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Showing posts from 2014

Parrot Island Ukulele

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Do you love ukuleles?  Do you love a great beach vacation? Prefer flip flops to shoes?  Well then you should check out Parrot Island Band' s CD Ukulele. It's filled with original music played via ukulele, steel pan, congas and guitar. The music is what some call TropRock in style. All I know is this music will make you happy! This album is especially valuable if the weather is bad.  When you look at the cover art by Jas Ingram aka Captain LoveHandles (artist who did logos for Sailor Brand Ukulele Co. and Uke Republic) it's a good indicator of what's on the CD.    So many fine original songs on this album such as Ukulele State Of Mind, If I Just Sailed Away, and our personal favorite Down To The Uke Republic . Down To The Uke Republic was actually written about our store and Bry's experience when coming here. Bry says "A lot of people love that song but didn't know it was an actual place you could visit." We hope they get a chance t...

Living Water Ukulele Strings 100% Pure Fluorocarbon Made In Heaven

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I was intrigued when I first heard about these ukulele strings, especially when I understood they were being produced by a friend Ken Middleton.  You may already be familiar with Ken Middleton from YouTube , or perhaps you have seen or met him at a ukulele festival somewhere around the world. Ken is a fantastic player and instructor giving workshops and explaining songs online. Ken is also one of those persons with high standards for musical instruments and their complements, such as strings, so when Living Water Strings were made available, I knew it would be something wonderful. I quickly popped an email over to Ken in England asking if we might be able to carry the strings at UKE Republic, and the next day I received a phone call. Ken and I have known each other for a while, and he told me that if he did decide to have dealers carry, I would be the first to have the option of stocking them. Fast forward to May 2014, and I'm honored to say UKE Republic is currently the...

Long Neck, Small Body, Narrow waist

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What on earth am I speaking of? Super soprano ukuleles of course! You may ask what is a super soprano ukulele? Well, basically it is a concert scale married to a soprano body. Some also put tenor necks with soprano bodies as well. Oh and then there is a tenor neck on a concert body but that's for another post. Kala Spruce Mahogany Long Neck Soprano Okay, so what might be the advantage of the super soprano ukulele? For one, you get to keep the soprano sound but have the room and additional frets of a concert. The feel and balance on many of the brands feel quite nice too. The portability of a soprano is still there. Now anyone who loves the tonal characteristics of the soprano ukulele but felt the fingerboard a little cramped can get on playing one. If you already play a super soprano or if perhaps it may be your first, you will be happy to know that there are plenty of combinations to choose from! There are more and more ukulele makers doing this combination. To na...