Stones Music is pleased to announce that they have been appointed UK distributors for UMA Ukuleles. The first shipment, comprising the innovative “Pulse” series of fan-fret concert and tenor models, is due early in July. Retail pricing for these models ranges from £359 to £429.
UMA are based in Taiwan and their ukuleles make an interesting addition to Stones’ already wide range of ukulele brands. Stones Music’s Mark Pugh explained “Although we have built up a pretty impressive roster of great ukulele brands over the past few years, we’re always on the lookout for new products which will add more genuine choice for our customer, backed up by our customer service. Each of our brands – currently Baton Rouge, Kai, RISA, Magic Fluke and Kiwaya – caters for specific parts of the ever-expanding ukulele market and UMA offers something very different again. The fan fret style works just like on a guitar or bass – the longer scale length on the bass side allows for the heavier low G string to have a more satisfying tension. When we spoke with the company at January’s NAMM Show, we were so impressed and knew we wanted to do something, although it had to go on the back-burner for a couple of months when CV-19 began to have an effect”
Asked whether bringing out new products in light of the current CV-19 crisis was a wise business move, Mark added
“Without doubt 2020 has been a challenge for the MI industry. However, ukuleles have seen a continued rise in popularity as more people have chosen to learn the instrument during periods of lockdown and isolation. Although our number of active customers has decreased substantially since March, our actual sales are up on the same period last year, so we want to take any opportunity to continue to offer a great selection of instruments.