07/01/2016 - 08/01/2016

24 Jul 2016

UK Ukulele Festival Overload?

A difficult and contentious topic this one, but one I am seeing discussed more and more on social media. Are there too many ukulele festivals in the calendar year?



ukulele festival


Some will immediately agree with that statement, some will recoil in horror. I would like to think that Got A Ukulele has established a name for itself in not shying away from the difficult subjects and doing a certain amount of telling it like it is. I think it would therefore be wrong of me to avoid the subject. Bear with me....

Regular readers will know that for the last few years I have been compiling the Ukulele Festival Calendar on this site. Even a swift glance at it will show you just how many festivals there are these days. Pretty much one per weekend through the summer months and in several cases, more than one on the same weekend. I should also just make clear that I think the congestion is related mainly (if not solely) to the ukulele festival scene in the UK. It's not anywhere near as busy in mainland Europe, and whilst there are a lot of festivals in the USA, that kind of makes sense as the country is so large.

But the UK is a small place geographically, and has a small (ish) population, so when you have one per weekend (or more than one) so consistently, and ultimately not that far apart in distance - is there a danger of the whole thing becoming overloaded?

There are several ways of looking at this, and clearly there is a clear distinction between the artists that perform and the punters that go to watch.

For artists, naturally they WANT to play festivals and be heard. It's what they do, and if not their actual job, it's certainly their devoted vocation. It's totally understandable that they want to perform and perhaps in that sense the more the merrier? Perhaps. But I actually think there is another angle worth considering and that surely has to be over-exposure on the circuit? If you are the sort of person that likes to go to lots of festivals, having the same acts on the bill of each one would (for me at least) get extremely repetitive. I prefer variety and certainly wouldn't go to non-ukulele music festivals if they all had the same acts each time. Perhaps the artists themselves are aware of this and try not to appear everywhere, but I guess it's hard if you are doing very well and every festival is asking you to play. Artists dont like turning down gigs!

There are also a couple of angles on the punter side of things. On the one hand a large number of festivals spread around the country gives more people a chance to go and see one without ridiculous travelling times. In fact some people struggle with travelling full stop, so perhaps one in every town makes sense. There are people who adore filling their summers with festival after festival, and for them, the calendar is a real treat. On the other hand though, there are the people who are still addicted to the ukulele and for whom going to quite so many events would just not be financially possible. These things cost and it certainly adds up. So perhaps having so many becomes a temptation they just can't realise, and then find themselves bombarded on Facebook with pictures of their friends enjoying what they couldn't justify. I know a few people in this camp and feel 'left out'  by not being able to go to more.

And aside from the artist / punter side of things, it's worth considering another important point. Just how many ukulele receptive audience members are there in the UK? The answer to me is clear, but it also is an answer that many people I dont think actually want to hear. Whilst I dont know of any reliable census information to be definitive, it is surely a fact that the number of ukulele players in the UK is TINY compared to general music fans. It's a niche thing, pure and simple. If you are within the bubble it may be hard to see this, but it's true.  This is no Glastonbury (175,000 attendees), or even something more niche like a folk Festival (Cambridge gets an estimated 10,000, Cropredy and estimated 20,000). No, ukulele festivals tend to attract anything from small multiples of 10, through to a few hundred and in the case of the biggest ones, perhaps 1,000 or so. These are small numbers of potential customers, and expecting those numbers every weekend of the year (pretty much) is a big ask I would say. And at the rate that the small festivals are developing into big ones, I just dont see how the audience numbers are sustainable for everyone.

Looking back a few years, there were still lots of ukulele events around, but as I say, it's the scale of the festivals seems to have changed in the last 1-2 years. In the past you had a couple of large festivals and then a host of smaller, often free or charitable events in towns and villages around the UK. The larger festivals had the bigger names, often international players included, but the local events served to showcase up and coming talent and local clubs more (I even ran one myself). All were enjoyed, and there were far fewer cases of people having to think 'which ticketed event do I choose to go to'. These days some of those local events still happen, but they now also find themselves competing with a big increase in larger, ticketed events themselves. And if you are running a ticketed event you DO have costs. You are either needing to make money, or in the case of many, not make a profit but to avoid LOSING money. And to not lose money means getting people through the door. And so lies the problem. We have a finite number of weekends in the year, and a finite and small number of potential customers. Some will go to lots, but many can't afford that and need to pick and choose. And that surely puts pressure on the organisers with some struggling to get the numbers they need to avoid being in debt. That just seems a crazy situation. The concept of 'build it and they will come' just really doesn't apply when there is cost involved and the country is on the verge of heading into another recession. And bear in mind that in to 2017 it looks like the UK will be going into recession. There will be less disposable money around for most people, and the value of the pound in your pocket will be far less. All in all it's not conducive to the survival of so many large events.

