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Ukuleles
The elegant CloudMusic TT12 Tenor uke is the the ‘bigger one’ of the #GoingNorth Adventure.
Very important that, on composing-adventures to have an instrument with more resonance, something that really rings. I actually write differently depending on which ukulele I’m playing. With this one I can enjoy simple chords more and I have more space for intricate solos and rhythm in songs about embarking on icy escapades !
Let me unpack the name here real quick: T is short for Tap Hua Xin, which in Chinese, means Mahogany. The top is mahogany (gets a T) and the front and back is also mahogany (gets another T). So TT.
Number numbers: a 1 will indicate solid wood, and a 2 signals laminated wood. So TT12 means that the top part is mahogany (T), solid wood (1), and the side and back of the uke are mahogany (T), laminated wood (2). So step right up TT12 !
“A Tenor in Akureyri”, three-part opera
This one is for those who have a bit more space in the backpack, or at home. But there’ll be more space for your fingers too, and there’s such a great comfort that comes with that, especially on this really enjoyable fretboard.
If you’re up for exploring said fretboard, from bottom to top, getting your fingers on one of these is a good whim. Your fingers will thank you, as you embark on quite a trip, even staying at home: notice how your playing, and your appreciation of what you play will stealthily change for the better.
Take the tenor leap of faith.
VIEW THE TT12 ON THE CLOUDMUSIC WEBSITE available only in concert size at the moment.
Quite the view-ke
The CloudMusic TT22 Soprano is the soprano uke of the #GoingNorth adventure ! TT22S for short.
My TT22S got a bit of a Iceland makeover at the Rejkjavik school of arts
Let me unpack the name real quick: T is short for Tap Hua Xin, which in Chinese, means Mahogany. The top is mahogany (gets a T) and the front and back is also mahogany (gets another T). So TT.
And here with a little binary language, a number 1 will indicate solid wood, and a number 2 signals laminated wood. So TT22S means that the top part and side and back of the uke are both: mahogany, laminated. And the it’s S for small. Err no! Soprano!
The TT22 at the wheel!
This little fellow actually has quite the resonance. A balanced warmth of sound, and playing comfort that would easily rival much pricier competitors.
I’m guessing it was designed with loving homes by the fireplace or fun nights out on the beach in mind. But actually it did impressively well in a crammed van and outdoors, in the harsh low temperatures of Canada and Iceland !
Soprano on the beach
The ukulele helped me right and record some of my favourite songs of the trip, like l’Instant, or By the Banks of Ontario Lake:
It even took a dip with me in the most delightful outdoor baths one could imagine, and came out absolutely fine. Refreshed even.
This ukulele model is also the one CloudMusic has donated to the ‘Ukulele Kids Club’ which forwards these to hospitalised kids all over the world. As a teacher I keep recommending it to students, and it’s been very special seeing them with the same special model a TT22S, that accompanied me on the Wint’ry roads.
Get your own CloudMusic TT22 here:
I travel with two Ukes, and this one is my very dear 'bigger' Uke.
The Tenor Oscar Schmidt OU8T travelled with me the whole adventure in Eastern Europe, and I feel very lucky to have had its lovely sound with me. It helped me develop my ukulele playing in a way a little soprano Uke never would have, and it even changed the way I wrote certain songs. I'll explain why a bit further down.
But first, here's a to-the-point illustration of what it looks and sounds like. Straight from Transylvania's Sibiu.
For those who might not know, a tenor ukulele is one of the bigger kind of ukuleles. The strings still play the same notes as on the other regular ukes (GCEA) but the body is larger. Which means you can't shove it in your backpack as easily but it comes with a lot of musical bonuses.
I want to be perfectly transparent with you here, and want you to know that Oscar Schmidt sent me this uke as I was about to embark on the adventure. I had sent a few emails around the month before leaving home and Oscar Schmidt were very happy to just send me on my way with one of their own. Which I duly did, and am very glad I did too, as you'll read.
The Sound
This Ukulele has a very rich sound, and a strong resonance, which you simply will never get from little soprano ukes. Just playing an simple C chord makes you realise how openly it rings.
