How Ukulele Saved the Sheet Music Industry in Radio’s Early Days

BY JIM TRANQUADA | FROM THE FALL 2026 ISSUE OF UKULELE America’s first commercial radio station, Pittsburgh’s KDKA, went on air November 2, 1920. Two years later, there were almost 500 stations nationwide—a development then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover called “astounding.” Consumers quickly adapted it into their daily lives. Songwriters and music publishers soon came

How Ukulele Saved the Sheet Music Industry in Radio’s Early Days Read More »

Uke Makers: Pete Howlett Shines his Light of Knowledge to Guide Future Generations

BY AARON KEIM | FROM THE FALL 2026 ISSUE OF UKULELE MAGAZINE A man of skill, hard work, creativity, and faith, Pete Howlett is a foundational part of the ukulele revival of the 21st century. Since the early 1990s, he has built ukuleles and guitars in his rural Wales workshop inspired by classic techniques while

Uke Makers: Pete Howlett Shines his Light of Knowledge to Guide Future Generations Read More »

ANCIENT WOOD

this nine inch piece of cedar took 388 years to grow.    I cut this from a huge cedar log fifty years ago,  The tree must have been 800 years old,  It will make a wonderful soundboard for the Australian Blackwood tenor that I started this morning Marvelous Western Red Cedar from the shores of

ANCIENT WOOD Read More »

A LOVELY LITTLE CONCERT

This baby sounds as good as it looks. The body wood is Palo Escrito, a popular guitar wood in Mexico.  The soundboard, Sonic graded Lutz Spruce from our local Pacific Rim Tonewoods.  The neck is Black Walnut and the peghead plate European Birch.  This is a good one. Source link

A LOVELY LITTLE CONCERT Read More »