Below are the best travel ukuleles you can find on the market today! But since it is real wood, youll need to take extra care of it, especially when taking it to different climates. We dont think things all the way through. I've had a few plastic-fretted instruments, and in general I've really enjoyed them. Please contact me with comments, questions, and video play along suggestions! It all depends on how often the, instrument is played, and the amount of string pressure used. Take a closer look at our instruments and you'll notice the top, bridge, saddle, fingerboard, frets, fret markers, nut, headstock, and bushings are molded as one singular part. I know looks arent everything, but this ukulele gives off the aura of I am a real instrument who deserves to be loved and worshipped. A little cocky, isnt he? This helps in avoiding any unwanted muting. Subscribe to our newsletter and always be the first to hear about what is happening. If wound strings are used, such as low G sets, a hardwood fingerboard is highly recommended. The fret action is also low, meaning the strings are easy to push down on and the intonation is good up the fretboard. They are prone to corrosion and getting crunchy from sand if you hang out at the beach enough. Well also send our favorite travel tips straight to your inbox! Our soprano ukuleles start at $145 and our tenor ukuleles start at $175. They can get wet, but prolonged exposure may cause eventual corrosion. The Capital of Christmas, as Strasbourg is known, owes its title to the fact that the very first Christmas market was held here in 1570. A delicate, sweet sound and small size took the ukulele from being an obscure instrument to a piece of cultural significance. The weirdest part about the Outdoor uke is that they neglected to round the neck very much. Over two million visitors from all over the world flock to Christkindelsmrik in Strasbourg, just one of hundreds held around the region. One of those features are horn shaped string slots, which are used on the nut of our Ukuleles, Banjoleles, and Guitars. Powered by Shopify. Travel ukeleles are designed to be either light-weight, compact, weather-resistant, or all three! 2023 Outdoor Ukulele. Low temperatures, high temperatures, and humidity will not affect the stability of your Outdoor Ukulele, Outdoor Banjolele, and Outdoor Guitar. READ THIS POST. We also use horn shaped holes on our floating Banjolele bridge. I followed general maintenance guidelines and tried not to drop them. Steel strings are hard on fingers until they start to grow a callus (thick pad that develops on fingertips). Its hard to tune and even if you can get it close, it still doesnt sound quite right. I personally like the brightness and clarity of the enya (which I own) and think, in an ideal world, this would be the one to have as a 'take anywhere' portable option that can take a bit of abuse then come home to a more mellow, wooden (tenor for me) uke. If you want to be a ukulele player, the easiest way to learn is to start strumming. WARRANTY Outdoor Ukulele products are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for a period of 1 year from the date of purchase. Like traditional instruments, our composite polycarbonate frets will begin to show some wear over time. Ukulele (GCEA) Play Along Videos by UkeStuff, TABS (or Chord Charts) from YouTube.com/ukeplayalongs, UkeFarm: Ukulele chord fonts & other resources. There is a sticker on the headstock and another inside the soundhole with the company logo on it. What was a reasonably nice utility uke became an unplayable mess in no time. Being outdoors is a source of inspiration, and many of us choose to express ourselves through music. Strasbourg Self-Guided Audio Tour. Just sign up below. Nylon was developed by DuPont during World War II, and DAddario was sent samples by Dupont in 1947. Also I can leave it in the car in the summer in Arizona where auto interior temperatures approach that of the surface of the sun. I also love the soundhole, which looks like the cut-out of a flame. Even the highest frets remain perfectly in tune with the stock strings, that is. Something reminiscent of a steel drum. new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], You simply plug an instrument cable, like this one, from your ukulele into an amp and you can play your music over speakers! The Outdoor Guitar has the size of a baritone ukulele and are tunedEADGBE (Standard Guitar). The Enya id inexpensive. Hood or trekking during the summer through Joshua Tree. Its possible to match the gauges that we use with other string manufacturers. Outdoor Guitars use nylon strings custom made by DAddario