK.

You see, language is a quite wonderful living thing and it changes as you move around the globe. In fact it can change within regions of the same country. In the UK words like 'bath' and 'castle' will differ in pronunciation depending on which County you are in. It's essentially vernacular - and it relates to the common parlance of the district, region or country that changes the way words are pronounced. Put simply, a particular region of population will pronounce a word in the way that is most common for the area they are in. It's the same reason some people in the US pronounce words like Oregano, Aluminium, Duke, Zebra, Yoghurt, Semi, Vase, Buoy, Futile, Anti, Schedule, Herb and Garage differently to the way people in the UK pronounce them. Neither side is 'wrong' - they are just pronouncing words in the way that is most common in where they live. English speakers pronounce the name of the capital of France as 'Pah-Riss' whereas the French (and they should know) pronounce it 'Pah-Ree'. But both sides know exactly what they mean, and to the best of my knowledge they don't slug it out on social media groups arguing which is right. And they don't do that because they know how language works. They are just phonological differences, but the words still make total sense. And in fact, such phonological differences not only within different regions but also over time too.

Some people have surnames that are difficult to pronounce and get irritated when people get it wrong. I totally get that because it is your actual name. But it's completely different with an inanimate object and I have yet to meet the person who named the ukulele in person..

So with the ukulele, whether YOOK or OOK, the debate just rolls on and on and on and on (and on). I've seen people get quite upset by it and I've seen people suggesting it is in some way disrespectful or rude to Hawaiians to pronounce it any way other than the native way. What absolute and total nonsense. It's just a word and in the same way the French don't get offended by people pronouncing the name of their capital differently, neither should the Hawaiins be offended. (In fact, I would be surprised if true Hawaiians were actually offended, and they would probably just be pleased you played a uke - rather I suspect those who 'claim' offence are the sort of people who just like being offended... we all know someone like that).

Heck, Hawaii is part of the USA, but even some parts of the US itself pronounce it 'YOOK' so it's not even an 'America vs the rest of the world' phenomenon..

I saw one defence of the 'Ook' pronunciation as 'the Hawaiian dictionary gives the phonetic word soundings as it being 'OOK'. I am sure it does - why would it not? It's a Hawaiian dictionary! But in the Oxford Dictionary (the bastion of the English language in the UK) the pronunciation guide suggests it is 'YOOK'...  and so we go on.. (Incidentally, Websters and Collins dictionaries also both favour the 'YOOK' variety...)

But arguing the point based on reasonings such as those above is rather pointless.  These arguments on both sides  miss the understanding of language differences and vernacular.

I suppose it could be worse - the debate about the spelling seems to have died down (note - BOTH of these are technically correct for the same reason).

credit - Tim Harries

So please, come on.. - recognise that language changes around the world and over time. It's how it works. Nobody 'owns' it and so long as you are understood between other humans who speak the same or similar languages, that really is all that matters. We can all be right in our own way. Nobody is trashing your heritage or trying to be offensive. If you have your way of pronouncing it that differs to others, then that is absolutely fine if you are understood (whichever way you pronounce it). And if you think differently I will ask you whether you keep a buoy in your garage and whether your aluminium vase has herbs in it... in the British way... (and then get really offended if you don't sound like you are from Downton Abbey). Honestly, I really don't care how you pronounce it and neither should you...

(And if you are one of those people who think that you can only pronounce things the way the native speaker does - have you thought for a moment that you might be like this guy?)


EDIT - it's been said on Social Media (and in the comments below) that I am missing an important point here - I really dont think so actually. I DO recognise the arguments on both sides. I see them fully. I am not trying to belittle or wipe out either argument - the whole point of the post is that both sides of the argument are so strong that the debate is pointless. Neither side will win. Neither side will prevail and ensure that the other way of saying the word will stop. Yes some of those arguments can be powerful and can surround heritage and some horrible history. But ultimately, language is resilient to such things (and rightly so in my opinion). As such, the basic premise of the post stands as far as I am concerned. Before you choose to get offended - my view is - 'you are both right' but so what. Just play the damn thing!

And if you enjoyed this rant, you may enjoy my other ukulele rants here.  Some posts to read over coffee while you scratch the varnish from your desk with your fingernails in despair..


© Barry Maz

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Hey, What's The Best Ukulele?

Probably the question I see from beginners on forums and social media the very most - the extremely open question of 'What's The Best Ukulele'? Which Ukulele To Buy? It's probably the same in all musical instrument circles.