Like all my rants, some people misconstrue them as me telling people 'what to do'. They aren't and it's sad that I need to point out that they are just discussion pieces that I hope make people think. And that's the case here. It's not for me, or anyone else to tell any festival team what to do, or tell small festivals that they can't grow. They can do whatever they like. I am however entitled to an OPINION of my own, and I have been saying this for some time. I personally think there are too many large events, and if they continue growing in the way they have in 2016, I think that will ultimately (and fairly swiftly) be to the detriment of all ukulele festivals. And that will affect both punters AND artists alike. And I think that would be really sad - both for punters and organisers. I'd love to wave a magic wand to allow every event to be over-subscribed, but that's impossible.

So what do I suggest? Well certainly more of the obvious - and thats COMMUNICATION between organisers. There really should be no need for events to clash with a bit of advance communication, but in fact clashing isn't the only problem here. Having large events week after week after week must surely affect which ones many punters choose to go to. I think that communication should extend to keeping the larger festivals spread out as much as possible. I know a few festival organisers and I know how much work they put in to doing exactly this outreach work. Clearly though, a look at the calendar shows that this doesn't apply to everyone. And if everyone is not playing nice, the system then falls down. It's the 'this is why we can't have nice things' argument. The few making it difficult for the many.

For me, in a country the size of the UK with a ukulele fanbase as big as I think it is, I would suggest (please - it's only a suggestion!!) that a couple of large festivals in England, plus one in Scotland, and one in Wales would be plenty. Then fill the rest of the year with smaller free events for local clubs to try to get on the ladder. Kind of like it used to be really....

And I'm having second thoughts about running the festival calendar in 2017. As much as it serves to help punters, I had always hoped that it would help organisers know what is happening where and when to help avoid congestion and clashes. Clearly that didn't work. No doubt it's been helpful for punters, but less so for organisers.

But as I say, it's not for this site to tell anyone what to do. I do hope though it creates some discussion and I would very much like to hear your own perspectives. Are you a punter that relishes the thought of attending something every week, or are you the sort that can only justify one and has to think very carefully about what to miss out on?

(nb - I am happy to take comments on this post, but any comments naming names on festivals wont be published. This is a general discussion post and not intended to target any particular events)

- STOP PRESS - 

I kind of knew that this piece would create some debate and difference of opinion. That was the point - to get those with differing opinions actually talking about it. Because there ARE differences of opinion. Sadly I am seeing those who think the number of festivals is 'just fine' are now deliberately scoffing at those who dare say different. Making out that because I  dare to question what we have is in some way troublemaking. This morning this led to one festival organiser claiming publicly that I am 'hoping ukulele festivals will fail'... The fact that this piece has the intention of avoiding EXACTLY THAT happening, seems lost on people. That's not only pretty stupid, but it's pretty hurtful.

Yes, of course - if you love going to lots of ukulele festivals, of course you will support the busy calendar - the blog post even SAYS that as being a valid point of view, but to just ignore any contrary position as not being relevant is crazy. I've had direct comments in praise of the piece from people who say they have been 'totally put off' ukulele festivals full stop because of the repetitive nature of events. And I've had even more messages of support from people who simply cannot afford to go to more than one. And that final point was perhaps my main concern - you can bleat all you like about how great it is to have lots of festivals, but if they start losing money because they cannot get punters through the door, you will soon have very few again....

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23 Jul 2016

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele - REVIEW

In the world of ukuleles, as we all know it's not all expensive instruments. The market is flooded with cheap offerings, many of which are more 'ukulele shaped objects' and less so 'musical instruments'. At the bargain end of the scale comes the UKE7 model from Tiger. Can this little soprano tip the scales?



Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele


The Tiger brand of instruments and accessories is a British based company that brand a lot of equipment that ends up in schools, from tambourines to piano stools. It comes as no surprise therefore that they have a ukulele offering. Whilst they offer some slightly more expensive instruments under the Theodore brand name, the UKE7 range are a selection of brightly coloured beginner sopranos with a retail price of about £28 (although they can easily be found online for £20).

Occasional readers assume I am always down on cheap instruments (regular readers will know that I am not, and if you dont believe me - take a look at the reviews listing). But what I DO say is that at this sort of price point the chances of you getting an instrument that is fundamentally flawed in it's build are much, much greater. In other words your buying checks need to be a little more thorough. Let's see how the Tiger stands up.

