Grandpa's Tiple (10-string ukelele)

DeArmond Hammer

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Here's a curiosity that might be appreciated by our 12-string players especially.

Last summer, my cousin told me she had something for me, "a funny little guitar" that had belonged to our grandfather. She told me that he used to play it, and my grandmother sang, with groups in the 1920s and 30s. My cousin got the instrument repaired, but no one in her immediate family knew what to do with it, so she tapped me to be the keeper of this "family treasure." ("Family treasure" means I'm not allowed to sell it.)

P3111663a.jpg

The shop that repaired the instrument told my cousin it's a tiple, usually pronounced "tipple" in English and "teeplay" in Spanish. Like its pronunciations, its tuning traditions vary, but in the U.S. the tiple is usually tuned like a ukelele, G4 C4 E4 A4 (gCEA). The gCE strings are matched with octave-lower strings, and the CEA strings are doubled, so each of the 4 courses has either 2 or 3 strings. Ten-string sets are made for tiple by LaBella and GHS, bless them. Someone also makes the (blingy) 5-on-a-plate tuners the shop used.

Grandpa's "Sterling" tiple was probably made close to 100 years ago for Tonk Brothers of Chicago. The headstock decal retains traces of "T.B.Co." above "Sterling."

P3111671a.jpg

The tiple is not a virtuosic instrument. Fretting two strings is hard and three strings is harder. The straight bridge prevents precise intonation. Tuning is difficult. What the tiple offers is volume, and volume was important before electrical amplification.

Before I got Grandpa's tiple, I never knew that he played an instrument, let alone in a band. My family visited my paternal grandparents in Detroit only once or twice a year, and they were immigrants who spoke Croatian to each other, so I didn't feel close to them. Grandpa and I had only one significant conversation, around Thanksgiving 1970, while my parents were out. I was 10 years old and Grandpa had heard that I wanted an electric guitar for Christmas. "Those guys just make a lot of noise," he said. "If you want to play a stringed instrument, why don't you learn the violin?"

A month later, wailing on my new Teisco, I remembered Grandpa's advice with a smirk. Now, though, I think of Grandpa wailing on his tiple, his band keeping the dance floor busy with polkas and waltzes and rags. I like thinking that Grandpa rocked, and that he somehow knows that I sent my kids to violin lessons.
 

wileypickett

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See the footage of the Cats & the Fiddle here (no fiddle in the band, but tiple -- you bet!). I have a couple albums by them -- reissues of their 78s. Fun stuff!
 

Brad Little

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This reminded me that I had a Colombian tiple back in the '70s. Don't remember how/where I got it or what happened to it. Probably gave it away because I wasn't playing it or it may have needed some work I didn't want to do. Saw a Martin tiple for sale recently, over on the AGF, asking $2200.
 

Uke

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Here's a curiosity that might be appreciated by our 12-string players especially.

Last summer, my cousin told me she had something for me, "a funny little guitar" that had belonged to our grandfather. She told me that he used to play it, and my grandmother sang, with groups in the 1920s and 30s. My cousin got the instrument repaired, but no one in her immediate family knew what to do with it, so she tapped me to be the keeper of this "family treasure." ("Family treasure" means I'm not allowed to sell it.)

P3111663a.jpg

The shop that repaired the instrument told my cousin it's a tiple, usually pronounced "tipple" in English and "teeplay" in Spanish. Like its pronunciations, its tuning traditions vary, but in the U.S. the tiple is usually tuned like a ukelele, G4 C4 E4 A4 (gCEA). The gCE strings are matched with octave-lower strings, and the CEA strings are doubled, so each of the 4 courses has either 2 or 3 strings. Ten-string sets are made for tiple by LaBella and GHS, bless them. Someone also makes the (blingy) 5-on-a-plate tuners the shop used.

Grandpa's "Sterling" tiple was probably made close to 100 years ago for Tonk Brothers of Chicago. The headstock decal retains traces of "T.B.Co." above "Sterling."

P3111671a.jpg

The tiple is not a virtuosic instrument. Fretting two strings is hard and three strings is harder. The straight bridge prevents precise intonation. Tuning is difficult. What the tiple offers is volume, and volume was important before electrical amplification.

Before I got Grandpa's tiple, I never knew that he played an instrument, let alone in a band. My family visited my paternal grandparents in Detroit only once or twice a year, and they were immigrants who spoke Croatian to each other, so I didn't feel close to them. Grandpa and I had only one significant conversation, around Thanksgiving 1970, while my parents were out. I was 10 years old and Grandpa had heard that I wanted an electric guitar for Christmas. "Those guys just make a lot of noise," he said. "If you want to play a stringed instrument, why don't you learn the violin?"

A month later, wailing on my new Teisco, I remembered Grandpa's advice with a smirk. Now, though, I think of Grandpa wailing on his tiple, his band keeping the dance floor busy with polkas and waltzes and rags. I like thinking that Grandpa rocked, and that he somehow knows that I sent my kids to violin lessons.
Great story! This instrument is definitely a "treasure".
 

chazmo

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That's beautiful! I love the Spanish-style marquetry; just exquisite!

I have a Tonk piano, by the way. I wonder if they were a fairly big instrument company back then!
 

davismanLV

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Well, I learn something every day here! What a great old instrument with an amazing story to go along with it. I didn't know what a Tiple was and the 10 strings is very unique and odd as well. Pretty old thing. I'd be hanging that up for people to see!! (y)(y)
 

merlin6666

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Thanks for sharing. I play ukulele and own a vintage Kamaka six string. These multi course instruments are great and I hope you will be able to fit it into your repertoire.
 

