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@robinboyd, thank you so much for that explanation! I definitely am going to have to look into that and read up on that more. You have done some of your own modifications to your uke?
@surferjay, thank you kindly for that suggestion! Now I may have to investigate some of my ukes to see where they stand in that way. I’m mostly curious what the difference might be. I guess I could take them in to the local guitar shop. They have many a uke there too. I just don’t know enough to be able to tell these things myself yet. 😅I feel like we need to have an RC101 convention at some point. Such a lovely community here! I don’t know if that’s something that’s ever happened or if I’m crazy for suggesting that. Probably. 😅😳
@robinboyd, that’s quite interesting indeed! I’m not sure that I have played on any uke that has been professionally set up. I’m guessing not. Next question: What is an action? 😅🥺
I mean, what you have there on your custom uke looks pretty nice! Some of setup is just smoothing the rough edges and such?
@surferjay, I know exactly what you’re saying about the uke being in “C,” sigh. 😅 Again, the piano brain I have increased that confusion (as the lowest notes on a high G uke are on the C string (which is string 3 🥺)). It all seems random and out of order compared to a piano.
1. Ha, yes. I found this video one day that is pretty helpful in starting to see how the uke is laid out. Because I also struggled to know where the notes are. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p3c5Gjb-URs
2. Ah okay. So I think we were on the same page there with the capo / tuning of the strings.
Now I’m thinking if you tuned just the E string up one half step and used a capo on the first string to make a D major tuning that may just make things more confusing? I’m probably just going to have to try this now. 😂
Ha, same. I always like to emphasize that I know literally nothing…
Sigh yes, very true. Kindness is what the world needs. And it’s much nicer to talk about ukes and cows than politics. 😅😳
@robinboyd, you are correct! It was a many-layered confusion sandwich. 😅 I’ll get back to that topic…
Thank you for explaining so clearly pickups and setups! They seem like they go together but they don’t exactly, lol. I have a hundred more questions from that explanation though. Things like, can you have a pickup added to your uke, built-in or an attachment? I did know what that was I think, but didn’t know that’s what it was called. 😅🥺 Thank you!
And why is it necessary to setup a uke? Is it only necessary if they were made poorly to begin with?
I may have to look into both those things for sure. That’s why I like to emphasize that I don’t know anything yet. 😅 But thank you so much for that explanation!
Oh yes……… I… I have snapped a few strings in my day, but not on ukulele. At one point I was trying to learn violin. Snapped dat string. Then I bought a guitar at Good Will (a thrift store in the US) and not only did I snap a string on that, but it also turned out to be a child’s guitar. I’m not “good at things” or “informed.” 😅😂🥺
Hmmm, I think I see what you mean. Are you sure that wouldn’t work though? If you tuned the E string up one half step only, then put on the capo on the first fret, wouldn’t the strings be A, D, F#, B? If that would work, then you’d only have to retune one string. I may be wrong though. Odds are, I am. 😂
That’s so true. Honestly I also prefer to start very modestly when experimenting with different instruments and equipment and things, partly to not spend too much and partly because… Well, reasons that may take too long for the forum’s limits to explain. 😂 Well, part of it is if an instrument is too beautiful I feel bad playing it. That may make no sense, but on my cheap little uke I feel perfectly fine smacking it around more and don’t hold back as much in playing more freely and trying different things. Also I’ve had it the longest and will always love it the most. It also is physically easier to play because I don’t have to press down as hard as on my other ukes. And it’s smaller, being a soprano uke and all. I can’t play some songs on it though because it only has twelve frets.
What is a pickup? And setup?
Hahaha!!!!!!!!! Heat resistant cows. That’s my new favorite thing. As it happens, Wisconsin cows are incredibly cold resistant. We have harsh winters in the Midwest. One winter the temps reached -70F (-56 degrees celsius if I did that right). But then they also have heated barns so I may be exaggerating…
I don’t think this post is going to make the cut due to its lengthiness….. 😅
Israel does seem really beautiful from what I’ve seen of it. It seems like an interesting place indeed. I feel like all of the religious connections there and indeed the history are why it gets so heated politically there, of course. Don’t want to get too into that but it is really interesting. It’s a small place but they sure are spicy over there, like fiesty. That’s what I mean by spicy…
The End! Sorry your thread got so derailed by this tangent. 😅
Oh nice!! Thank you for explaining that! So the advantage to doing that instead of using a capo is that you don’t have to worry about the capo being in the way? Could you theoretically tune just the E string up one half step then use a capo on the first fret? I may not be saying that quite right. I’m just guessing. 😅😂
YES! That isn’t to say that I don’t make mistakes when I’m not recording. I definitely do. But I think it’s a combination of being way more aware of your mistakes and the pressure to be perfect.
That is a really good strategy, recording for a longer period, then just sampling from that. I need to find a better way to record though because my cheapo phone can barely handle a minute long video. 😂😳
I just switched jobs to one that pays twice as much. So maybe after I see the results of that I can finally get some things I want, like that looper and maybe even something better to record with–instead of struggling just to pay for food and bills, lol. I can’t wait to try that when the moment comes.
Oh the other part of recording is being on camera. Don’t care for that. Maybe if I find a better way to just record sound I’ll be less anxious.