Made in China, this instrument at first glance makes it clear that it is from the ultra cheap stable, being offered in a range of bright colours. It's a very simple construction - typical double bout soprano shape, all laminate wood, coated in a thick coloured poly coating. It's not my thing, but will certainly put a smile on the face of a child considering learning. But fair play to Tiger - unlike so many brightly coloured instruments at this price point, the coloured coating is actually rather nicely applied. So often these types of finish are heavily applied, full of pooling, bubbles and bare patches, but this one is uniform, glossy and pretty flawless. It also has a kind of silver glitter in the paint giving it a sparkle.

The body is otherwise unadorned, with no edge binding or inlay. We have a fairly generic sound hole rosette applied as a transfer, but it appears to be under the gloss so I suspect it wont be rubbed off.

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele body


The back is flat (no arch) and it's impossible to tell if the sides are two pieces or a single piece. It does however have an internal tail block.

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele back


The bridge appears to be rosewood and is a tie bar style, meaning not quite as easy string changes for the beginner.  At appears to be screwed in place, and the saddle is white plastic and uncompensated.

Before we move on, a look inside the body shows a pretty basic construction. No bracing at all (on account of the all laminate body) and un-notched kerfing. This certainly doesn't surprise me at this price point, and to be fair it is far neater than most I have seen at £20. A look at the edge of the sound hole also reveals that the laminate is not overly thick either. Sure, it's not super thin professional grade laminate, but I have seen many bargain ukuleles like this with woods about twice as thick. That just kills the tone and projection.

Moving on we have a fairly generic soprano neck both in terms of profile and nut width, also coated in the same glittery yellow paint. Topping it is a rosewood fingerboard with 12 nickel silver frets to the body. Again - fairly standard.  The rosewood seems a little dry, but it is uniform enough in colour. Edges of the fingerboard are unbound and glossed, and unfortunately the gloss appears to be cracking on some fret ends giving an unsightly look. That said, the fret ends are dressed and in no way sharp at all.

We have pearloid outward facing position markers at the 5th, 7th and 10th fret spaces, but no markers on the side for the player.

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele fingerboard


Up to the nut, this too is plastic but does look removeable. This is unusual at this price as more often than not they are heavily glued in place or are under the finish, meaning changing the nut will damage the finish on the headstock. I would wager this would pop out easily though.

The heastock is also coated in the same yellow finish and is a standard three pointed crown shape.  The Tiger logo is screen printed on in a kind of uninspiring grey paint and looks quite tacky.

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele headstock


Tuners are generic open geared pegs (think Makala or Mahalo) but thankfully the buttons are not overly huge and look quite classy. I'd certainly prefer friction pegs (this being a soprano) but as cheap geared pegs go, these really are not too bad. The bushing covers on the front of the headstock for instance are chrome and not (as is often the case) cheap white plastic.

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele tuners


Completing the deal are what look like Nylgut strings and a zippered but very thin carry case.

So all in all, nothing that is immediately jumping out at me to scream 'great deal' for the price, but equally there are no absolute howlers either. In fact it seems pretty well put together to me.

When considering an ultra cheap ukulele though, there are a number of points that I see more often than not causing problems, ultimately letting the instrument down. I will go through some of those now.

First of all the weight. Being laminate, it's not the lightest soprano I have ever played, but equally not the heaviest either. It's nicely balanced and certainly a touch lighter than a Makala Dolphin (although, to be fair, its a close call). No real complaints here. It makes it nice to hold and play.

Next up is the setup. Ultra cheap ukes I have seen have suffered from problems with the adjustable parts (saddle and nut) through to the unadjustable (bridges in the wrong place, mis set frets, wonky necks). In terms of the adjustable setup on this one, this arrived out of the box pretty much perfect. It was particularly pleasing to see the nut slots cut at about the right height, but equally the saddle is set to give an action above the 12th fret pretty much bang in the middle of acceptable levels. Impressive. Added to that, no other issues seem to be evident. The bridge is correctly placed, the neck is straight  as are the frets. In fact one of the best setup ultra cheap sopranos I have come across. Saying that, I do find these cheap ukuleles always sound very slightly off and this one does too (as do most Makalas to be fair). Nothing major though - just not a high end accuracy. Acceptable though.

Tiger UKE7 Soprano Ukulele top


And of course, finally, the issue that can plague the cheap instruments is an uninspriring, dead and flat sound caused by overly thick and heavy construction. Of course this is a very subjective part of the review, but I do get amazed by people saying this 'doesn't matter' for a beginner. Of COURSE it matters  - the ear is a very sensitive thing and it can tell between a pleasing sound and a 'clunker'  easily. Add to that the fact that you CAN get pleasing sounds from some cheap instruments, the assumption that they naturally will all sound bad worries me greatly. It need not be like that! The drive to cheap mediocrity is not what musical instruments should be about.

