Sunday, January 31, 2010

NAMM PART 3 (UKULELES)

Breedlove basic tenor.

Breedlove Myrtle Tenor


Blackbird Carbon Fiber Tenor


Collings Spruce Top Tenor



Road Toad Curly Koa Concert U-BASS





KALA MINI MAHOGANY UKE



COLLINGS ARCHTOP TENOR







ARCHTOP COLLINGS BACK (GOLD PORE FILLER)








ARCHTOP COLLINGS TENOR TOP









NATIONAL RESONATOR CHROME CONCERT










NATIONAL RESONATOR SUNBURST CONCERT











SANTA CRUZ GUITAR UKULELES












ROAD TOAD U-BASS INVENTOR MR. OWEN HOLT
W/ 5 STRING JAZZ U-BASS TENOR













MARTIN UKULELES














COLLINGS SUNBURST TENOR















COLLINGS SUNBURST TENOR BACK









KIWAYA USA MASTER MODEL 3K

















KALA MINI KOA UKE


















NUNES STYLE ANUENUE



















This is the third installment in the NAMM report for 2010. Today I will cover the ukuleles that were new for NAMM. There was much more attention being payed to ukulele this year, and many new models to try out. A wide variety of new ukuleles were produced this year from entry level beginner models, to very high end custom pieces. I hope that you enjoy the ukuleles!
Mahalo

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Jake Shimabukuro's 95 Custom Kamaka








































































































































Aloha,
A few days ago at Ukulele Puapua in the Sheraton Waikiki, we had a special visitor stop by the store. Jake Shimabukuro came in to say hello and go to lunch with Bruce! He was carrying a vintage looking case with him, and everyone wanted to know what was in the case. It was a ukulele that he had comissioned from Kamaka Hawaii in 94 and received in 95. Built under the Samuel Kamaka Luthier custom label, it was actually fabricated by Casey Kamaka. This rare instrument is in between the sizes of a soprano and a concert. Sort of a long necked standard that was ahead of it's time. It is built in the classic Sam Kamaka custom style. Bell shaped body with flat bottom, flared lower bouts, and squared narrow shoulders on the upper bouts. This ukulele boasts curly koa back and sides, with a finely graduated spruce top. Rosewood binding on the front and the back of the body. B/W/B wood purfling on the soundboard, and on either side of the rosewood rosette. Rosewood bottom strip and heel cap. Ebony fingerboard and bridge. Solid 5A koa neck with dark koa stringer. Schaller sidegear tuners. M.O.P. front and side position markers. This ukulele appears to have been originally set up for an active pickup with a metal 9V battery housing built into the neck block, but at some point was retrofitted with a passive or hybrid pickup. This ukulele is in excellent condition for being 15 years old.
Thank you to Jake for allowing me to post his ukulele on this blog, and for coming to visit us at the store! Mahalo.

Monday, January 25, 2010

NAMM PART 2 (BOOTHS)



















Santa Cruz ukulele corner







Kala Ukulele Booth/ Ukulele Underground viedo shoot


Bootsie Collins



Balalaika and lute style ukuleles



Rickenbacker booth







PRS Electric Guitar Booth






Martin Ukulele corner








MISI pickup booth









Breedlove










Santa Cruz guitar booth











Flea and Fluke booth












Kiwaya/LoPrinzi booth













Collings guitar/ukulele/mandolin













Kamaka Ukulele Booth
















Nalu Ukulele Booth















Ko'olau Guitar and Ukulele Booth















Blackbird carbon fiber ukulele and guitars.
















Taylor Electric Room



















R. Taylor section. Beautiful instruments.




















Gretch room/ Rockabilly stage




















Fender Room



















Fender Telecaster booth






















Fender Ukuleles





















Eastman Guitars. Great archtops.
























Gibson room/booth was much smaller this year than in the past.























Gotoh tuners.


























Ibanez electric guitars



























Gretch drums.




























Oscar Schmidt ukulele wall.

























MacPherson Guitars. Phenomenal instruments.
Let's continue with the NAMM tour. This entry will be focused on the various stringed instrument and related booths that were attending NAMM. These booths allow us to see what products the manufacturer is going to introduce this year, and also gives us a chance to try them out, and see what the quality is like. Instruments can look great, but if they don't play well, then there's really no point in persuing them. Here are some of what I consider to be the highlights of the show, as far as booths go. Some of these are not ukulele related, but should be fun for all fans of stringed instruments. Mahalo,
Tyler