Stormy Sunday and UAS

The rain started early Sunday morning. Nothing like in Houston, but it still LOOKS like a tropical storm with the winds whipping the trees and the rain coming down in sheets. It should blow through by the afternoon, though, so we're really pretty lucky.

A little more about Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome. After playing my $75 soprano size uke for a while, I decided to try out a larger one and see how the sound was different, so I searched Ebay. Found an Oscar Schmidt unfinished spruce top which I got for about $25. It was quite a change from the first one. The wood was much thinner and it had geared tuners rather than the pegs, which allows for more precise tuning. I read somewhere that the original ukes in Hawaii weren't covered in lacquer but were rubbed with coconut oil. We happened to have a jar of that in the kitchen (don't ask) and I tried it. I was really afraid that the thing would smell like coconuts and that it might go rancid and smell even worse, but neither has happened. The oil rubbed right in and left a nice sheen. While the Oscar isn't a great uke, it has a good sustained tone and did feel like a step up from the first one.

Being a concert size, the neck is longer and wider than the soprano, so I think it is a little easier on my fingers, too.

Next, the search continues---