Ah yes, I think I’ve heard of the land of milk and honey! I may have read about that somewhere. 😉😅😂 Well, not sure if you have the same kind of cows though? We have the black and white dairy cows that produce the world’s best cheese ……… 😅😂😅😂
Oh golly… You know it’s a problem when the replies are so long the owner of the site has to intervene to fix it. That’s a big yikes. 😅😂😅😂 Actually I’m pretty confident that’s happened to me multiple times to me already. ☺️😅
Sigh yes, that is my issue as well, wanting to be perfect. Also, having an idea of how I want something to sound and being unable to execute it. But yes that comes with time. But another issue I have is anxiety when playing for other people or while recording so I’m working on that too.
I think I know what you mean. Do you physically just tune one of the strings up and then use a capo to get D Major? That’s one of my favorite keys to play in oddly. I’m so clever that it never dawned on me until you said so that the uke is already in C major… 😳
Oh nice! So you’re from London originally but have been living in Israel? Just so I understand. That’s neat if so. Israel is an interesting place. I’m from the US. From a state known as Wisconsin. We are known for our cows and cheese. 😂😅😂
Uhhh well that’s all I guess! Let’s see if this posts. 😅
Haha, thank you, Andrew! Well, that’s good to know. So, basically I wrote so much that the site said, “nah, a normal / actual / okay person wouldn’t write that much.” Shoot. LOL. That’s fair. 🙂
@Andrew, thank you kindly! Why does that keep happening to me? I maybe shouldn’t be rambling so much…………………………….
@surferjay, thank you for the lovely, in-depth reply! I enjoyed reading that. =)
Agreed, the uke is so versatile, so amazing, it can do so many things. For me, I knew I wanted to play classical music and movie themes because those are the things I love to play, but a uke can also “clawhammer” (the second thing I *started* to learn on the uke), it can blues, it can rock. A uke can everything. And it’s so dang sweet-sounding, of course.
I mean, those are pretty substantial improvements! One of the hardest things to master IMO is theory. It’s not always the most “fun” things to tackle, but it is very empowering. I say this as a total hypocrite because I struggle the most with that kind of discipline in learning…
Hmmmm. I don’t even know what things I could point out as my greatest improvements. I feel like through hours upon hours of practice, I have become a bit freer in my playing and maybe a bit smoother.
Joining this site was one of the best decisions I made for my learning and confidence. So far, I have learned how to *finish* learning a *whole* song, instead of somewhat learning parts of songs until it got too difficult. That’s why I think many of the songs on this site are great for that; they’re challenging, but not impossible for a beginner to completely learn. And also all the guidance, tips, and instruction that go along with each song–techniques that apply to all playing, so that with each song you learn, all of the songs you know get better. I feel like I’m writing an ad for the site, but it’s 100% facts. LOL.
I know exactly what you mean about theory. So, I do know enough to know exactly what you’re talking about. I started playing piano when I was 8 years old, and kept up with it until my mid to late twenties, when honestly I got depressed for a long time and stopped doing a lot of things. Now, in my mid-ish-kinda thirties, I’m starting to do things that bring me joy again, which includes playing the uke. 🙂 All this to say, that was one thing I struggled to comprehend on the uke fretboard; how to translate “white keys” and “black keys” (all the notes I knew from playing piano) to frets. That is a brilliant idea to tune the uke so it’s all in C. How… how do you do that?
I also was going to agree that this site is great just for the community: Being able to share and discuss with other people who love what you love is pretty dang special. People who won’t just nod and smile and say, “that’s nice,” or not really care. Well, or they just aren’t as obsessed, which is fair. Well, except for my sister-in-law who plays guitar. We got to “jam” one time; but that was a year ago so I could barely keep up, even though it was just Over the Rainbow. That is an amazing feeling though. I see why you love that.
But yeah, with a looper, you can jam with yourself, which seems pretty neat! =D
I’m sorry that I rambled even more back…………………………. I really appreciate your reply, though! I read it a few times, this is just my own take on the topics you brought up. Happy uking to you too, friend! =)
Just out of curiosity, where are you from (generally)?
@surferjay, I wrote out a whole reply, but the site is rejecting it. That’s probably a bad sign. LOL.
@surferjay, thanks for that info / recommendation! I have been curious about those for a while. I’ve seen people on Twitch use them on music channels and thought they were pretty neat! I think at some point I’d definitely like to get one to try, and that one sounds like a good option! I’m still a pretty newish uke-player, uk… ukiest… uker…………………….. but there are things I’ve wanted to do but physically couldn’t play without playing two ukes simultaneously, like very high up on the fret board while playing lower on the fret board. Obviously, you can “stretch” the boundaries somewhat there, but the good Lord only gave us each two hands, with which to play upon a uke. LOL.
Anyway, this recording of yours was very lovely! I like that you keep going with your recordings even with interruptions. Lol.
@surferjay, hehehe well, everyone starts somewhere! I think it’s so cool when ideas are borrowed and reinvented and overlayed from multiple sources like that.
Also, I love that song. When I had a piano I used to love to improvise with that song. Not anything so put together and neat like what you did, just messin’ around.
What you’re using to do that is called a looper, right? Hope that’s not a dumb question.