You see that question really can't be answered without more information.... if at all. Too many things come in to play to choose a 'best' of anything. What is your budget? What scale do you want? What are your tastes in looks (plain, traditional, fancy, modern, crazy?). Without knowing these things it's impossible to advise on what I think are good purchases. Asking 'What is the best ukulele?' is like asking 'what is the best car' or 'what is the best food?' It's totally subjective. If you see a site listing the 'best' then move on - quickly!

What I do is  provide a link to my ukulele reviews page with a suggestion that they have a browse, but to be honest, I suspect that some people don't really want to read through all of that to come to a view. A shame, but true. That is always up to date though and anything with a score of 8 out of 10 or more is worth a look. Still, people still dont look

So in an attempt to summarise in an easy to share single post, I looked back over my review scores and thought I would give my 'best of' for different price categories at the date of writing!. Even if you don't want to go through all my ukulele reviews, these are the ones that I (currently) think you should have a read of. And before you complain that something is missing - these are taken from the many instruments I have tested and reviewed, but only those - hard to make a recommendation for something I haven't played!

Think of this as the Got A Ukulele Awards.. Ultimately though - this is just a list of the top scores on Got A Ukulele for easy reference.  It is also time limited to the date of this post - ie MARCH 2016.. Be aware of that - other ukes HAVE been reviewed since!!

Got A Ukulele Best Instrument £0-£50

A difficult price point because there are genuinely so many bad ones around with poor quality control.

For me the first prize goes to the Octopus Soprano Ukulele - just remarkable for very very little money. Great sound and the neck is an absolute joy!

Octopus Soprano Ukulele

Runner Up: The Makala Dolphin - what else?


Got A Ukulele Best Instrument £50-£100

At this price point we are starting to get into the realms of instruments that are usually playable from the get go, with some truly nice surprises for what is, again, very little money. It's a close call at this price point for me, but I will give the first prize to the Baton Rouge Sun Series Concert Uke. A fairly plain looking affair and built from laminate woods, but seriously - great tone, great build quality, just really really great actually!

Baton Rouge Sun Concert Ukulele

Runner Up: Snail UKS-220 Rosewood Soprano


Got A Ukulele Best Instrument £100 - £200

This is the price point where the majority of my reviews sit. There is a clear winner, but the problem here is that they don't make this one any more. It's the Omega Zedro II ukulele which I found quite remarkable for the money. But fear not - Omega have replaced it with the Klasiko model which I hear is just as good.

Omega Music Zedro Ukulele

Runner Up: Several could have taken this spot, but I will give it to the Riptide Electro Concert (with an honourable mention to the John Daniel Pixie)


Got A Ukulele Best Instrument £200 - £500

Quite a price range this one, but this is where we start to get into serious territory. It's shared hours for me between the Big Island Koa Concert - so nice looking it featured on the cover of one of my books. Looks to die for and a beautiful delicate tone that I really really liked and the Pono ATDC

Big Island Koa Concert Ukulele

Runner Up: Again - several to choose from here, but I give it to the Pono MTD Tenor - just really really nice in every way.


Got A Ukulele Best Instrument £500 plus

An odd one here and one where I am clearly opening myself up to criticism - 'Hey what about Kamaka? What about Martin?' Well, as I say - these are just based on ukuleles I have tested. For me the winner is clear and I think it's a stunningly good instrument. First place goes to the Kanile'a K1 Tenor - no frills, but wonderful clear woody tones that still make me smile to this day.

Kanile'a K1 Tenor Ukulele

Joint Runners Up: Beltona Tenor Resonator - one instrument that has made me smile more than many others recently. The other one being the quite simply amazing Blackbird Clara. 

So there you have it - I will, in time, adjust this listing as new instruments get reviewed if they change the top spots. But for now, the next time I get asked 'What is the best ukulele', this is the post I will give them the link to!





© Barry Maz

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Why Can't People Accept That A Ukulele Review Is Just An Opinion?

Ahh.. The Internet. The giver of power and bravado to those behind a keyboard to rant about things they would never rant to your face about. And if there is one thing people like to take umbrage at it's reviews of products, usually products they have themselves and dont like people having a different opinion.

To be fair, this isn't a moan, I actually find it quite amusing in a sad way. And of course, if you choose to write an opinion piece about anything (ukuleles, brands of coffee, albums, films, chewing gum, anything) and make it public, it's natural that people will use the button marked 'Comment' to have their say. Funnily enough, the most passionate tend to keep there comments anonymous, but I'm sure that's just coincidence........ erm..

