Ok, prepare for a short rant. If you don’t want to hear a guy complaining, then just skip this article and I won’t in anyway be offended!
The internet is a terrific resource, BUT it seems that increasingly online questions are increasingly ill formed and on a daily basis there are endless posts that are IMO essentially meaningless. Here are some examples of questions that drive me nuts, because the question is too vague and generalized, so without context, its impossible to give any kind of useful answer. These questions appear on a daily basis on social media and rather than ask the questioner to clarify the question, hordes of posters pile in giving responses which are well intentioned, but IMO not that helpful.
Here are some examples –
“Whats the best, cheapest instrument for a beginner?”
“The best” means what exactly? There is no “best” without context. “The best” could mean whatever will fit in my rucksack, the prettiest looking (also totally subjective), the one which sounds “best” to my ears (also totally subjective” “The cheapest” also is meaningless without context. There are endless instrument shaped objects poorly made that are not really IMO musical instruments in that they are often unplayable. They may be great props for posing with, but that’s about it.
Another consideration is “What sound do you want to create?” Again , the question is meaningless without that consideration. The same goes for the perennial questions about string choices. The combination of strings and instrument wood/hardware along with the playing style will determine the final sound. With small bodied instruments like ukuleles, different combinations will produce radically different results. Everyone will have a personal preference for what suits their own ears, BUT that equates to “what I like most” which is different to what is “best”
I have over 200 sets of ukulele strings in stock including 90 sets of Hilo strings which are now unobtainable. The Hilos sound terrific (to my ears) on Shimos, but don’t sound great (to my ears) on many other ukes. My Collings concert ukes sound better (to my ears) with Worth strings.
Another question is
“What’s the best case for my instrument?”
I’m a big fan of protecting instruments and there is always a trade off between construction, weight and cost. For me the strength and weight and the two primary considerations. For guitars Carlton fiber glass cases (no longer available in the UK) are fantastic in terms of strength, but they are heavy.
I used to but them directly from Keith Carlton after I saw Martin Simpson using them. Now they are only available in the USA they are hugely more expensive. For ukuleles carbon fiber cases are fantastic, seriously light and really strong, but there is a big price tag and I can only find these in Japan. Again its all about context and whether weight, cost, looks or any other factors are the primary consideration for what is “best”
So any question that starts with “What’s the best?” is meaningless without any context.
