We have had so many great customer comments that is sure makes it fun to make our little Sprout. We appreciate all the kind words and comment and enjoy your kindness and warm thoughts. Here is Dale Stavroff’s comment on his new Bean Sprout:

Cheers!

Heidi

Hi Heidi

I took the bean out for her first test run at an outdoor gig on Sunday.  The audience response was overwhelming… people/musicians loved it and I was flooded with questions after the show.

Most people assumed it was a “mini” banjo and were shocked that it was a uke. I, of course, gave them all the pertinent info on you and the company. Everyone thought I was a banjo player as well as a guitar man!

I used it strictly for the “Charlie Poole” set, as I was not comfortable enough to play other things with it onstage.  I thought it performed  admirably… even made me look good!  I’ll always take the freebee!.  I never felt like it was going to let me down… in fact… the Bean helped me out with its playablility when I was “off” a little with my technique.

I’m still making adjustments… especially to the body shape and the sensitivity of the top skin when under electronic amplification.  The neck is beautiful and makes difficult passages seem easy… I sometimes lose tone on certain high notes when fretting chords up the neck… I feel this is probably me not being quite sure how to get good contact in this position.

The Bean is particularly good at reproducing “finger-style” riffs, which is most of what I do with it…and plays the blues with clarity and a biting, ringing tone.

I’m pretty damn happy so far… The alternative was a “Collins”… and I think I made the right decision. No offense to Collins, who make a great uke.

However , the Bean gives me a lot of variability in the act and I haven’t yet begun to plumb the depths of what I would like to see from it.

So… all is well here and I’ll keep you apprised.

One strange note…the Bean is so correct, it has made playing my wooden uke much easier! I really wasn’t sure what was wrong with It… but I can now adjust my approach for its failings and things are much better! Who’da thunk that !

Take care… and thanks for the lovely instrument

Dale Stavroff

I am having a great time working with Robbie O’Brien at Red Rocks Community College. I have attached some pictures of my classical guitar that I am building with him. What a great experience! The more luthiers you work with the more knowledge you gain to build the perfect instrument. That is what we are doing here at Bean Sprout.

Cheers!

Heidi

Hello Everyone,

We have had the extraordinary privilege to have June Cole in our Bean Sprout Family. She plays with a great group called the Ukellettes. Here is a You Tube video of them performing at June’s bi-monthly variety show called “Diversities”

We are hoping that her Bean Sprout will be in her next You Tube video. She said her other musician friends noticed a big difference since she added her Bean Sprout to the group. They said the sound is solid, clean and clear and WOW! Things that June found so hard on her other banjo ukes are so easy on the Bean Sprout. She said there is no struggle and it is so much more fun. Thanks June! You make it all worth while!

A note from June:

“I just got my Beansprout!  I cried I was so happy!   Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

It is exactly how I remembered it sounding out in Nova Scotia at the Ceilidh when I tried it there.

It sounds incredible!  It makes me sound so good!  I love the sustain on it, the action and it packs a punch.  The craftsmanship is beautiful.  Worth every penny and the wait.

When I play “Aint She Sweet” I will be thinking of how much I love my new Beansprout and that there are people like you out there who care so much about the ukulele.  This happy little instrument has changed my life and it has become a door to such enrichment and downright fun.

Will send a picture later, but now I have to go and get groceries.  As my husband reminds me “you can’t live on beansprouts alone”.  I gonna try!

Very ukefully yours,

June Cole

Check out the the great letter we received. What a great story.

Thanks Dane!

Hi Heidi and Aaron,
>
> I wanted you to hear this track from a fourth grade class and their teacher (and me, the banjo player) who have created and filmed a 15-minute stop-action animated short of a tall tale involving a feudin’ frog and snake.  The kids sing on the soundtrack along with their teacher, and this original song has your Beansprout  (#32) providing the plunky rhythm with my friend’s guitar.  Some fun — and the kids love your “baby banjo”, as they describe it!  I hope your business is going well and both of you are healthy and enjoying life and music.

