Meet Gerald Ross: "Guitarists Can Easily Adapt"

Quick post here; if you love ukulele but have not met Gerald Ross, you really need to.  I was thinking I'd ask for an interview, especially since he's in my neck of the woods (what is it about Michigan and ukuleles?), but the Ukulele Safari, a series I was not previously familiar with, already has.  You'll also discover why he's famous for steel guitar.

Enjoy!

Fighting the Temptation to Maintain My Dignity and Not Title this Post “No L.A.U.G.H.ing Matter” – and Failing Miserably!

Well, I finally did it. I finally made it to the Lansing Area Ukulele Group (L.A.U.G.H.) meet-up held this past weekend. I have to admit, I thought these meetings would be a bit more informal, with people walking around and trading tips and licks with their fellows. The reality was actually a bit more organized and, having experienced it, a little better than I had imagined, as there were music charts (easy to follow), a leader (Dave Pasant) and the sound of 20 ukuleles all playing in unison.

I arrived a bit late, having ridden my scooter, Blu-B, along the backroads from Flint to East Lansing, but I was able to pick up my music and find a chair between a man and woman in the back row. The music stands had all been taken by that point (note to self: strap a stand along with my ukulele case to my scooter Blu-B’s backseat next time), so I shared one with a nice gentleman whose name I did not catch. In one of those strange moments of knowing you’re in the right place—what author Squire Rushnell calls God Winks—the woman seated on my other side was playing a Cordoba ukulele just like the one I have at home (minus the new bridge, Worth clears, and Jake Shimabukuro signature).

The group was lead by ukulele expert Dave Pasant, who took us through some pretty challenging pieces, including a jazzy blues piece that had us all over the fret board. I think my favorite song of the morning was “All of Me,” which I plan to work on and add to my repertoire.

I can’t tell you how much fun it is to hear a whole room of ukuleles, and I wonder if sometime in the future we might work out some harmonies – “sopranos play the melody, concerts take the color notes, and tenors do the chords.” 

As I said, there were about twenty of us there, with men out-numbering women about two to one. According to Dave, this was a rather light turnout as they usually get about 30 or so members. I was hoping there might be a little socializing afterwards—I would have loved to get a closer look at some of the vintage sopranos—but most of the crowd, who ranged in age from mid-thirties to sixties, was packed up and gone within minutes, although I saw a few in the salesroom upstairs.

Highlight of the get-together was meeting Stan Werbin, President of Elderly Instruments. Anyone who plays acoustic stringed instruments (and electric ones, too, for that matter) knows that meeting Stan is like being a computer geek and meeting Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Stan was right there playing with us, Hawaiian shirt and all. Nice of him to host this event, and, as far as I can tell, it’s all free!

One last God Wink; a few posts ago I wrote about the connection between scooters and ukuleles. Seems that Dave Pasant is a scooterist as well. Not only that, but he knows the other scooterist I wrote about in that previous post. Small world, great minds, whatever. Guess I was just where I was supposed to be.

-Lamb Chop

A Very Special Orange Blossom: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Just a quick nod to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britian, a video of which I happened to come across this weekend. I’m pretty slow on news of this group, considering they have been playing together since 1985 (they were ukulele before ukulele was cool; maybe they are the ones who made it cool?

It’s kind of all like a Monty Python sketch, but they are also really talented ukulele players. The first video I saw had them doing the Theme from Shaft, by Issac Hayes. Search that one on YouTube, as it is really cool, but this video, which answers the musical question How many people can play the same ukulele at once, is my favorite:



According to the UOGB website, the group, which plays to sell-out crowds, is comprised of Dave Suich, Peter Brooke Turner, Hester Goodman, George Hinchliffe, Richie Williams, Kitty Lux, Will Grove-White and Jonty Bankes. They seem to have quite a few videos and CDs out, as well, so if you exhaust what’s on YouTube, you can get always get more.

-Lamb Chop

Love at First Strum: Review of the Boulder Creek Riptide UT-2N Spruce Top Tenor

Words and pictures by Lamb Chop

One of the greatest things about living near Elderly Instruments, the Lansing, Michigan destination for new and vintage (elderly) stringed instruments, is that I get to sample from among one of the largest and finest collections of ukuleles this side of Hawaii. I always have fun when I go there, but sometimes I fall in love. That’s what happened when I found the Boulder Creek Riptide spruce top tenor.