I actually encourage comments and discussions on my reviews. Hey, if I didn't I'd simply turn the comments option off, and switch off the YouTube voting buttons. And that's because I like to hear opinions. I may say I don't like (or do like) the tone or finish of an instrument and you may totally disagree. That's because we all have different tastes, and I want to hear about other tastes. I've lost count of the amount of times I have said that it is perfectly normal to disagree with my reviews. They are just ONE GUYS OPINION...

But the ones that do infuriate are the libellous, crazy or just plain nasty. The most common of which include

And here lies the problem with that approach. Some people cannot take opinions as what they really are. Just the views of one person. They are not written to be gospel. They are not written to say 'you are wrong and I am right'. They are just what I think at the time, nothing more.



So in some sort of attempt at perverse self therapy I thought I would list down some of my most common complaints. Doing so won't change a damn thing, but there you go....



-->

1. Hey I have this ukulele, and I think it sounds amazing, so therefore you are wrong.

Usually in response to my review of an instrument that I think DOESN'T sound amazing. First of all, as I say, they are just opinions. But let's look deeper. Define 'amazing'? Is it the only instrument you have ever played? Perhaps that does indeed sound amazing to you and I am pleased for you. But I review based on the playing experience of a lot of instruments. I have to have some reference point, and in fact it's very hard for me to avoid my experiences elsewhere when coming to a view. Ultimately though, if you like the sound of yours - then that is really all that matters. Doesn't make either of us wrong though. I'm not a big fan of Ford motor cars, but they certainly sell a lot of them. Just an opinion.

2. Hey I bought one of these and it had no faults, so therefore you are wrong.

You bought one that wasn't badly put together? I am delighted for you! I really am. I wish that bad builds and faults never existed. Unfortunately, they do.  I am also extremely conscious that the instruments I review are only single examples out of large batches. There is absolutely every chance that I could get another on another day and not see the same issues. But I can only review the one I am presented with. But let's assume your opinion and my opinion of these are the only two reviews that exist anywhere. Mine is badly made and yours is not. So thats a 50:50 on chances of getting a good one. I don't like those odds.

Or lets put it another way - would you prefer they were reviewed like this?

"The bridge on this one is in the wrong place, the finish on the body is terrible and cracking in places. The fret edges are sharp and one of the tuners isn't working. But hey, I can forgive it those things. So 10 out of 10!". 

I don't think that would make for a very interesting review myself.  I prefer to just say what I see. It doesn't mean yours has the same flaws.

3. Why are you so down on ordering from Amazon?  I ordered one from Amazon and it was fine.

Probably one of the most common comments this one. For me, it's all about probability. First of all, ordering through ukulele shops who have storefronts on Amazon is not what I am getting at here - ordering from those can be the same as ordering from the store direct. I am talking about the items that are stocked by and shipped by Amazon direct. It is a simple fact that with those instruments, when an order comes in, Amazon take one down from a warehouse shelf somewhere and ship it, unopened. When it first made it's way to the warehouse shelf the last place it had been was the ukulele factory it came from.  It is another fact that all ukuleles, whether cheap or expensive, benefit from a setup / 'once over' by somebody who actually understands the instrument. Amazon do NOT do this when ordering direct. They just don't. They are shipping millions of products and simply don't employ ukulele techs to sit in their warehouses setting up instruments. So whilst there is every chance that one of those unopened boxes straight from the ukulele factory is in good shape, there is equally chance that it needs a setup. This can affect ANY instrument at any price, but it's fair to say that at the cheaper end of the market, the models need a much closer inspection! If you are a beginner can you do that yourself?

More generally - it's not as if other options are not in existence. There are some great real ukulele specialist stores out there who WILL open the box and check them over before shipping. It may cost you a dollar or two more - so why take the chance? Or putting it another way, I just prefer supporting local businesses more than faceless corporations. Shoot me.

4. Ah yes, but that ukulele would be so much better with (insert brand name here)  strings

There is a reason I don't do a lot of string 'reviews' (if any). It's because opinions on strings are just too personal. There are some strings that some of the worlds greatest ukulele players swear by that I just don't like. In fact strings that I know a LOT of people don't like. It's personal.  So when I review an instrument with a questionable sound, I fully appreciate that a string change may indeed improve things. But with which strings? Lets say I re-string it with the brand you are recommending works so well. What if I don't like those strings? I would still dislike the sound. Or should I be restringing each review instrument with a dozen brands and finding the best one? No thanks!

