Tuesday 18 September 2012

Banjo Ukuleles for Sale

Xmas is coming, and so are all the Banjo Ukes! The Banjo Ukulele is really taking off at the moment, the Ukulele craze shows no sign of letting up, and now Banjo Ukes are becoming very sought after. old favourites such as George Formby are still hugely popular, just look on youtube to see all the young kids playing his style. I have a few ukes for sale, of varying price scales. I've bought a few for my collection, so of course some have to be sold too! for example; Slingerland model 20 Slingerland model 24 Unknown model Slingerland with resonator 2 x Melody major's. these are almost the same as the Dallas-B A Gretch style, stamped "made in Illinois" Jolli-Joe. the UK uke. this is the all metal BU All these are available, with a discounted price when bought direct through this site. Please enquire for prices Also keep an eye on this site for new posts... i have a few new acquisitions that i am looking forward to posting

Monday 3 September 2012

I'm the Ukulele restoration man!

This is me playing my restored Gibson ub-2 at the Hollesley Ukulele Cosmos camping weekend.
The open no-mic was brilliant. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Slingerland Maybell model 30, or is a 65?

Heres another maybell, this time its a very grand model. This uke is rare too, i have never seen one of these before. I imported this one from the USA. This is more like the top of the range maybell, quite similar to a Gibson UB-3. It has a fantastic carved wooden resonator, 16 tension hooks. made from walnut and maple
. This is a big, heavy, powerful instrument. Ideally suited to be played in a music hall, or with a band. It has a sweet tone, loud volume when required too, but i played it quite gently and it sounded superb. Fitted with the usual heavy grooved bezel, and has an inlaid fretboard. One thing missing is the veneer from the headstock. it was badly damaged, so I removed the rest of it. As for the what model it is? There are no markings on the perch pole, which would of helped! But it is definitely a Slingerland. Maybe it was made for another firm. that was quite common with Slingerlands. In the Slingerland catalogue i have, there a model 65, which looks the same, but only has 12 tension hooks. or theres the model 30, shown here... http://domains.tbc.net/dkolars/slingerlandguitar.com/images/catalog-old/CatOldPg23.jpg The model 30 has a metal flange around the resonator, similar to on the Dallas George Formby model C. If you know what model it is, please let me know. Its for sale too, please enquire for prices.

Sunday 2 September 2012

Slingerland Maybell model 24

Described in the original 1930s catalogue as " Genuine walnut throughout, 8 inch shell all professional model. equipped with heavy centred grooved top band, heavy cast brackets, flat head hooks, highly polished. Duco finished natural walnut colour. a very popular seller. price $12.00" Unbelievable $12. thats only £6!! I would add, a very powerful instrument. nice to play. great tone and good, loud but not unpleasant rich volume. Comparable to a Gibson UB-2 in most aspects, but about half the price! (in 1930 and today) This uke is currently for sale. please enquire for prices.

i think its called a U-King?

Heres an unusual uke. wooden neck, but with metal pot, and brass resonator. Arrived to me in a very poor state. I stripped the neck and re-finished. cleaned up the metal pot, removed the rust from the hooks, fitted new hooks, vellum, tuners & bridge. Now a very nice little instrument. good tone and decent volume, not loud or tinny. The owner had described it to me as" my biggest challenge yet!" These battered old ukes are becoming my speciality!