banjolele – Page 2 – Ukulele Guy

aNueNue Concert Banjo Ukulele (it rules)

Well, after my broken string problem yesterday (NOTE: you should probably triple knot your strings before you slip them through the tailpiece on these bad boys) I got this baby tuned up last night and then I ended up drinking wine, playing banjolele and singing too loud until about 1am. That would have been fine and dandy but my wife is out of town and I have both the boys. So, 7am came earlier than I remembered this morning. But blurry-eyed and happy, I still managed to get food in them, make a lunch and get them to school and Grandma's house (respectively).

To celebrate, over lunch, I made some videos with my new favorite possession. First off, I once again want to thank Rich of ABetterGuitarStore.com for the screaming deal on this banjo ukulele. Also, I think the aNueNue folks had something to say about it, so huge thanks to them as well! I would have gladly paid $500 for this ukulele! If you want to get one for yourself, check out my newly added aNueNue section on the website.

Anyway, here's the video introduction:

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll make another video. I've also recorded a video of me playing Five Foot Two with this baby (because it really seems to lend itself to standards like that). After I post that video, I just remembered that I never posted the drunken escapade that became the escalating electric fence wager. So, just wait for that. It's barely ukulele-related at all, but it's pretty funny. Happy weekend all!

aNueNue’s Banjo Ukuleles (details coming soon)

So I got an e-mail from a nice fella named Rich Cichowski. He runs an eBay guitar store (www.abetterguitarstore.com) and he's a big fan of Orcas strings. So, we get to talking and he's telling me about Orcas strings (which I will review now that I have some) and also about the new Tenor Banjo Ukuleles from aNueNue. I'm super intrigued especially when I see how pretty these things are. Check it out:

Click on the uke to go to their site and see what else they offer, but then come back here because they don't sell direct and Rich has the goods! The banjo ukulele in the picture is a concert, I believe, but the one Rich sent me to test out is a tenor. I literally just opened the package but I was so excited that I had to tell someone. Don't worry, though, videos and reviews will be forthcoming on both the aNueNue Banjo Ukulele and the Orcas strings. Although, I already broke a string with my stupidity, so I'm going to order another set from Rich as soon as I post this. Heh... no one has ever accused me of being the Ukulele genius, thank god.

Anyway, in the meantime, check out Rich's stuff. Here is his Orcas stuff:

And here are some of the aNueNue ukuleles you can get from Rich:

Holy smokes. I'm freaking excited! My first banjo ukulele experience!

EDIT: Turns out the aNueNue Banjo Ukulele I'm testing out is a Concert, not a Tenor like I said above. I think I got it confused because Rich was talking to me about aNueNue's 6-string tenor ukuleles and I transposed it somehow. Anyway, I've got the aNueNue Concert Banjo Ukulele out of the case, I've got the floating bridge in place and I'm stretching the strings right now. The tone is soooo much more different than I'm used to. I'll tell you more once I get a video recorded.

Drunken Discovery: Tahitian 8-Stringed Ukulele

So, I had a few beers last night and it started out that I was going to be searching eBay to find a replacement/upgrade for my Danelectro Hodad Guitar. I played an American Fender Stratocaster at band practice and, while I did enjoy it, I think I'm too used to my Hodad's whammy bar and I really like the thin sound it has (see, it's made of masonite). Anyway, that's how the evening began. I'm not totally sure how it ended but here is what I do know.

I had to clear more than 4 beer cans off of my desk this morning
I had about 30 eBay browser tabs open
I had e-mail from eBay saying that I had made an offer on a Banjolele
I discovered the Tahitian 8-Stringed Ukulele

I'm most excited about number 4. You see, I never knew there was such a thing as a Tahitian Ukuelele. What's awesome about them is that they are all carved into cool representations of sea creature. So, some have pairs of dolphins on them and others look like gigantic manta rays! The bad news about this discovery is that it's only a matter of time before I have to buy one of these. Regarding the Banjolele offer I made, though, I heard from a guy today that's going to let me review a Banjolele soon. If I like it, I'll probably buy it as well, so I'll make sure and show it off to you guys.

New Song from Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer

Hail the Chap! Yup, that banjolele b-boy wizard has once again dipped his pen into ink and wrote some mad rhymes for us. I listened to it about a half dozen times and I still feel like I'm only getting about half of the references. It makes me wish I knew more about the Edwardian Golden Age ;). It also makes my desire for a Banjolele that much stronger. That thing sounds great!

Relisted: Crazy Banjolele eBay Deal!

So, when I wrote this post last week, "Banjolele, the hunt begins!", I'm not sure how I missed this auction for a gorgeous Banjo Ukulele.

It took a tweet from UkuleleJim to make me take notice! This banjolele looks to be in exceptional condition and, as you saw in my earlier post, new ones often go for nearly $500. Folks, this looks to be a good opportunity to score one of these awesome instruments at a bit of a discount! Here are some notes from the auction:

This is a concert scale, 8" dia. head banjolele built by WaverlyStreet. Tunable synthetic head (w/ tuning wrench), chrome geared tuners, and polished aluminum arm rest. Slightly spalted oak neck & peghead, stained oak finger board with 15 frets. Strung with Aquila nylon gut strings, tuned GCEA. Sounds great!

Fits in a Hohner Lanikai concert size ukulele case, probably others (no case included).

Best of luck!