Click Below!

Big Blue Puddle

Look at this from “Papa Bean Sprout”

http://papabeansprout.blogspot.com/

Hello Everyone! Just a couple of pictures. Wanna see what we are working on? Yep we both have something going. You finally get to see Heidi’s work bench!

Heidi & Aaron

Hey Everyone! When you make ukes, you need a lot of jigs.Here are some that we use.

Yes folks! another ukulele festival. This time it is up in the great white north! Canada of course~

I will have a small table so you can come and check out our Bean Sprout! We may have a bit brother ready for the festival (our long awaited Tenor Bean Sprout)

The Langley Ukulele Ensemble, James HIll and Anne Davison, Chalmers & Melanie Doane, Ralph Shaw, Lil Rev, Gerold Ross, Joel Eckhause is in the house! We won’t forget Tim Sweeney and Mike Conway.

Hey hope to see you at the Portland Ukulele Festival. I will be there with a couple of Bean Sprouts, so just grab and and take it out for a spin!

Of course there is going to be some great performers! Jere and Greg Canote, James Clem, Nova Karina Devonie, Jim D’Ville, Joel Eckhaus (with his ukes), Piler Heisig, James Hill, Lil Rev, Lyle Ritz, Del Ray, Gerald Ross, Ralph Shaw, Victoria Vox (and your mouth trumpet) and well just a whole bunch more.

Your are just going to have to come and check it all out!

We hope to see you all there!

Heidi

Bean Sprout will be  at the  Colorado Ukefest! Aaron and I will be around for both days, so come and check out our Sprouts!

This is  going to be a fantastic event! Look who is coming!

James Hill
Putting the “eh” in “ukulele” since he was a wee keiki, Canadian James Hill is considered a “rare peer” of Hawaii’s premier ukulelists with a “world-class command of the instrument” John Berger, Honolulu Star-Bulletin). His music is a “tour de force” mix of jazz, classical, and folk influences (Yvonne Zacharias, The Vancouver Sun).
ukulelejames.com

Sweet Hollywaiians
This amazing hot string band out of Japan plays 1920s and ‘30s Hawaiian, swing, ragtime, blues, Italian, and calypso music…Hollywood style!
myspace.com/sweethollywaiians

Victoria Vox
This acclaimed artist to watch will be joined by other Fest artists to mix ukulele and other instruments to flesh out her burgeoning songwriting talent and pure vocals, moving the uke from the novelty bin to the pop genre.
victoriavox.com | myspace.com/victoriavox

Boulder Acoustic Society
Old school but never old, BAS have established themselves as one of the region’s best acoustic acts. Darol Anger has dubbed them “the future of String Band Music on a silver platter” while Tommy Emmanuel proclaims them “adventurous, entertaining, very original.”
boulderacousticsociety.net | myspace.com/boulderacousticsociety

Mad Tea Party
It’s the B-52s meets Buddy Holly with a lot more thump! With catchy songs about love, life, sex, and dancing steeped in raw rockabilly with shreds of doo wop and devilish blues, the Mad Tea Party concocts a musical recipe that will make you boogie.
themadteaparty.com | myspace.com/themadteaparty

Hobo Nickels

http://www.thehobonickels.com

The Hobo Nickels are a Denver-based folk band playing original Americana-style songs. It’s a foot stompin’ mix of bluegrass, swing, folk, old-timey country, zydeco, polka, trucker tunes and more.
thehobonickels.com

Ukulele Loki
The Renaissance vaudeville showman is back! Loki takes his uke everywhere to serenade audiences with a combination of hot-jazz, schmaltz-core, jug-band, Western swing, novelty, honky-tonk, new wave and his own heart-wrenched-happy-sad love songs.
ukuleleloki.com | myspace.com/ukuleleloki