Aquila Super Nylgut Ukulele Strings review

I decided awhile back that when it comes to reviewing strings, I'm not going to give a report card. The sound of strings can be so subjective that comparing one brand or type to another just seems moot. In order to find the "right" strings for your individual ukulele, you just have to try a bunch of different kinds and it all comes down to which ones YOU like the best. But that's really a topic best reserved for it's own blog post so I'll stop there.

This time around, we're testing out some new strings from Aquila - Super Nylgut. Almost every uke player has tried Aquila strings at least once so we're all pretty familiar with the overall solid reputation for their strings. Most ukulele enthusiasts seem to agree that Aquilas are best reserved for laminate ukuleles since the volume and tone of the strings tend to overpower the natural voice of solid wood ukes. I have concluded that this is generally a good application (but not absolutely always).

"A Place to Hang my Uke" finalists! Vote for your favorite!

These 5 ukuleles need to find a new home with a new wall hanger! Look through the pictures and vote using the form below to tell us which is your favorite! Just one vote per person please. Voting ends April 8th at 10pm (Central time). The winner and runner up will each get a new ukulele wall hanger! Here's the finalists....

Shower Uke by Brenda Cook

Schoenhut 5400 Ukulele review

I think that the most important question to keep in mind when doing a product review is "Who is this product intended for?". A person that runs a photography blog shouldn't review a toy camera (yes, there are some toy cameras that take actual pictures now) with the same expectation level and scrutiny with which they'd review a Nikon D4 professional camera. Doesn't make much sense, right? Like apples to oranges.


So, prefacing a little bit with that example, we're looking at the Schoenhut 5400 ukulele. Let's start off by asking the question, "Who is this product intended for?". No doubt about it, this is a ukulele intended for children - the design, the look, and the entire history of the Schoenhut company would tell you this. This is the same company that has made those awesome little toy pianos for years (I had one when I was a kid and immediately bought one for my oldest daughter when she was old enough to walk around). And much to their credit, they are taking this same approach with different instruments all geared at the little ones.

If you're looking for a "beginner" type of ukulele, I'd advise you to look at this post I did about the Best Beginner Ukuleles. I'm not comparing this Schoenhut ukulele to those. The best comparison for this type of toy uke would be to those that you could purchase at Walmart or Target in the toy section. The report card and grading scale for this review will be according to that, as it should be.

So with all that being said (whew! I'm wearing myself out already), let's begin!

Intonation - A-

This is the most accurate intonation that I've ever been privy to on a stringed toy instrument. The strings it's strung with really aren't that great and I suppose that changing these could take me from a A- to an A+ pretty quickly, but since I'm taking the review approach of it being a toy, I didn't think it would be fair to restring it. I figure that the majority of parents that purchase one of these for their kids aren't going to be ukulele players and probably wouldn't even think about replacing the strings. If you do fall in that smaller percentage that would restring it for your child, Martin M600's or some Oasis Warm strings would be a good choice since they are lower tension.

Banjo Ukulele Fix up

 

 I decided to finally fix up my banjo ukulele. It's a Slingerland from the 1920's (or thereabouts). When I originally purchased it (a couple of years ago) I meant to take the time to fix a few of it's issues, but I was having so much fun tinkering around on it that I never did. The time has finally come for it to get some much needed attention.

  

First things first - it needed to be taken apart. I'd recommend pulling out a Ziplock bag (or something similar) for all the hardware. Some of those small pieces could easily get lost and if your banjo uke is as old as mine,

Uke Leash review

 It can be a real pain playing your ukulele while standing. Is it possible? Yes. Do I like doing it? Not really. For a long time the two solutions to this problem have been to either deal with it or install hardware on your uke for a more traditional type of guitar strap. I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of end pins on my uke. I don't really like the way the look. I'm also not to keen on drilling into my ukulele.

Good news! You are no longer limited to those two options! You can just get yourself a Uke Leash!

Lori Apthorp invented this lovely little device and she deserves major props. In fact, I will state publicly that I'm envious of her for coming up with something so simple and so incredibly cool! :)

Here's how it works - you put one of end of the leash on your headstock, sling the other around your neck and put your arm through (check out the 3rd picture). That's it! And that little extra support really does make a world of difference. Here's the report card...

Quality - A-

Lori actually sent me a few of these (as well as some other goodies). One large leash made of Polypro, a medium made of leather, as well as one for guitar. Overall, the material on each seem solid and like they would last for years. The leather feels like it would hold up longer than the polypro, but both feel good. A cool thing about them is that you can leave the piece that goes around the headstock (the collar maybe?) and just unclip the leash. Good thinking! I suppose it's always possible that the little plastic clip

"A place to hang my uke" contest

Storing your ukuleles on the couch? Maybe on the coffee table, kitchen counter, or in the corner of the room?

All the more reason for you to enter our "A place to hang my uke" contest!

Two lucky ukulele enthusiasts will finally have a place to hang their ukes!

The deadline for entries is Midnight (central time) on March 31st.

Here's what we need ya to do....

1. Take a picture of where you store your ukulele that best displays why you need a wall hanger. It can be the actual place that you keep it or you can get creative with it and photograph your ukulele some place that no one in their right mind would put their ukulele. Hey, it's up to you!

2. Post your pic somewhere, ANYWHERE online.

3. Fill out the form below and include the url that we can see your picture at. One entry per person.

That's all there is to it! After the deadline, we'll pick out 5 finalists and let everyone vote and tell us which one they like the best.

Now for the good part! We'll give away two ukulele wall hangers - one for 1st place and one for the runner up.

1st place gets this beauty from Jon Woodworking

Runner up will get this sweet wall hanger from Toucan Mango

So what are you waiting for? Take a picture and fill out this entry form!

Jon Woodworking Ukulele Hanger review

Jon Woodworking is an Etsy shop run by...Jon. Though I'm still not sure how he came up with the name (sarcasm, folks). Jon is a heck of a nice guy and he makes some killer ukulele and guitar wall hangers. Not a lot of flash with these. Just a simple look and quality construction. Hey, what more do you need from the device that holds your uke? Looks pretty nice hangin' the Kamoa if I do say so myself. Here's the report card on this hanger...