Jake, Jake and a DUKE10 Banjo Uke

Sounds like the start of a joke - haha! But seriously, this post is to celebrate one of our customers, a proud DUKE10 owner named Jake Goldstein from Massachusetts. And he managed to secure something that, in our eyes, is the ultimate prize for a ukulele player, Jake Shimabukuro's signature, right on his banjo ukulele! Here's a picture of Jake and his friend Guthrie with Jake Shimabukuro and the short version of his story (scroll down).

"The ukulele has always been an instrument I have enjoyed listening to. I first started to listen to Jake Shimabukuro on YouTube around 2003. As a musician, I always thought that the ukulele had a really great sound and I always wanted to play it.

Right around 2014, with 15 years of experience in music, I finally picked up the ukulele. I currently work at a music store so on my breaks in between lessons, I would pick up the ukulele and learn in the time that I had. Eventually, I bought my own ukulele and I started to play out and go to different open mics in the area and as well as play with different bands. After a few years of playing ukulele, I decided to get more ukuleles. Earlier this year, I finally bought a Duke10 Banjo Ukulele, which I absolutely love.

Sometime in September of this year (2018), I found out that Jake was playing at a venue that’s very close to me. So I bought tickets and I went to the concert with my DUKE10 in tow, hoping that I may be able to get it signed. At the end of the show there was a long line of people waiting for Jake. I got in the line, waited a few minutes, and I was able to talk to him. It was awesome meeting him, he’s a very nice guy, very personable. Then, right before my friend and I left, I asked him to sign my banjouke, and he did. It was amazing!"

 You can check out Jake playing his DUKE10 here.