SFIV1967

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That's a very cool looking one! Love them!
Tiples are great little instruments, same size as a Tenor Ukulele. The Martin tiples are pretty well known (and expensive). The Tiple is a mix between a 12 string Colombian Tiple and a 8 string Taropatch. It was invented in 1919 when the music publisher / instrument distributor Wm. J Smith & Co. asked Martin to try and make one. What Martin produced was the 10 string 17in, (43cm), scale Tiple Ukulele. The idea caught on in the 20's because most of the big mainland makers had a go at making them and most of the big distributors also included one under one of their brand names But they were/are a bugger to tune and rather disappeared in the 30's with only Martin continuing to make them. After the war when the Ukulele had another bout of popularity the Tiples lost popularity and the only new producer was the Japanese firm K Yasuma & Co in the 70ies.

I saw Mark Knopfler in 2019 and one of his musicians, Richard Bennett, played a Tiple. Looked like a Martin T-28 but was in fact such 70ies Japanese Martin copy from Yasuma.

1649288908678.png

Since they are like Tenor Ukuleles, they are often tuned like a Ukulele in D-tuning, a~D~F#~B.
The a and B note are made up of 2 strings and the D and F# notes are made of 3 strings, with the 2 outer strings being 1 octave higher than the middle one.
So the full line-up is a~A~d~D~d~f#~F#~f#~B~B.

And yes, GHS, La Bella and maybe also Martin still make Tiple strings.

1649286403449.png 1649286429056.png 1649286450801.png

There was even a booklet in the US, which you still can find on ebay or Reverb from time to time:

1649286503216.jpeg

WD Music offers such 5 on a side tuners:

1649286620738.png

The biggest difficulty is the intonation of the strings. The standard straight saddles are no good, so often players somehow convert the saddles to multiple saddle pieces to improve intonation (which I still need to do on my one).

1649286739283.png

1649286917202.png 1649286790127.png


After seeing Richard Bennett playing one I had to have one. I found a nice Yasuma T-25 from 1979, especially as good Martins from the 50's or 60's were extremely expensive and basically not available in Europe (due to Brazilian Rosewood content you could not export/import them into Europe). Here is a picture of my one, that is a picture from the shop in UK where I found her:

1649286991092.png

And a video showing Richard Bennett with one:




Ralf
 
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DeArmond Hammer

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That's a very cool looking one! Love them!
Tiples are great little instruments, same size as a Tenor Ukulele. The Martin tiples are pretty well known (and expensive). The Tiple is a mix between a 12 string Colombian Tiple and a 8 string Taropatch. It was invented in 1919 when the music publisher / instrument distributor Wm. J Smith & Co. asked Martin to try and make one. What Martin produced was the 10 string 17in, (43cm), scale Tiple Ukulele. The idea caught on in the 20's because most of the big mainland makers had a go at making them and most of the big distributors also included one under one of their brand names But they were/are a bugger to tune and rather disappeared in the 30's with only Martin continuing to make them. After the war when the Ukulele had another bout of popularity the Tiples lost popularity and the only new producer was the Japanese firm K Yasuma & Co in the 70ies.

I saw Mark Knopfler in 2019 and one of his musicians, Richard Bennett, played a Tiple. Looked like a Martin T-28 but was in fact such 70ies Japanese Martin copy from Yasuma.

1649288908678.png

Since they are like Tenor Ukuleles, they are often tuned like a Ukulele in D-tuning, a~D~F#~B.
The a and B note are made up of 2 strings and the D and F# notes are made of 3 strings, with the 2 outer strings being 1 octave higher than the middle one.
So the full line-up is a~A~d~D~d~f#~F#~f#~B~B.

And yes, GHS, La Bella and maybe also Martin still make Tiple strings.

1649286403449.png 1649286429056.png 1649286450801.png

There was even a booklet in the US, which you still can find on ebay or Reverb from time to time:

1649286503216.jpeg

WD Music offers such 5 on a side tuners:

1649286620738.png

The biggest difficulty is the intonation of the strings. The standard straight saddles are no good, so often players somehow convert the saddles to multiple saddle pieces to improve intonation (which I still need to do on my one).

1649286739283.png

1649286917202.png 1649286790127.png


After seeing Richard Bennett playing one I had to have one. I found a nice Yasuma T-25, especially as good Martins from the 50's or 60's were extremely expensive and basically not available in Europe (due to Brazilian Rosewood content you could not export/import them into Europe). Here is a picture of my one, that is a picture from the shop in UK where I found her:

1649286991092.png

And a video showing Richard Bennett with one:




Ralf


Thank you, Ralf, that's great info!
 

merlin6666

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The main company that builds them now is Ohana

And they are quite reasonably prized too
 

amnicon

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How come so many people's grandparents had cool old instruments? I never got that lucky.
 

davismanLV

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How come so many people's grandparents had cool old instruments? I never got that lucky.
My grandparents (mother's side) were amazing!!! I loved them. Didn't have any instruments except an organ ... which I should have kept but I was young. How they had two daughters so different.... my mom older bitter and nasty entitled. And my aunt who was sweet and nice and golly.. How does that happen???
 
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