Ukelele Kit

[Wes Bischel]

I forgot to post this and Pete just reminded me of it. Sam had been asking for a "guitar" for some time now. I really didn't want to get a toy guitar, so I figured the little ukulele kit from Grizzly would fit the bill. Real enough to teach him to care for things, but not a tragedy if he does destroy it.:rolleyes: He received it as an Easter present and to date has taken very good care of it - to our surprise and delight.

The kit was pretty easy to put together. The parts were well made and did fit together properly. The instructions were at times criptic, but workable. It is not a fine instrument, but for $22 what can one expect. I did learn a few things on the project, so it was worth doing for the experience alone. If you are thinking about building an acoustic guitar, this might be a good (read as cheap) project to start with. I learned about finishing and how to handle such a delicate piece. Also learning a bit about tuning and stringing (though not with good quality strings). Either way, it was fun to assemble, and Sam is having fun with it and learning a bit as well from it. All in all time and money well spent.

Wes

[Lars Thomas]

Certainly 'looks' like a fine piece. And, to my ear, I'm sure it would even sound good. $22! Are you kidding! For that prince I'll pick one op for my little guy. Thanks for posting. Lars

[Parker Nicholson]

Was in Hawaii (home of the ukulele) and actually looked in some ukulele shops. Prices on some were over $11,000 in this one shop at the Ala Moana shopping center. Decent ones were around 300 to 500, so I say you did well on your kit!
BTW, the term ukulele means "dancing flea" and is pronounced "oo-koo-lay-lay. Just what you wanted to know I'm sure :D

[Wes Bischel]

Lars, if you are interested, here's the link:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/H3125

Parker, thanks for the history lesson (and spelling:o ) The dancing flea bit - too funny!:D

Wes

[Lopaka Garcia]

Sorry for correcting you Parker, but ukulele means jumping flea. `Uku is flea and lele means to jump, leap, fly etc. It's pronounced oo-ku-le-le...the ku is a short hard sound and the lele is similarly short and not drawn out as in lay. The origin of the Hawaiian ukulele is from the Portugese who brought it with them when they migrated to the Hawaiian Islands and the native Hawaiians thought it sounded like a jumping flea. Even to this day, kids are taught to tune their ukuleles using the, my dog has fleas sound. Sorry, didnt mean to get all into that.

You are right Parker, there are some very expensive ukuleles out there. A couple of the more famous makers are Kamaka and Martin ukuleles.

Lars that's an excellent project you made there. Does it come with all the parts you need? Are you able to subsitute the wood that comes with the kit with some of your own? I'm thinking to use that as a base model and copy the design elements using Koa. Thanks for the tip.

[Jim Becker]

Now, that's a really neat thing, Wes. I may have to do something like that before the girls destroy my (old, cheap, but appreciated) classical guitar...

[Corey Hallagan]

Cool! I was just looking at those kits in the new Grizzley flyer. Nice job!

Corey

[John Shuk]

Wes,
I've been thinking about that kit for my sons as well. You did a nice job on it. The pic of him checking it out is priceless.
Job well done!

[Peter Pedisich]

Wes,

Memories my friend, you are making the kind of memories that make for a happy childhood, and a son who will gain an appreciation for things in life that don't pop out of an injection mold.

Oh, the Ukulele loks great. I really like the color and finish.

Pete