Ob.ses.sion [ob s sh'n , ] (plural ob.ses.sions) noun
1. Preoccupation: an idea or feeling that completely occupies the mind
2. Uncontrollable persistence of idea: the uncontrollable persistence
of an idea or emotion in the mind, sometimes associated with psychiatric
disorder
So. I took up the Ukulele a while back, and despite many requests to put
it back down, I have persevered. I have immersed my self in learning
all I can about the Ukulele. I have purchased several, restored a
couple, built one from a Cigar Box, and lately, I have done a few custom
designs. I have looked through books and web pages, poured over
measurements, studies of relative harmonics, bridge and fret placement,
tuning methods, tuners, wood resonance, it goes on and on. Has it
helped? Well, yeah. I can play a few songs now, and that's more than I
could do before I started.
Obsession?
Maybe...
I bought my
first Uke at a Hawaiian shirt and fabric store, mainly because it was
$12, and I figured it would make a good prop. But something clicked, and
I bought another (a Hilo) and a "how to play Ukulele" book at a music
store. I began keeping it in my car, and practicing when I was stuck
stopped in traffic. I found an old trashed Harmony Soprano in a thrift
store and fixed it up, and then found another Harmony in an antique
store, but this one was pristine, sounded better and had a case. Then I
bought the Fluke Ukulele. If you are an aspiring Ukulele player on a
budget, I recommend the Fluke highly. I heard one played at a music
store and was amazed at the sound, but it was finding one with a Leopard
print sound board that cinched the deal.
The only thing is, once you hear a properly set up Ukulele, you realize
how bad most bargin Ukes sound. Ukuleles were mass produced for a long
time, and sadly, not much attention was paid to making sure they played
well. Truth was, not many people cared. If they could strum out "Silvery
Moon" well enough to get to the spooning, it didn't matter. So Ukes
were bursting onto the scene like popcorn, and everyone's nutty uncle
had one. The good ones got played and used, and sadly many disappeared,
and the bad ones were strummed a few times at parties, and then put in
the attic. Those "bad" ones are allot of what you find today. But it is
not all the Ukes fault. That was why I started learning the mechanics.
Now to some extent, I can now tweak the set up of an old Uke and get it
sounding fairly true. Some will never sound good, but others just need
to be put right. Besides, there is a lot of fun to be had in teaching
bad Ukes, and myself in the process, to sound a little better. Go here: http://www.tikiking.com/uke_Pic_Frame_Set.html to see Ukes I have built and/or customized...
No comments:
Post a Comment