Anybody in the world has a Flight Pathfinder Baritone Uke??!!

[pluribus]

I'm asking this cause I've ordered one from Thomman some weeks ago. The waiting time was about 2-3 weeks If I remember well.

As time passes, the waiting time went to 1 week and then to 2-5 days. Some days went on and I've sent an e-mail to Thomman asking them when would it be available. They garanteed me that on 31th January it would be on their warehouse.

Well, yesterday I received an e-mail from Thomman saying that because of the distribution/manufacturer default, the Flight Pathfinfer Baritone would only be available in 1 month. What a @%£#??!!

I told them that I will cancel my order, and they did it for me. I replied them that I didn't said I WANTED to cancel my order, but they cancelled it anyways. It's was a question of semantics, but maybe it was my fault because english it's not my native language.

Now if I ordered it again, the waiting time is 6-8 weeks.

What is really astonishing me is that I can't seem to find almost any reviews of the damn Baritone (except from Peter Moss who is one the the Flight featured artists and Aloha City Ukes that don't have them available too).

So, what's going on? Is everybody buying them and playing them secretly on their basement or there's still no Flight Pathfinder Baritone available anywhere? What's really bothering me is the expectation they create on customers and then no schedule is fulfilled and no explanations are given.

I've sent an e-mail to Flight asking what's going on. No reply yet.

So, does anyone has one, knows anyone who has one, knows anyone who have seen one? Seems I'm talking about aliens and UFO's....

I really wanted an electric Baritone, (not too pricey), but for now I will just try to rest my UAS from this terrible experience. My amp will have to be quiet for now.

Sorry for all this complaining. I know it's only a Uke, but I had to share it with anyone.

Cheers friends

 

[ukudancer]

I was on Aloha City Ukes email list for this and they were expecting them by the end of December.

I'm no longer on the market. I just bought a short scale electric guitar for $175 instead and am super happy with my decision.

I can always just lose the bass strings if I need to. It's been fine so far though and I think it'll improve my playing more than a baritone would

 

[pluribus]

I was on Aloha City Ukes email list for this and they were expecting them by the end of December.

I'm no longer on the market. I just bought a short scale electric guitar for $175 instead and am super happy with my decision.

I can always just lose the bass strings if I need to. It's been fine so far though and I think it'll improve my playing more than a baritone would

Thanks for your answer.

So, you kept the two bottom strings and just play the 4 high strings? And what about the spacing between the strings? Any major diferences compared with a solid body bari uke? And what about the neck compared with a regular baritone uke?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[ukudancer]

I actually play all 6 strings but I use my Ibanez Mikro pgm differently than my electric ukes.

I use more power chords and just omit the third for chords. The higher strings are used for melody lines so string spacing is not an issue..They are closer than my Risa or Sparrow electric ukes. But you just adapt.

My electric ukes, I use more first position cords + melody lines.

If you can do an e chord on auke, you can do power chords on a 3/4 electric guitar. I can play cowboy chords as well but transitioning between some chords aren't very smooth right now since it's been about 20 years since I've played a guitar.

Neck shape is going to play a more important role when comparing a short scale guitar to a solid body bari.

Yes, the neck is wider on the guitar but it's neck shape is more comfortable than a D shaped neck on my baritone. Fret spacing isn't that much different either.

The biggest difference is obviously the extra two strings and muting them or not striking certain strings. That takes most of my brain power compared to my ukes. But then again, it's the same process when you learn a new chord or song...

Bottom line - I bought a cheap short scale electric, I am free to experiment with it as a 6 strings, a 4 string or a weird 3 string octave guitar and I'm only out about 150-170 dollars and it forces me to play differently.

Right now it complements my electric ukes and bass and covers the octave between them, so all 3 stays out of each other's way.

 

[pluribus]

Ukudancer, you made me surfing through the web to know a little more about short neck guitars.