in Farmingdale, New York. It sounds more mellow than my other ukuleles. A beginner may find the fingerboard width on a classical guitar too wide for fingers to reach, and the width of a steel stringed acoustic guitar too narrow, causing your fingers to touch more than one string. The action on our guitar is 2.75mm on the 6th string at the 12th fret, and 2mm on the 1st string at the 12th fret. Please try again. At Outdoor Guitar, we believe that you should be able to carry your creative outlet with you wherever you go. Be careful with those Aquila Reds - they are specifically excluded from the Outdoor Warranty for fret wear. It lived in my day pack, so I could whip it out at opportune moments and have a Maria Von Trapp moment playing music in the Swiss Alps. No case. Unfortunately, ABS is much softer than polycarbonate, so it doesnt have ideal acoustic properties and wont retain their shape in high temperatures. I cant imagine theres another uke that holds up better for the price. Metal tuners by Grover are the only non-plastic piece. Stringed instruments use a nut made from a hard material like bone or other synthetic materials that are attached to a wooden neck between the fingerboard and headstock. Like traditional instruments, our composite polycarbonate frets will begin to show some wear over time. Sound: My very first impression of the Outdoor tenor was "tin can.". We set the action of our instruments during the glue up process, where we clamp them to solid machined aluminum fixtures during the curing process. In The UK and Canada, ukuleles are often tuned a whole step up (two frets) to A D F# B. Ukulele (1 - 40 of 5,000+ results) Strap Ukelele Tenor ukulele Electric ukulele Chords Instrument Wall mount Price ($) Shipping All Sellers UFO Alien Ukulele Strap -Uke-FO- Green Alien Ukulele Straps - Flying Saucer Ukulele Strap - Area 51 Ukulele Strap - Double Padded (5.7k) $19.00 Clothing: Ring Smart Home Security Systems eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room: Blink Smart Security for Every Home Neighbors App Real-Time Crime '&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= Huge range of colors and sizes. The Outdoor Guitar has the size of a baritone ukulele and are tunedEADGBE (Standard Guitar). Whats to say? This adds pressure to the back of the nut and reduces pressure on the front of the nut. A solid spruce top means just that: the soundboard is made out of a solid piece of wood. Take it away, Richie. Steel strings are hard on fingers until they start to grow a callus (thick pad that develops on fingertips) and nylon strings let you play and practice much longer. We lose the side front markers every time. Low key stalk us here and on social media. To my ears, they sound very differentfrom one another, but each sounds size-appropriate. Regular Patreons are the backbone that keeps this site running and running for free! Ukuleles are perfect for learning how to play a stringed instrument. Outdoor Banjolele Brown Coated $ 265.00 Outdoor Banjolele Carbon Fiber Clear $ 285.00 Outdoor Banjolele Carbon Fiber Coated $ 285.00 Levy's Jacquard Weave Strap 001 $ 25.00 Levy's Jacquard Weave Strap 002 $ 25.00 Levy's Jacquard Weave Strap 003 $ 25.00 Levy's Black Polyester Strap $ 20.00 D'Addario Ukulele Pro Capo $ 20.00 D'Addario Felt Pick The sustain is especially excellent on this uke, and when you strum or pluck a note rings out nice and long. Cut once again to March 2020, the world shuts down and Im stuck at home. Hood or trekking during the summer through Joshua Tree. Great article! The thing about a computer generated piece of plastic is that it can be very precise and stable. Really you can find something that fits your vibe! Think about that for a momentwould you put a metal string on a plastic ukulele? We then used state of the art CAD (Computer Aided Design) systems, FEA (Finite Element Analysis), and Mold Flow Analysis to help us design our instruments. And the neck width on the Enya is just too narrow. Like traditional instruments, our composite polycarbonate frets will begin to show some wear over time. The Outdoor instruments are made from two pieces of polycarbonate plastic (top and back/sides) fused together in the creation process. The playability of a stringed instrument is often measured by its string action. This option works best on the tenor and is less common on the soprano. Powered by Shopify. Buy Donner Concert Ukulele White Carbon Fiber 23 Inch Travel Starter Bundle Kit with Free Online Lesson Gig Bag Strap Nylon String Tuner . Advertisement THE IDEAL DESTINATION: A Big Island Hawaiian getaway, where you can ski and surf in the same day. Very