If you have any queries about playing, buying, starting out with ukulele that this blog has not helped answer, do feel free to contact me at. Available to consider ukulele and accessory reviews as well as press comment related to the instrument.

REVIEWS POLICY

Got A Ukulele has become one of the largest reference points for truly impartial instrument and product reviews worldwide. My reviews are a mix of instruments I have bought myself or had loaned to me by stores / brands / luthiers. I never review for money or freebies and I tell it like it is.

If you would like one of your instruments featured on the site - get in touch on the email above and I will explain more about how I work.

AFFILIATE LINKS / GOOGLE ADS

You may have noticed that the Got A Ukulele site is monetized, and that is to help keep it going. The site though is actually run as a not for profit enterprise. That is to say that revenue created through ads / affiliate links / donations is put back into items to feature on the website. A portion of the ukuleles are bought by me to feature on the reviews. But that doesn't mean that I am blessed with lots of ukuleles. Those that are bought are then either donated to charity / local schools after review or are sold on and the funds used to source more ukuleles for review. I am not in this to create a huge ukulele collection - I dont have the space! Therefore, one way or another, after they have helped contribute to the articles on the site, they eventually end up going to someone more needy.

FESTIVAL LISTINGS

I am once again running a yearly festival calendar. During 2016 I considered deleting the whole page because of the few trying to ruin it for the many. I am doing it again, but there will be no shenanigans or moaning. Everyone gets the same sort of billing, and no you can't include photographs or pages of text. If your event is on the same date as another, you get listed on a first come first served basis. And in all cases, my decision on listing is FINAL. (It's that way, or there won't be a festival page..)

ABOUT THIS UKE PLAYER

Im a thirty something guy based in the UK, who for the past 30 odd years has dabbled with acoustic and electric guitar. Dont consider myself a great player of either, but have a large repetoire of songs, and have busked, jammed and gigged with friends many times.

Around 2006 I decided on trying the ukulele, mainly because a couple of artists I really like (Loudon Wainwright and George Harrison) play or played ukulele. I had previously tried to pick up the Mandolin, but struggled learning a whole new set of chords due to the differing tuning. It struck me that the beauty of the uke for me was that the chord shapes were pretty much the same as those for guitar (albeit playing chords a few steps higher)

As with most uninformed beginners, I bought myself a bottom of the line Mahalo - and boy did I regret it! It was really only good for firewood, hard to keep in tune, frets out of place and sounded horrible. Even so, I stuck at it and found that I could indeed master the chords quickly. I put together a repetoire of uke songs to learn and found myself hooked.

The quality of the uke was the problem, and after much debate (and saving!) I bought myself a Flea ukulele from the Magic Fluke co - and from that point on, everything changed! This instrument was an absolute joy and since that time I have bought several more ukes, and gigged with them.

I'm not a technical player, just a strummer and singer, but its great fun.

Anyway, in thinking back to my initial foray into uke, and the shocking instrument I ended up with, I thought I'd start a blog about the uke in general, but with a slant aimed at providing beginners, or those interested in getting a uke a solid set of advice on the pitfalls.

I hope that this blog is just that, and if I can get new players going on this great instrument, then I have done my job.

The ukulele really is an instrument for everyone - its quick to pick up the basics (I could get anyone playing a song in 30 minutes) and really gets people talking.

Other than the Uke, I just love great great real music (No X Factor or Pop Idol here thank you very much) - if its real, be it folk, rock, country, dance, classical or jazz, I love it. For example

Vocals: Jeff Buckley when he says "child" in the 2nd verse of "Lover You Should Have Come Over", and his line "She's a tear that hangs inside my soul forever" in the same song. Female - pretty much any vocal line by Sandy Denny

Lead Guitar: Gotta be Zappa - particularly his space guitar on "Sharleena" and his solo work in "Pojama People". Beyond that, cant beat David Gilmore.

Bass: John Paul Jones bassline in Ramble On by Zeppelin or anything by Charlie Mingus

Keyboards: Superstition by Stevie Wonder (what else?)

Drums: all the drumming on the Melvins "Kicking Machine"

Horns: Miles Davis - Sketches Of Spain

Enjoy!

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