The point is - anyone buying one of the ukuleles I review may well change the strings and get different results - but they may all change them to something different.

But most importantly, remember this. No amount of string changing will change a ukulele that is inherently awful into something magical. And anyway - who wants a ukulele that only works well with one brand of strings?


5. You always give rubbish reviews to cheap ukuleles

No I don't. I really don't. Have a read of the Ukulele Review Database. You'll see why that statement is wrong. What I DO do however is review instruments that are genuinely awful as being awful. My low scoring reviews do tend to get the most aggressive comments though. Funny that.

6. I have the same electro ukulele and mine sounds great when plugged in.

Another common one. For part of this, point 1 above applies - it's just opinion at the end of the day. But there is also a broad range of options of what you plug the ukulele in to that comes in to play here. A cheap noisy pickup when plugged in to a small battery amplifier or headphone amp for private practice may sound just fine. In fact it will sound just like a ukulele but a bit louder. If that is your only experience with them then absolutely it will sound 'great'.  However people don't just buy electric ukuleles to plug them into basic amps like that. Some will take them on stages and plug them into larger amplifiers, or through mixing desks into a house PA system. As well as those rigs making the core sound of the ukulele much louder, the systems also amplify the weak points too. If your pickup is a noisy cheap one (and by noisy, I mean background noise that isn't meant to be there in the form of hum, crackle or hiss) or has a muddy tone (no clarity between the notes when played) then whilst it may sound acceptable in headphones, through a large event PA system, those bad sounds are just going to be even more noticeable. I've been there and done it - played on stage through a large event PA of several hundred watts next to someone with a cheap pickup that is just throwing hiss and hum through the whole sound. It's horrible.

My comments on electros therefore have to cover all bases. Can you be sure you are only ever going to plug in to a headphone amp?


7. But I can't get this ukulele in my country!

Hey - don't shoot the reviewer - I am not a distributor!


8. This ukulele has loads of five star reviews on Amazon, so therefore you are wrong

Ah yes, Amazon again. It's well known that whilst there are indeed some truthful reviews on Amazon that their review system for all sorts of products is considered questionable and flawed. Reviewers are essentially anonymous and there is little opportunity for comeback. In fact in the world of books there have been some quite damning allegations of vote fixing / paid reviews and general underhand tactics to either vote items up or down. It's rather like the TripAdvisor scenario. Take what you read with a pinch of salt. One of the best selling and highest rated ukuleles on Amazon UK is the Stagg US10. Some of the 5 star reviews of those have people talking about them like they are playing a Kamaka...

9. You would say that about (insert brand name here) because they gave you a free ukulele...

No, no they don't. Please feel free to contact any brand or store that I have reviewed and ask them. I don't even WANT free instruments, I am trying to de-clutter my house not make it worse. They all either go back or where the cost of a return is not worth it, given away in competitions or to charity. What's that you say now? I would say that wouldn't I? Oh, there really is no winning here is there?

10. But (insert brand name here)  told you to say that.

No they didn't. I tell every brand and store I review for that I retain final say on copy. They don't even  see a final draft.

11. But why would they loan you stuff if there was a chance you would say you didn't like it?

Because this is real life. They don't get it right all the time and they may actually take on board honest critisism. Besides, they also know that people would soon smell a rat if every comment I made was gushing praise. If I regularly say a particular brand is getting it right, maybe, you know, they are getting it right? And if a brand is regularly featured, I personally think that it's a brand that deserves your attention. Apart from anything else, they have confidence in their product and are brave to send them for critisism. That's my kind of brand!

12. But you dont have anything from (insert brand name here)  - that must clearly mean you dont like them...

No. As I say above - I mainly review instruments that are sent to me on loan. I have been in contact with every single brand that is commercially available, and many that are luthier made. With the big brands, if they dont appear its because they havent chosen to send me one. I don't have the money to just buy one of every brand just to make sure they appear on the site. I would LOVE to get every brand on Got A Ukulele, but if they won't send one, then it's unlikely to happen. It's hardly my fault and I don't have the budget to just go and buy them all. Now, I could be cynical and suggest that some brands may actually be concerned about point 3 above.. but I will ask you to draw your own conclusions! If you know of a brand you want to see featured and have a contact - tell them you want them to send me one!