mello tones after I put on AQUILA wHITES, not overly loud as many of the wooden ones are that need muffeling or a well trained hand to keep them from overpowering everything else in the room. Do you play ukulele already? Unique Ukulele Fretboard clothing by independent designers from around the world. Sometimes the little things really make an instrument look that much better! Kalas Solid Spruce Top Travel Guitar is a perfect companion to a travel ukulele! Need some help planning your next adventure? My very first impression of the Outdoor tenor was tin can. Just handling the uke makes it ring with a plasticky tone. They have four strings and a narrow fingerboard, making chord shapes much easier to learn. While I have baby blue, there is also blush pink, red, orange, and black. They have a short scale length and a narrow fingerboard, making chord shapes much easier to learn. This little Ohana ONina Willow Sopranissimo Ukulele went for the ride of its life when I brought it on a trip to Switzerland. 28 Totally Ridiculous Travel Gifts (That You'll Low-Key Want) Travel ukuleles doing what they do best - traveling. If you have flat top frets then, if the uke otherwise plays OK and the frets have some height, what has happened is the frets have been levelled but not re-crowned. Ukulele is often pronounced two different ways, OO-koo-LEH-leh and YOO-k-LAY-lee. They have a short scale length and a narrow fingerboard, making chord shapes much easier to learn. Our instruments are a favorite choice for kayakers, river rafting guides, surfers, and people who live at the marina. Kala Brand is one of, if not the most, popular ukulele manufacturers, so you can expect a top-quality ukulele thats not only functional but great sounding! Its not recommended leaving an ABS instruments in a hot car during the summer. The slot should be angled downward and pointing toward their corresponding tuning machine and string post. Thanks, Wow, what an exciting trip! Our instruments are a favorite choice for kayakers, river rafting guides, surfers, and people who live at the marina. Made in Bend, Oregon USA Outdoor Instruments manufactures carbon fiber polycarbonate Ukuleles, Banjoleles, and Guitars for backpacking, camping, and traveling. String slots are typically filed by hand or with a jig. And with a solid spruce top, it sounds great too! Our Instruments can be used in all weather conditions. Walking Tours. My musician son is going to Paris this summer, cant take a lot of carry on luggage. The Aqulele has a deeper body than the Dolphin, which really helps to give . It doesnt get very cold here during the day-to-day so I havent had a chance to expose it to the low-end of the temperature scale, but I would not hesitate for a second to take it up on the mountain in sub-freezing conditions (or even to Antarctica). Magic Fluke states: So, in the spirit of trying and testing travel gear, our intrepid Editor spent months traveling with various ukuleles and making detailed notes on their sound and performance. Baritone ukuleles are actually tuned like the first four strings of a standard guitar, so you can also think of them as a baritone ukulele with two additional bass strings, or a six string baritone ukulele. Our instruments are a favorite choice for kayakers, river rafting guides, surfers, and people who live at the marina. A beginner may find the fingerboard width on a classical guitar too wide for fingers to reach, and the width of a steel stringed acoustic guitar too narrow, causing your fingers to touch more than one string. I'm impressed by the sound of the Outdoor, but still it's too much money for a plastic ukulele. Wedding Clothing Wedding Jewelry All Wedding . If youre plucking a melody with the strings it sounds especially nice. You can see the bracing pattern inside the uke where the plastic is thicker. Our travel size guitars are perfect for learning how to play a stringed instrument. A car interior with closed windows here in Wisconsin, USA can get up to 140F (60C) and right now as I write this, it is -14F (-25C). I recorded a rough before and after: Of course the difference between low-G and high-g is dramatic, but if you can listen beyond that I believe youll hear quite a difference in the sets. The guide includes everything from the hacks we use to save money on travel to printable packing lists. Any thoughts on how to fill in/fix this? Its never too early or too late to begin pursuing your interests. Ukuleles are affordable, making them a great transition instrument to a more expensive instrument, like the guitar. For a low price, this is all you need to hit the road and to get your ukulele playing going.