Quite honestly, I had never heard of Boulder Creek or its parent company, Morgan Hill Music, before. Primarily a guitar company, they are rather new to the ukulele market. While their models are imported from the Pacific Rim, they have physical and stylistic innovations that make them stand out from the crowd. What first caught my eye about the Riptide ukulele was its Dual Port system, which features a small, offset soundhole on the top and a larger one placed of its rosewood side. As the Riptide literature notes, “Moving the front sound port away from the center of the soundboard helps to increase volume, tone, and sustain…”

I don’t know why this configuration works, but it does; I have never experienced a louder, crisper tone, even among other spruce top ukuleles. There is something magical about the Riptide by Boulder Creek.

It was love at first strum!

The spruce top tenor, officially designated the UT-2N, is one of 19 models in Boulder Creek’s Riptide line of Standard Mahogany, Deluxe Mahogany (which upgrades to a solid top), and the Spruce & Rosewood series, which features a solid spruce top and laminated sides. Series sizes range from soprano to baritone, with some models getting a Boulder Creek UK-300T preamp and pickup system (an undersaddle model, which seems to be the best way to amplify a ukulele) with built-in tuner. Each features a unique cut-out Boulder Creek headstock and are all beautifully finished.

The UT-2N, a non-amplified model, is equipped with sealed diecast tuners that hold tune well with none of the slop found on the kind of tuners usually used at this price point. Scale length is 26.25” with a rosewood board of 18 frets, the fit and finish of which are excellent. Rosewood bridge, and, if I am not mistaken, it comes strung with Aquila Nylguts, which are fast becoming my favorite string, especially for spruce tops.

The gloss finish of the natural top (there is a darker vintage top available in the series as well) shines beautifully, as does its dark, glossy-finished laminated rosewood sides which take on an almost deep black appearance. Abalone inlay surrounds the top and both soundholes; wish the headstock logo was abalone as opposed to screened gold, but it still looks nice. Some people don’t seem to like the abalone Riptide logo, which is set where the soundhole usually goes, but it is unique and well done. The fretboard markers are easy to see and the overall fit and finish is simply remarkable.

Looks are one thing, but it’s playability that counts. While the action is not as low as that of a similarly priced Lanikai S-T or S-TEQ spruce top tenor, the Riptide has a low-to-medium setting that is incredibly fast, fluid and playable. No buzzes or rattles, either; set-up was perfect right out of the box.

The Dual Port system works well with the spruce and rosewood, providing tons of traditional tone with lots of sustain and brilliant harmonics. Indeed, while some spruce tops lose that essential ukulele sound found on koa and mahogany models, the Riptide oozes that vibe—it just does it with a lot more volume. Boulder Creek got it right; once I picked it up, I could not put it down. The Riptide has become my Riptide, and it is now my “go-to” ukulele and will likely remain so for some time.

I did make one alteration by drilling a hole in the bottom plate to install a GHS-A37 unidirectional internal microphone. As you can tell by my photo, I routed the mic, which is primarily designed to sit under the soundboard of a full size guitar, out of the Riptide’s side soundhole and up towards the top. Surprising, this gives me a really nice amplified tone with virtually no feedback, provided all the adjustments on my amp are right. If I had it to do over, I’d most likely just go with the UT-2N A/E version with onboard electronics, but there were none in stock at the time. I dreaded drilling into that beautiful wood, but I did so without harming the finish and am happy with the result.

Boulder Creek guitars, which feature an innovative bracing system, are building quite a following, with endorsements from a number of artists such as Julianne Hough, Amanda Martin, and Jenny Tate, as well as Grant Mickelson and Paul Sidoti playing with Taylor Swift, Trey Hill with Kellie Pickler, and Mike Scott, who performs with Justin Timberlake. I would not be at all surprised to find Boulder Creek’s Riptide ukuleles getting their own set of professional endorsements. Having played ukuleles costing literally thousands more than the Boulder Creek Riptide, these are as good of a value as one can get. If money were no object—of course, it always is—I would still have a Riptide in my arsenal, even with all the choices my proximity to Elderly affords.

-Lamb Chop