Billy Dominick

This is a custom acoustic built by Billy Dominick. Raw sound sample by Corey Fujimoto (and his hero Tommy Emmanuel). *Fun fact: Billy currently has 5 motorcycles 😮

Can You Trust an Ukulele Review?

That was a question asked at the ukulele forum Ukulele Underground recently. Can you trust an ukulele review? Since this is The Ukulele Review I thought I would give my take on it here. I don’t think the issue is with trustworthiness. It’s just that we’re all different. We could all play the same ukulele and review it honestly and ...
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A Project Worthy of Our Support!

Paul Hemmings plays Jazz and Blues music in his own prolific style. The fact that he is using an ukulele to do that is an afterthought. Before you hear ukulele, you hear classic jazz and blues expressions, emotional and thoughtful music. Paul Hemmings is a musician that I truly admire and enjoy. Perhaps you feel the same way, but if ...
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Maui Ukulele Festival 2014

I have been to dozens of ukulele festivals and it's always nice to see performers and old friends. But we just got back from Maui's 9th annual Ukulele Festival and for the first time I decided to do a photoblog on it here. I didn't record videos because to get a sound worth publishing I would need to get a ...
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The Man, The Music, The Mic, & The Ukulele

The Man- Corey Fujimoto works (for lack of a better word) full time at The Ukulele Site. He plays most of our sound samples for the website (TheUkuleleSite.com). And he has a solo album you can learn more about here- Corey Fujimoto "Fables" The Music- Pachelbel's Canon is the name commonly given to a canon by the German Baroque composer ...
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Music Guy Mic, you will be missed greatly…

A dear friend and member of our team passed away yesterday. Michael Aratani, aka Music Guy Mic was fun lovin' and hard workin' with a musical gift and an undeniable charm. He was like family to us and a great friend to me. One example that comes to mind is when he helped me build my first shop in Kaneohe ...
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A Dangerous Spin on Uke Tone!

I'm talking about the ceiling fan in my office. It terrorizes my sweet ukulele sounds. Sucks them in and chops them up like a sushi chef. What am I talking about? The vibrato created by my fan makes uke play unbearable! So I turn it off, but it gets hot! Have fan companies addressed this problem with their circulation methods? ...
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Working One Hand at a Time?

Which hand is more crucial for being a good ukulele player? Grab your uke and try using one hand at a time. Which one makes better music? A fun challenge. Could this have any benefit? Only one way to find out. Strumming/Picking Hand - Rhythm is the key! Think percussive. Make a beat. If it can stand on it's own ...
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The Ukulele – Still Fighting for Respect?

I never liked plastic ukes. My dad thought they were cool. He always had a "TV Pal" hanging along side vintage Hawaiian ukes. I guess for those that lived in their hayday it has a nostalgia appeal. And I know some Plastic ukes are better than others. But to me they represent the root of a misconception. A violin is not considered ...
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Keli’i Ukulele and Why We No Longer Sell Them

A year or two back I wrote a blog titled "The Truth about Kanilea". It was just a grabbing title because the conclusion of the review was that they were a great company. Which is what most of my blogs are about. I rave about what I like and try to refrain from negativity. I fear the day that I ...