I found a bunch of them, but aimed more towards cheap guitars and I found, for example, these ones:

Ibanez miKro GRGM21M Electric Guitar
Ibanez miKro PGMM21
Squier mini stratocaster
Squier bullet mustang
Squier Mini Jazzmaster
Squier affinity mini stratocaster
jackson js series rr minion js1x
Oscar Schmidt OS-30

Yes, power chords is a relatively "easy" thing to start with when you have 6 strings on a electric guitar, especially when you love rock and metal like I do. But what concernes playing, I think I prefer a clean sound, with maybe a little reverb or delay just to hear those chords ringing and to fingerpicking also.
But avoiding those two "extra" bass strings to play the chords the way I know from the Baritone Uke is another kind of challenge, despite some of the chords share the exact same fingering, like the D chord for example.
I'm really thinking on trying to find a second hand guitar (maybe one of those on that list) just to try on. Then I'll see if I just take off the bottom strings or keep them.
If you know anything or have some sort of experience with some of these guitars, your opinion would be very welcome.

Thanks again for your input.

Cheers

 

[ukudancer]

I've played a few of them on my recent trips to guitar center.

The Jackson Minion RR are a bit shorter scale than the Ibanez Mikro PGM that I ended up with, but the minion is definitely tailored for metal and hard rock. That said, I think I could have made it work with clean-ish tones. I generally like Klon transparent overdrives.

The Mikro is more versatile than the Minion IMHO. The PGM is nearly the same as the regular Mikro, just slightly different configuration and wood combos.

As a side note, Paul Gilbert tours his PGM Mikro as a 3 string guitar. It's quite insane if you look up clips of him playing it.

I also quite liked the Squier Mini for cleans. I would have liked to try the Jazzmaster but never got my hands on it.

I also liked the Mitchell MM100 like the Squier.

I suggest going to your local guitar center or sam ash and trying them out. As much as I wanted an electric baritone or an electric tenor guitar, I figured this will give me plenty of flexibility. If you do end up making it a 4 string, you have the freedom to choose which ones to remove (either the two bass strings or the two E's or the two high strings).

Definitely check in with your local music store to see if this is a feasible solution for you. I visited 5 music stores and ended up buying a used PGM Mikro for cheap.

You can also go the Keith Richards route of playing a 5 string in open G tuning (iirc). I want to try this at some point, actually

Worst case, you can always sell it again for minimal effort on the used market.

 

[pluribus]

Ukudancer, do you wanna read the stupidiest thing ever?

I totally forgot that I have two electric guitars at home that belong to my teenager son. I gave them to him and are right next to me, near the PC where I'm writing. For some reason they call it burnout (not kidding, I'm on sick leave (don't know if it's the correct expressionn) from work for about a month now).

Well, it's a Cort Zenox (that I bought to myself years ago) and a Gibson Les Paul (made in USA) that is a beauty. They are not short scale, but...

I picked the Cort a few minutes ago and I instantly remembered why the electric guitar was not for me, despite 90% of the music I listen is related to metal.

It's the damn space between the strings. They are so narrow that I just can't do it. It messes so much with my central nervous system that I had to put it aside right away. I can't get used to play with a pick.

That's why I picked the Tenor ukulele at the first place some years ago and then I was introduced to the Bari Uke and got hooked.

I wanted to go electric but no way with these strings almost glued to each other.

Thanks again my friend. Very helpful insight.

 

[ukudancer]

Ah, I totally understand.

I was initially concerned about the neck width, fret spacing and the string spacing of an electric guitar before trying them out again.

I honestly thought I was going the baritone uke route (Flight or Fanner) or the cheap eBay Cozart electric tenor guitar. Perhaps that could be an option for you, although I didn't love buying sight unseen.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Excuse me, but have you considered a Fanner?

 

[pluribus]

I've given a look to those Fanner. They look awesome but way too expensive. And the import duties in my country would sky rocket the price even more. But they sure look good.

Thanks