Musima Ukulele

It has always seemed odd to me that the post war East German musical instrument manufacturing conglomerate, (that was reputed at one point to be the largest instrument maker in the world for a while?) made Banjoleles for themselves and for a number of other people, (including J.E.Dallas and B&J), along with all of the other things; Guitars, Mandolins, Banjos, Violins, Woodwind, Brass, Pianos, Drums, percussion and the like, but didn't make standard wooden Ukuleles, however I had never seen or heard of one before this one. Possibly because like a lot of the Musima output, they were unbranded and fairly nondescript; and with the sharks tooth tuners that I haven't seen on German made Ukuleles before, I would have thought that this was a Japanese Ukulele of the period, but I know this is Musima made because it came with the original Musima paperwork. When I saw it on eBay I knew I would have to invite it to Ukulele Corner. 

It turned out that getting it to accept the invitation wasn't that hard, as nobody else bid on it. So now its here along with its guarantee paperwork and an old songbook. The guarantee is nice and says the Ukulele left the factory in 1970, the old songbook is a piece of crap and I don't know any of the songs so I won't bother keeping it. The Ukulele itself is solidly made, if a little nondescript, in good condition and surprisingly tuneful. And of course very welcome at Ukulele Corner