Guffland Ukulele
Sampled ukulele goodness!
ByMark Lowrie
The story
I’ve had this ukulele (a Peavey) lying around the house for several years. It’s a little unique in that it has a sound hole on the top of the body, as well as the front, which means the player hears it quite clearly over other noise (such as when playing with other musicians). I’ve used it on several recordings over time and really quite like it. Sampling it however gives me some additional flexibility in that I can quickly record an idea without having to go to the bother of setting up microphones, etc. The additional attack and release knobs allow for some ready additional sound manipulation options too. I have included four round-robins for each note, which are triggered randomly.
Enjoy!
Interface
Reviews
Lovely Sound
I foresee this sample pack as being very useful in future musical adventures. Great job!
All you need in a Uke!
It was a surprise when I heard how good this Ukulele sounds compared to its size. While it offers just two full octaves of playable range, the sound is crispy clean, tight and mellow. In addition, you get to have four randomized round-robbins that make the experience very realistic and fun to play.
It is simply way too good, so I highly recommend it!
Surprising!
I was taken aback by this one. I was expecting a Ukulele, and what I got was exactly that, but I also got shades of a koto, and a harp, and a hammered dulcimer. Something about the clarity and presence of the sampling pulled me in and I could sense the familial connections of all of these plucky stringed instruments. It was all a bit zen and mystical for a while...
Definitely not George Formby with my ham-fisted keyboard playing, although with the right strumming plug-in...
As a life-long synthesist, it is good to be pulled out of that bubble every so often. Acoustic instruments are a good reminder that there's more to a musical experience than waveforms and filter resonance. Proper, that's the word that came to mind as Messrs Karplus and Strong went on holiday for the summer...
Whilst I'm outside the bubble, this really made me aware that I've never really listened properly to a Ukulele up close and personal. I'm very tempted to break all my self-imposed rules and actually acoustically sample a real instrument, which is what I believe Pianobook.co.uk would call: 'a result!'
"So what promoted you to sample...?"
"Ah. That would be the Guffland Ukulele..."
Summary, then. I liked it. Not my usual fare, but very nicely done. Very usable. I have a huge temptation to casually mention Jason Isaacs and drop the phrase: '...He won't be playing the ukulele in heaven.' into this review, but I think I have managed to stay Awake and avoid doing it!
(Oh, and Hello to Jason Isaacs...)