My Beltona resonator uke arrived!

My Beltona arrived a few weeks ago, finished exactly to my requirements and it is every bit as gorgeous as I knew it would be!

I have wanted one of these since I saw Del Rey play one at the GNUF (Grand Northern Ukulele Festival) in Huddersfield in 2014. Beautiful sound. I had toyed with cheaper resonator ukes in the past and had not liked them at all, but this.... was a revelation. And so I lusted after one. But quality like this does not come cheap. I saved - and waited. Til now!

These ukuleles command a lot of respect among folk who know about resonators. Built by Steve Evans to the highest standards.... everything about mine is faultless. Beautifully finished, and perfect intonation.

For more general information and a great review of one of these instruments, I would refer you enthusiastically to Barry Maz's review on the blog Got A Ukulele. It's a superb review - there is nothing there for me to argue with and I will not try to reinvent the wheel!

So I'll keep this little write-up brief, and you can look at that review for more general info.

I chose a concert size in the original double-bout shape - no cutaway.

I asked for side dots as well as fret markers. Barry had remarked that there were none on the tenor one that he reviewed - but ordering one, you have only to ask! Steve builds these to order!

I chose planetary tuners - they are geared 4:1 I believe, and don't stick out at the side, as geared tuners do - planetary tuners look more like friction tuners - but the gearing is enough to make tuning quicker and less fiddly than friction tuners. I thought the extra expense was worth it.

My uke has a new headstock shape! An elegant sort of tulip shape, and I really like it. It looks good with stick-out-the-side geared tuners if that is your choice, and of course it's lovely with friction or planetary tuners that stick out of the back.

My choices were all about colour - Beltona fingerboards are made of rosewood and I asked for the fingerboard and headstock to be simply as dark as he could do it. As for the body of the uke, I wanted a mean, bluesy look in graphity shades with a sunburst. Steve sent me some photos of previous builds and I was able to point him in the right direction.... I'm thrilled with the result! This ukulele gleams and looks silvery pale at one glance - turn it slightly and it turns dark and moody. Perfect! It looks like a mean machine - as I think resonators should look! My photos of this uke are not really very good - taken with a smart phone past its best. Note to self - must do better!

Choosing strings, I checked out youtube video reviews and noted that D'Addario Pro Arte strings came highly recommended for resonators. Steve said the same when I talked to him about it, so I happily settled for those. To me, they feel really good under the fingers, and being black, they look good on this uke too!

I love to hear a resonator uke finger-picked with picks... Phil Doleman plays this way and so does Percy Copley, I've been having a try. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I find it less tricky than clawhammer! I'll get there! Meanwhile, video.... without fingerpicks!



Thanks for dropping in! I should post more often I know - I don't know where the time goes, it just goes faster and faster!

My next uke is on order - a Beltona resonator!

Now then, I really, really do not suffer from UAS - so-called Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome - I have not had a new ukulele since February last year, (DJ Morgan mini-pineapple).... that's nearly a year and that's good going for a ukulele enthusiast! And certainly, when it comes to wooden ukes I am more than satisfied with the ones I have, since I reckon my DJ Morgan ukes are as good as you can get and I love them. AND I can walk past a music shop window with simply a passing glance at ukuleles now, born of mild curiosity rather than acquisitive desire! But ever since I saw Del Rey perform at GNUF (Grand Northern Ukulele Festival)with a Beltona reso in 2014 and I played it in the uke bazaar afterwards, I confess I have lusted after a Beltona resonator. The sound bears no resemblance to any of the cheaper, mass-produced resos that I have tried - and didn't like!

Beltonas do not come cheap. But they're neither as expensive nor as heavy as a National Resophonic, the traditional metal reso uke that many players pay homage to. They are not built of metal, though earlier ones were. The body is moulded from glass-reinforced resin with a lightweight aluminium coverplate and the cone is their own, purpose-built. It's especially nice, speaking as a "Brit" that Beltonas are craftsman-built here in England!

For a great review and more info on Beltonas, see Got A Ukulele here...