And the song above is a good example of this, because my inspiration for the chords and the playing style in "See You in Sibiu", really feeds off of the openness of the sound of the OU8T.
Strolling around in Student City Cluj with my Oscar Schmidt OU8T, Romania
During a concert in Chisinau, Moldova, singing about a certain Stefan
I'll get technical briefly but I play a C5 here (GCG highC). I tapped into its resonance, and starting to improvise on the last string, keeping the beautiful openness of the C5 going. And that's how I came up with the riff.
I would have ended up frustrated if I couldn't switch from fooling around with the little uke to the much richer sound of this one. As you can see in the video however, one of my T-shirts is stuffed into the sound hole of my OU8T. And that's because it is quite loud, and when I use it to accompany my singing voice, the balance is altered slightly. So when I'm singing with it, and especially when I'm recording, I dampen the sound a bit that way.
Comfort
Because of it's resonance and of the bigger size of the frets, I was able to improvise and write songs with more finger picking, and subtle things like pulling and tapping the strings with the left hand's fingers.
Ben&OU8T, recording the first song on the road, in village Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria
A song like Sighisoara, for example, is completely influenced by the musical comfort that comes with this ukulele. In chords that use open strings a lot (here, in A minor) you don't have to play ceaselessly like you would a tiny banjo on cocaine. Instead, the ringing can accompany a bit more freedom in your singing. Your musicality then becomes free, and a song like that one can truly bloom.
The OU8T is also the Ukulele I used the most during the recording sessions for the various albums. My sopranos had an instantly "cheap" feel once passed through the mics, while this one really filled the sound scope.
All in all,
As I was travelling through Eastern Europe for more than 9 months, this Uke had its own bag, while the tiny blue soprano of mine was shoved (lovingly, of course) in the front pouch of my Backpack.
Singer Sha-Sha tries out my OU8T after a show, in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
Which is fitting, because I had always tended to see cheap little ukes as half toys/half intrument hybrids, but with the OU8T, I really felt like I was carrying a real musical instrument. And its expanding sound, expanded in turn my playing and my musical ideas, throughout the whole adventure.
And the "shoving T-shirts or underwear in the soundwhole" meant I could adjust its loudness for different situations (jamming with other musicians, recodring uke+voice, recording the uke solo...).
For the seasoned Ukers
I'm very grateful it's part of these adventures, and I'd definitely recommend it, not as a very first uke, but for those looking to expand their playing, their musicality. It's an instrument you don't just play, but that you also really listen to.
The Oscar Schmidt OU8T chilling on an Odessan beach, Ukraine
And a last little melody, here's a video of us (Ben+OU8T), without socks or T-shirts in use in the sound hole, straight from Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria:
On the parking lot of a small French airport, next to a random car, waiting for it all to begin
About to embark on the very first and biggest Ukulele Road Trips adventure, I knew I wanted a light blue soprano to bring along.
The trip would have a colour theme, and so I needed a colourful companion for the backpack and the tenor. I quickly ordered three light blue sopranos. Investigating them all very closely, the one who eventually got the ticket is the Rocket Soprano Ukulele. Formally known as US10R.
It’s got a Nato wood top, fingerboard and bridge, Basswood back and sides. And it survived everything the adventure threw its way.
good aerodynamics too
Let’s be clear, ukuleles don’t come much cheaper than the Rocket soprano uke, and yet, I wrote so many songs on it, and enjoyed every second.
For musicians, sound is paramount, and once the strings got played on a bit, it was a fun ride ! It stayed in tune, and the strings didn’t mind me tuning it in C, D or even Eb [Bb Eb G C] after a few months. I only ever broke one of the Aquila strings, the A string, but that was after 8 months of relentless travelling, playing and composing. And also it was while I was banging the ukulele on the table of a Ukrainian bar to accompany an improvised song about asking a friend for shelter (that I really did need).
In Iasi, România
A fine ukulele for beginners, or people like me who love having a soprano around that looks full of enthusiasm, as well as sounding like it too.
It looks like they don’t do the light blue anymore for some reason. Which is odd because it’s obviously the coolest. But here are a few other colours availbale:
