Meet my new baby - D J Morgan mini-pineapple uke - "Morganino"! in maple....

A new baby always brings joy, admiring smiles, cries of "How cute!" and "Oh what a pretty little thing!" and new ukulele babies are exactly the same... none more so than a pretty sopranino. So meet my new Pineapple baby - Polly!

I knew Dave Morgan (D J Morgan Ukuleles) was building some... and I am over the moon to be the proud owner of number MP12 001 - the prototype!

The scale length is exactly 295mm, and the total length is 450mm... a typical Martin-style 12 frets to the body soprano has a scale length of 350mm, total length 515mm.

Here she is next to her big sister Sprucey Lucy - (14 frets to the body, not 12.)

Visually I like a lot of things - Dave (Morgan) has the artist's eye for balance and style... the overall look is perfectly balanced; the pineapple shape is a pleasing one and it's echoed in the shape of the sound hole. The solid maple fretboard looks just right. It's interesting that maple turns to a rich honey colour over time, and this uke will do that.

This little uke is built of solid maple with a poplar neck and finished with a matte cellulose lacquer. She's not only really pretty, with the maple grain and the signature Morgan stripes on the headstock (green veneer, suggestive of pineapple leaves) but she sounds amazing!


In spite of the short scale length, she sounds just great in C tuning, but I've tuned her up to D tuning and she really sings! Listen for yourself.... I haven't tried tuning her up further to Eb yet, but I will...

This is what she sounds like in D!


The build quality is impeccable... and Dave makes everything himself except for the frets and the tuners. Simply - can't fault 'em....

So.... this is a prototype but Dave is going to be building more... he tells me he's aiming to use sustainable woods for this line of ukes and also to keep the price very affordable. So watch out... the Morganinos are on their way!

Thanks for dropping in, I really appreciate it... do come back now!

"Sprucey Lucy" - DJ Morgan soprano in spruce and maple. No more searching.

When people ask me how many ukes I have, I confess I cringe a little, because the fact is I have quite a few now. Many, many people have more - many more! But to the non-player it sounds a lot, and non-players do not understand the need. It comes down to exploration of different sound, getting the sounds that you want, and buying better quality instruments as time goes on. When you are not satisfied with the ukes you have, you have to go into every music shop you see, just to see if your ideal uke is in there, waiting for you. There is something very satisfying to come to realise that you no longer feel the need to do that, because the instruments you have are - just what you want. Nailed it.

Yes, I'm there. When it comes to wooden ukes, I am satisfied. What do I have? Well, the title of this post gives it away, doesn't it... In April I posted here about my solid mahogany concert made by luthier Dave Morgan (DJ Morgan Ukuleles). Rosie. I'm not generally one for naming my ukes, but as my latest was promptly dubbed Sprucey Lucy, That one had to have a name too. I was, and still am, thrilled with Rosie... but I wanted a spruce-top soprano. When Dave told me he was building some high-spec ukes in bird's eye maple with spruce tops, well... I knew I was a goner.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on one - as soon as Dave had got this uke finished and photographed I knew it had to be mine - I saw it, played it and snapped it up. It plays like a dream and it's loud. And it's beautiful. When I bought Rosie from him just a few months back I loved the subtle inlaid stripes on the headstock - well, Dave has refined the stripes in his signature headstock design into art deco curves now, and on this uke and its sister concert, the stripes are fashioned into three sets of parallel black lines, the two outer sets curving away - so classy, and they complement the ebony fingerboard and the black binding beautifully.

Dave Morgan is quite a perfectionist. He is a full-time luthier from Dudley in the English Midlands. The Black Country. His ukes are impeccably built, light, and sound amazing. Folk who know a great uke when they see and hear one are snapping them up. Barry Maz of Got A Ukulele blog had one to review a couple of months ago. Barry pulls no punches with his reviews - but he was highly impressed with Dave's build Read it here...

The fabulous Ian Emmerson has one. You know Ian Emmerson.... and he just told me... "I had to have it as soon as I tried it. He's an absolutely top-notch builder, it's my favourite uke, and it would be totally unsurprising if I ended up with another of his before too long." How's that for an endorsement?

Paul Culkin, a lovely player and singer/songwriter played my Rosie - and promptly ordered two ukes from Dave. He has them now, a concert and a baritone, and he is highly delighted with them.

Take a look on Dave's website, DJ Morgan Ukuleles to see more of his work and to see Paul playing one of his own songs on his new Morgan uke!

As for me, I play my DJ Morgan ukes all the time. I should put a video up shouldn't I... but it's late. I'll do one soon. At least you know all about Sprucey Lucy now.

Thanks for dropping by!

So many Ukafrolics - So where do I start? The new uke earrings....

Dear readers, so many ukafrolics have passed under the bridge since I last posted - and there were quite a few through the summer that never got a mention, for lack of time... shame on me - but as autumn has well and truly landed and the call of the garden is growing fainter, I'm making a start on catching up. And first up are my beautiful new uke earrings, the second of all the blessings I have counted today!

First up, I drove to Derbyshire for my uke lesson with Phil Doleman. I look forward to that so much, I always come home full of enthusiasm and lots to practise... (hence less time to blog.... sorry!)Feet up, cup of coffee, doze off ... I'm inclined to do that, like a baby with a tummy full of warn drink... and next, I opened my post. A little packet - fretboard earrings! From my friend the luthier Dave Morgan, who made them. They are rather gorgeous! I love drop earrings, I wear them all the time - and these are just perfect for a uke lover like me. Rosewood, with frets and an abalone dot... a little mysterious to the uninitiated, but instantly recognisable to a uke player! And so nice to wear something craftsman-made! I love Dave's ukes, I now have two... I bought a mahogany concert (solid mahogany, naturally) earlier in the year - March, I think it was... I told you about that - and in July I bought another, a beautiful soprano with spruce top and bird's eye maple back and sides.

It's time I told you all about "Sprucey Lucy" isn't it... tomorrow then! It's a date!

Oh - and the third blessing? LSH made my dinner. I am well and truly blessed.

If you want to buy Dave's earrings from him, you can contact him on facebook! Look for this profile picture! Christmas is coming...