It's taken me a while to scrape the cash together for this uke, and it's also taken me more than a while to broach the subject with LSH - (Long-Suffering-Husband) and persuade him that I really do NEED this! Any ukulele enthusiast will know what I'm talking about and sympathise here! But at last I have spoken to Steve Evans at Beltona and the wheels are now in motion. Of course I have to wait a couple of months for what I want, but I don't mind, I've waited for well over two years and I can wait a little longer, though the excitement is mounting!

For an interesting discussion on resonator ukuleles, see this thread on the Ukulele Underground Forum. On the first page there, you'll also see a YouTube video of the great Del Rey playing a resonator uke.

So, watch this space! Meanwhile, I need to practice those finger-picking skills! Oh yes indeed I do....

Thanks for dropping in, please call again and be assured of your welcome!

Resonator uke - why? Here's why - Del Rey...

Ever since I saw Del Rey play at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival 2014 I've rather hankered after a resonator ukulele.. and longed to play like her. That finger-picking is phenomenal. The uke was made by R E Phillips in the USA. No further info on that maker, sorry!

No other words necessary, methinks, just watch, listen and enjoy... watch this on YouTube here...

I don't know what the tune is, but I'm guessing the genre is delta blues. Perhaps someone can enlighten me further?

Just a quickie, had to share this - thanks for dropping by!

To learn more about Del Rey, check out her website here! It's all there, I won't try to reinvent the wheel!

You Can't Get Enough of That Stuff - Phil Doleman and Ian Emmerson!

I can't get enough of this stuff, that's for sure! Phil Doleman here on Argapa soprano resonator



Originally recorded by The Hokum Boys in 1929, this is an example of "hokum" in early blues. Wikipedia gives some info on this stuff "hokum" - I had to look it up... but what you can't help but notice is that for blues - it isn't miserable! In fact it's quite jolly. I like that. So do plenty of other people, I think - Phil cheers everyone up with these upbeat and jolly blues numbers. As for me, I'm enthused to find out more - and I want to be able to play it! There is a chance of that - Phil has been my uke teacher for some months now, and a fine one he is, too. What's more, it's great to see him playing with his great friend Ian Emmerson.

I mentioned Ian yesterday... Phil and Ian used to work together as a uke duo "The Re-entrants", playing "anything from Motorhead to Lady Gaga"... I saw them at the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in Cheltenham in 2012 and thought them pretty fantastic, but sadly, shortly after that, they decided that they had come to the end of that particular road. Ian played the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival 2015 solo... read what they said about him here! Very amusing.... peevish reluctance to leave the house, ha-ha....

Well, in his house, he's been jamming with Phil and they've been having a great time dishing up lots of these really early blues numbers for our delectation. Catch up with them here! -

And catch Ian's latest album of his own songs here!
Full of contemplative, dry humour!

Thanks for dropping in... I've still a lot more catching up to do so don't go too far - but right now I need to do my practice for my next lesson with Phil...

I have discovered - Patsy Monteleone

One by one it is my joy to discover wonderful ukulele artists, and some of them can back up their talents with great vocals. One such is Patsy Monteleone, one time of New York, whom I discovered on a newly recorded Youtube. It's one of those videos, one of those performers, one of those songs, that just hits that spot.... Patsy has just done this video to show off his beautiful new Argapa resonator uke, built for him by the very talented luthier, Sven Nyström of Sweden.

Please watch and enjoy another great Tin Pan Alley number, Love Me As I Am..... from 1941,music by Louis Alter and lyrics by another New Yorker Frank Loesser, (think for example "Guys and Dolls", "Baby It's Cold Outside") It's a song which should be learnt by any male uke songster, in my opinion! If LSH were to get further than a C chord, I'd surely make him learn it! And he would. Because it would suit him perfectly...... "I snore in my sleep..." yeah.....

You can read all about Patsy Monteleone in the on-line Uke magazine Ukulele Player Ukulele Player Issue 6, Artist Profile Patsy Monteleone