The Tiger certainly doesn't lose out on volume compared to something like a Dolphin - in fact I would say it is a touch louder and with a little more sustain. It does however lose out in terms of the quality of that tone. It's a bright jangly sound, but does sound to me on the boxy and thin side. Something like the Dolphin has more roundness to the tone when strummed and that is particularly more evident when picked. Dont get me wrong, the Tiger is streets ahead of some of the £20 competition out there, but it kind of sounds more like I expected it to, rather than what I hoped it would sound like. Perfectly useable, accurate enough in tuning,  playable and loud enough. Just not a match for something like the Dolphin in terms of the quality of the tone. It's certainly not a complex tone (but then, neither is the Dolphin) though of course it is a £20 ukulele!!

Still - you could do a LOT worse and nobody should scoff at you if you grab one of these. And it certainly deserves a place alongside the Dolphin and the Octopus as 'bargain priced ukuleles that are not monumentally terrible' section on Got A Ukulele!

http://www.tigermusic.co.uk/



UKULELE PROS

Well put together
Price
Nicely finished and setup
Decent enough tuners

UKULELE CONS

Tone on the thin side

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 7.5 out of 10
Fit and finish - 7.5 out of 10
Sound - 7 out of 10
Value For Money - 9 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.8 out of 10



UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW


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10 Jul 2016

Cordoba 20TM-CE Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW

Another first for a brand on the Got A Ukulele reviews pages, this time from globally known Cordoba musical instruments and their 20TM-CE Tenor ukulele.

Cordoba 20TM-CE Tenor Ukulele


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3 Jul 2016

Clearwater UCW7B/PU Roundback Baritone Ukulele - REVIEW

I'm pleased again to be rallying the troops in the Baritone regiment with this ukulele review, with the Clearwater UCW7B/PU Roundback Baritone. (Lets just call it a roundback baritone from here on in!)

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele


The Clearwater Roundback series are a range of value instruments of various scales, made in China and most likely available in other badged variants around the world. In fact this Baritone looks identical to me to the previously available Ohana BK70RB Baritone... coincidence? Whatever the heritage, this is a standard baritone scale ukulele (scale length is about 19.5 inches) made with a solid spruce top applied to a polycarbonate round or bowl back body.

Construction wise, this one is extremely sound and the solid spruce top (made of two bookmatched pieces) is flawless and finished in a pleasing satin coat. There really are no issues, glue spots, bubbles - just smooth nice wood. Where it meets the rounded back of the ukulele we have some black / white / black edge binding that adds to the quality feel. Some people dont like pale spruce tops and I am one of them I suppose. I think it would look much better with a darker top, but that is minor and very personal complaint.

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele top


Sound hole decoration is by way of an inlaid mother of pearl rosette (no transfers here!), and we have a fairly standard looking rosewood tie bar bridge with attractive white edge detailing. The saddle appears to be made of plastic and is not compensated.

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele sound hole


But it's the rounded back that really makes this ukulele stand out, made as it is from a moulded single piece of black polycarbonate. You may say 'oh, just like a Flea then' - but really this is more reminiscent of the backs of Ovation Balladeer guitars which used the same technique. What it allows for is a light weight, thin instrument with a distinctive projection. It's a tried and tested design in guitars so I was interested to see how it would stand up on a baritone ukulele.

The moulded back is actually a little bit shiny for my liking and I would have preferred a textured grain finish like on the Flea. As it is, I'd say this is a difficult instrument to hold against clothing because it's very slippy. Thankfully, it comes pre-fitted with a strap button which is probably the only sensible way you would hold this one standing up. Other than that though, the curve of the back is really tactile and pleasing and certainly will give you a ukulele that looks 'different' to the norm. I love the way the white edge binding contrasts against the jet black of the plastic and how thin it is at the tail end of the instrument.

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele back


Also as part of the body, we have a cutaway to allow upper fret access, which I think adds to the classy look. It's a double bout design with quite a large square lower portion. I think I would prefer it looking a bit curvier at the base, but that's just personal preference.

Looking inside reveals very little other than a black sound chamber. Naturally there is no kerfing or back bracing to see as the moulded back is providing the strength. All I can report is the Clearwater manufacturers label!

Moving up the ukulele we have a hardwood (unspecified) neck made from three pieces with a joint at the heel and one at the headstock. It's finished in a satin coat too and has a darker rosewood looking veneer piece on the heel cap.

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele fingerboard


Topping the neck is a rosewood fingerboard which looks to be in good condition and is nicely even in colour. We have 21 nickel silver frets in total with 14 to the body join and all are finished nicely with no sharp edges.

