Ukuleles

Here are some simple tips to care for your ukulele:

- Use a dry soft cloth for dusting, a damp soft cloth for cleaning- Avoid extreme temperatures /dry conditions- Avoid direct sunlight and avoid using abrasives

Instrument Care

– Owner’s Guide –

www.mid-east.com © Copyright 2015. Mid-East Mfg. Inc.Ukuleles

AccessoriesDulcimers and accessories are available at www.mid-east.com

Baroq-ulele™, ConcertUBCRG and UBCVG

Rosewood, Lacewood, or Variegated

(Rosewood & Lacewood)

Baroq-ulele™, Baritone UBBRGRosewood

UBCRGBaroq-ulele ™, ConcertG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBSRGBaroq-ulele ™, SopranoG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBTRGBaroq-ulele ™, TenorG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UKTRGBalalaika Ukulele, TenorG4 C4 E4 A4Tuners OnlyRosewood or Lacewood

ULTRLLute-kulele ™, TenorG4 C4 C4 E4 E4 A4Pegs OnlyRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

D3 G3 B3 E4

Baroq-ulele™, Soprano

UBSRG and UBSVGRosewood, Lacewood,

or Variegated (Rosewood & Lacewood)

Baroq-ulele™, Tenor UBTRG and UBTVGRosewood, Lacewood, or Variegated (Rosewood & Lacewood)

Balalaika Ukulele, TenorUKTVG - Variegated (Rosewood & Lacewood)

Lute-kulele™, Tenor ULTRL and ULTVLWood Tuning Pegs onlyRosewood, Lacewood, or Variegated (Rosewood & Lacewood)

Ukuleles are de-tuned prior to shipping to reduce the chance of damage. Tuning adds tension and changes the structure of the ukulele and length of the strings. Because of this, a new ukulele will require frequent tunings in the first few weeks. Regular tuning for several months will develop the ukulele’s bright voice. Tonal stability will increase with age.

The ukulele’s famous my-dog-has-fleas tuning was actually borrowed from another Madeiran instrument, a five-string guitar called the rajao (pronounced rah-ZHOW).

Recently a controversy arose involving players who tuned their G strings —that’s the “my” string—down an octave, so-called low-G tuning. The traditionalists, using—you guessed it—high-G tuning, bemoaned the modernists destroying the one thing that made the ukulele unique, all for the sake of a few extra notes. Below, we offer the traditional tuning.

UkuleleBefore You Play

Tuning yourUkulele

To start, the ukulele is Portuguese; yes it’s true! When the Portuguese woodworkers emigrated to Hawaii in 1879, they began making their Madeiran national instrument, a little four-string machete (pronounced mah-SHET). A beautiful example of a seven ounce machete crafted by, Octaviano João Nunes da Paixão (1812-1874) still exists.

As the Madeirans’ machete was absorbed into Hawaiian culture, they underwent a complete makeover. They were constructed of native Hawaiian koa wood not pine, given a new tuning, and a new name. The new ukulele was introduced to America at world’s fairs, chautauquas and vaudevilles. The popularity of the ukulele became a craze in 1915 thanks to performances at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The nationwide mania didn’t subside until the Great Depression.

HistoryUkulele

UBCRGBaroq-ulele ™, ConcertG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBSRGBaroq-ulele ™, SopranoG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBTRGBaroq-ulele ™, TenorG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UKTRGBalalaika Ukulele, TenorG4 C4 E4 A4Tuners OnlyRosewood or Lacewood

ULTRLLute-kulele ™, TenorG4 C4 C4 E4 E4 A4Pegs OnlyRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBCRGBaroq-ulele ™, ConcertG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBSRGBaroq-ulele ™, SopranoG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UBTRGBaroq-ulele ™, TenorG4 C4 E4 A4Pegs or TunersRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

UKTRGBalalaika Ukulele, TenorG4 C4 E4 A4Tuners OnlyRosewood or Lacewood

ULTRLLute-kulele ™, TenorG4 C4 C4 E4 E4 A4Pegs OnlyRosewood, Lacewood, or Rosewood & Lacewood

Balalaika Ukulele, Tenor, DeluxeUKTRGDRosewood or Lacewood