Ukulele Give Away

Here's the deal.

I've been lucky. When I went looking for my first ukulele I found an old Martin for only $100. When I wanted to move up, I found and was able to afford a Martin 3K. When I attended Ukulele Expo 2002 I snagged a plain but sweet sounding vintage Kamaka pineapple for only $250. I've not wanted for great ukuleles to play. And now, I am able to build and play more ukuleles of every shape and size than I can imagine.

But, I run into many tremendously talented musicians, lifelong ukulele enthusiasts, eager and persistent kids and novices and just some plain great people who happen to also like ukuleles that make do with whatever ukulele they can afford. And I know they would all benefit from a high-quality, extremely playable, great sounding ukulele.

So, to give back some of the luck I've received and to have even more fun with ukes -

I will be giving away DaSilva Ukuleles on a random basis.

It will not be a second. It may be a stock model, or it may be a fancy custom

DaSilva Ukulele Co.
2547 8th Street, Suite 28
Berkeley, CA 94710
510 649-1548

email: mike@ukemaker.com

Here is how I will be selecting the winner. I am simply going to go with my gut in terms of what seems right. I don't think I will have criteria such as who is more tied to the uke community, or who has the most heart tugging story. One way that makes sense to me is to try and imagine who would be playing the ukulele as I am building it. For me it's all about connections. I trust the match will usually work.

I do not have any rules on whether people can nominate more than once and you do not need to resubmit nominations unless you want to. Please do what your heart tells you to. I will keep all nominations and may pick from any of them at any time.

I hope that my giveaway is not viewed as a marketing gimmick. While it is my ultimate desire to make a comfortable living making ukuleles, if for any reason, that were not to happen, I would go back to a well-paying corporate job but I would still be giving away my ukes.

I will respect privacy if so desired, but I plan to share your nominations and stories. I assume I have your permission to do so if you submit a nomination.

one-of-a-kind instrument. The choice each time will be mine. But I am going to need your help. While it will be my discretion as to who receives that ukulele, you will provide me with deserving candidates.

I'll need your nominations of someone you think would benefit from a DaSilva ukulele. And I want to know why. Maybe they deserve a simple token of appreciation from the ukulele community. Or a new instrument will inspire their musical talents. Or a quality ukulele would just light up their day.

This is not a popularity contest. Nor a hard-luck reward. Great stories, fun reasons, inspirational situations and out-of-the-box thinking is what I am looking for. Once the ukulele is delivered, it will be theirs to own, or pass on as they see fit. Just like many of the ukuleles I own are enjoying multiple lives, I hope DaSilva ukuleles have a long useful lifetime.

I will decide the winner, send off the ukulele and announce it here on the website. Then do it all over again!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Mikel DaSilva
mike@ukemaker.com