Ever heard of a Teton ukulele?

I'm really getting into playing the ukulele, or so Anna says.  I must admit I like being able to accompany myself on songs, figure out chords to songs I made up for Charley, and I am even beginning to get the hang of finger-picking.  I also must admit that I was getting frustrated with the inexpensive soprano ukulele that I had been using.  It seemed difficult to keep in tune and some chords just didn't sound all that great on it.  The 'D' chord, for example, was almost always a disaster, and since many songs are in the keys of G, D and A, having a decent D chord is a requirement.

I began to shop for a new ukulele.  I looked at lots of ukuleles online.  I read and read buying guides, ukulele web sites, consumer reviews and professional suggestions.  It seemed like the most practical suggestion from the buying guide was to go to a music store and try out a bunch of ukuleles until one fit, sort of like trying out clothes or shoes; you know it's right when it fits right.

First stop was Ted Brown Music in Richland.  They had some fine ukuleles, but none of them really seemed like the exactly right one.  I enjoyed playing a couple of them, such as the Kala concert ukulele in Pacific Walnut.  It has a nice, bright sound, but I wondered if I would get tired of the bright sound after a while.  I also enjoyed the Cordoba mahogany ukulele, but it didn't seem to speak clearly when it came to finger-picking.  The Kala spruce top with rosewood back and sides was pretty and had great tone, but I don't think I need a spectacular instrument for the kind of strumming and goofing around that I do.  I told the salesman that none of the ukuleles were friends yet, after all, we had just met!

I went back to the Internet to read some more about ukuleles, especially customer reviews, and I also began to check out retailers and their reputations.  Guitar Center got really low marks for customer service.  Ted Brown was noted for salespeople that are always trying to up-sell, which doesn't really bother me since I have some experience in retail sales.  Online instrument retailers were getting mixed reviews but suffered from the lack of making the instrument available to try out without having to purchase it.  It was about this time that I found the web site for Avalon Music in Wenatchee.  Right on their web site they said they do not sell instruments online and stated that by only selling in their store they were able to sell instruments at a lower price than much of their competition.

Yesterday we were in Wenatchee for a visit with family so, after seeing the eclipse with Susan, Anna and I decided to take a trip downtown to drop off some used goods at Salvation Army and to check out Avalon Music and see what their ukulele selection is like.  At first I couldn't find the ukuleles and I was getting discouraged, but then Anna spotted a whole wall of them.  They had LOTS of ukuleles to try.  I was also encouraged by the salesman who told us we were doing the right thing by trying out a lot of ukuleles.  He actually encouraged us to try more and more in different woods, different brands and different sizes.

In the process of playing all of these ukuleles I discovered the positive reviews for the Martin ukuleles were correct.  It is a very fine ukulele.  However, I don't want the stress of being concerned all of the time about taking good care of my ukulele.  Martin Ukuleles don't sell for less than $500 and I didn't want to invest that much.  I tried some Kala ukuleles which are in my price range and they were perfectly adequate.  I may have bought one of them if it had not been for trying out the Teton 05 series concert ukulele.  I had never heard of Teton ukuleles and guitars before.  It is a new brand distributed by Chesbro Music of Idaho Falls.  Teton guitars and ukuleles are only available through independent music stores, so they are not available at Guitar Center, or even Ted Brown Music.

The 05 Series ukuleles are a step up from the beginner series (03).  The concert ukulele is made of laminated mahogany with a rosewood fretboard.  I really like the looks of the ukulele as well.  It has concentric rings around the sound hole to make an attractive rosette, and it has pinstripe details on the binding and along the fingerboard.  The satin finish gives it just the right sheen without being too shiny.  What I really like about this Teton ukulele, though, is the sound!  It is the right mixture of warm tones and brightness.  It really seems to sing!  The intonation is also a lot better than my other ukulele.  It seems like all of the chords sound good.  The notes don't get swallowed up by the sound box when I am finger-picking, either.  The voice is clear and the instrument projects well.  I'm glad Anna talked me into buying this ukulele yesterday instead of waiting for my birthday or Christmas.  It's a great little ukulele for the money and I plan to use it for a very long time.