The Flamingo (Emenee) Ukulele This chief competitor to The Islander was endorsed by Arthur Godfrey; Flamingos came in a choice of off-white or marbelized brown and were sometimes equipped with a pitch pipe attached to the headstock (not included with this model). However, the Uke Player (also called the Chord Master on the Islander) is included [...]

The Favilla brothers, John (Giovanni) and Joseph, originally from Italy, set up their stringed instrument building business, in 1894, in mainland America, after originally learning from their father, Francesco, in Italy. Although originally a guitar company, by the early 1920’s, the Favilla brothers were based in New York and were building thousands of stringed instruments, including ukuleles, violins, banjos and mandolins, with the help of their 55 employees. During the 1920’s the ukulele became incredibly popular, and Favilla created their most famous design, the tear-shaped uke.

The Islander Ukette was a later introduction to the Maccaferri line of plastic instruments and neatly complements the Islander ukulele it was modelled after. At such a small size, the Ukette was intended really as an instrument for children, although it now attracts admirers of all ages and is truly a vintage collectible in its own right.

This Mastro TV Pal ukulele has plastic geared tuning and there is a slight crack on the bottom of the body, as can be seen in the pictures. It has the original strings that came with the ukulele in four different colours: green, orange, white, and yellow.

Martin ukuleles are renown for their incredible craftsmanship, and this particular model would have originally sold for about $10. Martin ukuleles are often referred to as the most sought-after in the ukulele world, especially the rarer, higher-end models such as the Style 3 or the Style 5.

Martin ukuleles are probably the most sought after brand of ukulele around. It’s many ukers’ dream to come across a vintage Matin Ukulele at a car boot sale for a tenner. You’ll often see the ukenoscenti throw around the names of different styles of ukulele, so I thought I’d knock together a quick and easy newbie’s guide to telling different styles of Martin apart so you can tell what’s what.