Clearwater are a little mean on the fret marker front, with outward facing pearloid dots at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th, with no side fret markers at all.

Unlike the saddle, the nut appears to be made of bone and possibly removeable too.

We have a fairly generic shaped headstock which is nicely edge bound like the top of the body and faced in what appears to be rosewood. The Clearwater logo (quite a classy logo, I must say) looks to be pearloid but it might actually be a transfer under the satin coat - it's hard to say. Either way I think the headstock looks really smart.

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele headstock


Tuning is provided by unbranded silver closed geared tuners. They are common on ukuleles and these ones work and turn just fine. Yes, they are essentially guitar tuners, but being a large scale like a baritone means that they dont give the instrument a 'mickey mouse ears' look.

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele tuners


I'm not entirely sure what strings the instrument comes with, but the B and E look like nylgut and the D and G strings are wound. They are for low DGBE tuning.

And, to top the whole deal off, you may have noticed in the pictures that there is an offset jack socket on the bottom of the instrument. That's right - it comes with a pickup too, and a passive one at that (meaning no unnecessary controls, battery compartments and the like - just how I like them!).

Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele jack socket


So quite a bit on offer here I am sure you will agree. A solid top, edge bound instrument with a moulded back AND a pickup...  What might surprise you is that these can be found online quite easily for about £100 - £120. You read that right. That is a complete bargain of a price for a baritone regardless of the build. And when you bear in mind it has a solid top and a pickup, well that price is frankly incredible.

OK, there is no carry case - you may have spotted the Clearwater bag in the photographs, but that is an extra - but still, it's a bargain and you can hardly complain for the price I suppose.

And in fact at that sort of price, I'd forgive it for quite a lot in the playing stakes. And that's where I continue to shake my head... in disbelief... in a good way. You see, it's really rather good.

clearwater roundback baritone ukulele strap button


First of all it's really nice to hold. Aside from that slippy back meaning you will want a strap, the instrument is light, nice to touch and nicely balanced in weight. And it really is a tactile thing. As review instruments on this site go, this one has had more of that 'go on, pick me up one more time' about it than many others have. That thin body may also asssist you in storage and travelling as compared to many standard baritones, this one is really thin!


Clearwater roundback baritone ukulele bridge


Setup was just fine for me, no complaints at all with the saddle or the nut and intonation is acceptable all over the neck. In fact the nut is particularly nicely done with strings sitting on grooves rather in deep channels.

Sound wise, it has a nice strong projection, good sustain and tons of bass. That plastic back will be helping it here, although strummed hard it can boom and echo a little, but it's a minor complaint. I suppose it's very slightly on the muddy side, but I find that quite a lot with baritones and think a string change could easily sort that I think. In fact I find that changing the strum position to the back of the soundhole opposed to the  end of the neck as is more traditional with a ukulele brightens it up significantly. At the end of the day, I suppose this is closer to a guitar than a soprano ukulele so I guess that figures!

Strummed or fingerpicked it's pleasing either way and I am really rather taken with it!

It's not a high end classy bell like tone, but then its a £100 ukulele with a plastic back... But lets just clear this price thing up. Yes, it is an incredibly good value instrument, but cheap does not mean nasty in this case. In fact two musicians I know who have played the biggest ukulele stages in the UK (Ian Emmerson and Zoë Bestel) have BOTH performed on stage with one of these Clearwaters.  And I think that is the point. It doesn't matter what name it says on the headstock or what it costs if it sounds good. And it does sound good!

Oh, and the pickup? Perfectly useable and balanced. OK, it will benefit from a pre-amp to shape the tone, but that's the way I prefer them myself so no complaints from me on that score. Unlike certain other pickups I have seen pre-installed in instruments recently - this one just works. Each string rings out and no muddy tone. As is should be! All I would say is I can't tell if it is a soundboard transducer or under saddle. There is very little body noise though, so I dont suppose it matters much.

In summary though - at this price, seriously, can you afford NOT to get one! It's a small price to pay if you want to take a step into baritone ukuleles and you would be getting a brilliantly functional instrument that far exceeds it's price. I've got much more expensive baritones, and really would like to keep this one. Just experiment with the strings!



UKULELE PROS

Price
Solid top
Build quality
Classy looks from pearl and edge binding
Passive pickup

UKULELE CONS

Slippery back
No side fret markers
Gig bag is extra

UKULELE SCORES

Looks -                   8.5 out of 10
Fit and finish -        8.5 out of 10
Sound -                   8.5 out of 10
Value for money -   9.5 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.8 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW



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