Tech: Ukulin Madness

Subject: RE: Tech: Ukulin Madness
From: Art Thieme
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 09:01 PM

Amazing, Mr. Marx from Michigan is still making small ripples in these folkie waters. His instruments never gained the popularity of Schmidt's autoharps, but still, they persist. Pretty cool at this late date.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Tech: Ukulin Madness
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 07:46 PM

I'm in sunny BC, Williams Lake, when I'm not in Wells BC or on the road.

Hope you find what you need there. The Ukelin has a haunting sound. The ukelin originally came with a "ribbon bow", an acutal ribbon, not hair. We have found that psaltery bows work, though the broader hair bows, not the string type, work best. Violon bows work but can have a tendancy for the tip of the bow to catch under the string anchor and brak the bow.

Cheers


Richard Wright

Subject: RE: Tech: Ukulin Madness
From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 07:39 PM

Dear Richard--

Thank you kindly. Bob's site looks like the answer. I'm printing it out now and after I work with that info a while I may get back to you.

Where are you geographically, by the way? I'm in the formerly lovely but now fairly ticky-tacky "city" of Corona, in Riverside County, CA, where people live when they are stuck between Welfare and independent wealth.

Thanks again.

Chicken Charlie

Subject: RE: Tech: Ukulin Madness
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 07:18 PM

arCharlie;

Try doing a search on Ukelin - E not U - and you will find Bob Bozas site

or try www.geocities.com/~ukelin/

There are no drone strings. The strings under the chromatic scale strings are chords. The chromatic strings start with C. it is played like a psaltery. We have several which my wife plays.
Bob's site alos gives a discography, including ours, on which the Ukelin is played.

Check it out. If you need more info let me know

Richard Wright

Subject: Tech: Ukulin Madness
From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 03:58 PM

My bro-in-law picked up a Ukulin at a garage sale. Our understanding is that this was bowed w/the right hand and plucked with the left. The notes to which the drone strings are evidently to be tuned are indicated by labels on the instrument, but there is no clue as to the tuning of the other 16 strings. We are also supposing that it was played on the lap like a Kentucky dulcimer. The only mention of it on Google is a ukulele site which advocates hanging the instrument on the wall and walking purposefully away from it.

Any real help on tuning or method of playing would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Chicken Charlie, collector of weird stuff