13. You deliberately make sure that ukuleles you dont like are out of tune before you video them.

This one really made me laugh, but I have actually had a lot of comments about this. A suggestion that I am deliberately trying to make them sound off when playing them. No, really - every review video has a ukulele tuned accurately at the nut from the off. If you hear them going out of tune when fretted it meants that they are either built badly (misplaced necks, frets, bridge) or more likely they are in desperate need of a setup. Why dont I set them up before playing them? Well because the idea is to show you what a random selection could be like if YOU bought one. Not everyone knows how to do a setup!

14. Your playing is no good / your microphone is no good / your camera is no good.

Fair points on all three counts. I don't claim to be a virtuoso. The videos are only to supplement the written reviews and are a guide only. I prefer writing to videoing (and early reviews had no videos at all).  But I work on the basis that a more likely recreation of a ukulele in a bedroom type setting from an average Joe is worth more to people than putting an expertly setup instrument into the hands of a maestro. I figure that 95% of people buying instruments from those sort of videos will be at home thinking 'mine doesn't sound like that'... They are independent reviews, not marketing pushes.

15. You do too much talking and not enough playing

See point 14. They are only there to accompany the written pieces. There was a time when reviews of instruments were ONLY written up in magazines. There were no videos. Yes folks, this was before the internet!

16. You are only writing this to look for support...

Groan.. No, I can't win..


All in all though - I understand that putting public articles out there on a website like this does naturally come at a price - one is being opened up to criticism and debate. That's fine. But it really is getting quite tiring. The 'I disagree because of X, Y and Z' I can deal with. In fact I welcome it. The 'You are plain wrong and stupid'... less so..  A negative review is really not a personal attack on you or me questioning your parentage. It's just one mans opinion.

If you like the ukulele you have and I don't - seriously.. don't stress about what I think...





© Barry Maz

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Can We Have More Ukulele Content PLEASE!

I suppose it's a natural oddity of social media and the wider internet - the focus on the quick 'share' the quick 'tweet' or the quick 'like'.  But is it just me that is desperate for more new  CONTENT? New ideas, new opinions rather than just quick fixes? When it comes to the ukulele community I certainly am.

Don't get me wrong - the beauty of social media these days is built on the ease of 'sharing' stuff. It's become the backbone of a big part of it. The ease of anyone to see something for a fleeting moment, giggle, and then click 'like' or 'share' so they immediately feel part of a club or group... like they now 'belong'.  I do it myself, and it makes me smile quite often. But something I have noticed in the interest group that this website belongs to (the ukulele) is a drive toward that kind of content being the 'norm' with actual real content becoming lost in the noise. I don't mean individuals using social media for the way it was intended - I mean the websites and bands who seem to be using it as a replacement for actual content.

In the last few years I have noticed a significant increase in this. Whether they are Facebook ukulele pages with 'like counts' that are growing exponentially, posts on voting sites that get more 'up votes' than anything else or Tweets that are being 'retweeted' more than anything else - the ones that fit that description share one thing more often than not. They are not actually sharing anything at all. It's content in the most basic sense (a 'funny' picture or quote) but it's all been shared before. Bands are starting to fill their Facebook pages, not with footage of the band itself, but with the same memes knowing that they will generate 'likes'. Surely we don't need any more memes that rehash the same old same old 'you need more ukuleles' or 'they ukulele is magical' theme?

What I mean is.. there is actually very little real fresh content that helps the reader beyond that short and transient quick 'meme'. An awful lot of pages now that seem to thrive on sharing pictures of animals / sad looking children / hipsters with beards on beaches or surfboards / inspiring landscapes / old time pictures of music hall artistes who never expected to appear in a meme / random photographs of instruments / pictures of teddies with ukuleles thrust into their mitts / and so on... all complete with a hollow  'inspirational' quote about how the ukulele is 'happy/ funny / all you need' and the like typed in a 'kooky' font. Those are the 'memes'. You've all seen them. You've probably shared them.

And if it isn't the memes, it's the growing habit of sharing Amazon review scores to create some sort of faux review page for instruments. In other words, pages that say 'my advice on what ukulele to buy is based on a bunch of reviews from strangers on Amazon'. We can read Amazon for that...

Of course people are absolutely right to share and post whatever they like, and they readers are free to like / retweet / up vote whatever they like too.  That's fine.  The majority wins of course. But when pages and bands are using that tactic as the main source of content  to garner likes, what is going on here?

It's well known that many groups, such as financial scammers are using sites like Facebook to 'farm' 'likes' in order to sell such pages on for profit (a gathering of contact details from hundreds of saps who click on those ' share this when you spot the letter C' or 'what is the first word you saw', or the 'What Disney Princess are you?' posts.) They are all devices to generate 'likes' that can then be traded on. But I actually don't think that is what is happening in ukulele circles at all.

I see ukulele pages, clubs and bands that do this who appear to have genuine aspirations for building their names in the community and from whom I get no sense that selling a page on for a profit has ever occurred to them or is part of their plan. They are merely on the drive for 'likes'. And actually, I suppose there is nothing wrong with that either I guess, assuming you are not using likes for some evil plan we don't know about...  Likes on pages mean that posts on pages are more likely to appear on other peoples timelines. Run a page with no likes, you may as well be shouting your content into an empty field - nobody is listening. But to choose to gain that popularity by using lowest common denominator stuff seems to be missing an opportunity to create something that really makes people think or is really helpful. Surely? And with bands -  what do you want to see on a band page? Content of the band (music, videos etc) or generic memes about rainbows and ukuleles? Why not try and build the fanbase with actual content?

But this is all avoiding my real point. If you are like me, you enjoy NEW content on the internet that relates to your interest. I WANT to read more stuff, opinions, reviews, interviews, ideas, tips, lessons, you name it connected to the ukulele. I WANT to see new bands and in particular I want to see and hear their performances. I want to be challenged with new ideas. I want to see differing ideas about things I have written about - different perspectives.  Yet, the sad fact is, that with only a small number of exceptions, those getting the BIG likes are sharing nothing more than generic, meaningless (and most importantly) unhelpful stuff. What's worse is that I see that sites where people are actually going to the trouble of actually trying to write and create interesting new content, when I can see they have spent hours on writing an article,  are not getting the same responses as the lazier site who merely shared a picture of a unicorn with a ukulele on it's back replete with an inspirational quote. The limited content out there is not getting through. Is that just a case of 'tough cheese'? Perhaps, and sad if it is.

Are readers lazy? Do readers not have enough time? Are readers not interested in anything other than the meaningless and quick? Are the true content writers actually not of any interest? I actually don't think any of those things are really true, but it can appear that way. I've certainly considered hanging up my keyboard on this site on many occasions. But I keep going because I think readers are always desperate for new and interesting information on the internet, but most are getting no further than the 'quick fix' of the tepid and meaningless in the fast world we now live in. And it concerns me where that will end.

Hang on Barry - this is clearly a push for your own site? Well in part, yes, I suppose so, but only insofar as I genuinely think that I don't share stuff on here willy nilly that doesn't have a lot work behind it. But I am not the only one. The point of the post (if you have read this far..) is to actually champion the sites that ARE actually writing stuff that I think is helpful and relevant. In other words, it's not just me trying to do this.

Most readers of Got A Ukulele will know the daddy of ukulele websites in the form of Ukulele Hunt. Al Wood continues to drive that site forward - always original, always useful and never pointless or trite. But what of newer sites? Another fairly recent newcomer is the work of Dave at 'Ukulele Go' - one of the few sites that has prompted me to actually bookmark them in recent years. It's great to see another take on artists and instruments and he has created some great beginner posts as he shares his development with the ukulele and his desire to help others. Simon Taylors 'Cool Cat Ukes' also springs to mind (some great reviews and interviews, just wish he would do more) and Tim Szerlongs Ukeeku (a site that persuaded me to get into doing instrument reviews) also fits the bill as a page with genuine content.

Of course there are probably others, and if they are absent in my mentions  here I am afraid that is probably more likely to do with them being lost behind the noise of the meaningless that pervades social media channels. Please, don't be offended.

If, on the other hand,  you enjoy sharing pictures of kittens with ukuleles please continue to do so. It can be fun I guess, and it makes the world go around. If you are not a website writer or band, absolutely you should have fun with these things and this post isn't suggesting that you stop that. Providers of content though? Ask yourselves this... What if that was all there was? What if all those giving up their time writing about artists, instruments, teaching and the instrument in general just stopped tomorrow? What if the only thing that was left were memes of sunsets, kittens and people on boats in lakes with ukuleles coupled with a quote that doesn't really mean anything? What if nobody was actually sharing an opinion about anything save for copied and pasted Amazon instrument reviews and a general assumption that everything in ukulele land is wonderful? No thanks.

Surely the majority of us want more than that?

Support real content. This stuff takes time. And at times it can be sorely tempting to give this all up and leave the ukulele channels to the meaningless.

IF you enjoyed this article - be sure to read the rest of my Ukulele Rants here!



© Barry Maz

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