Hello ukulele fiends! Welcome back to a fresh month of Ukulelia, the Southern Ukulele Store team's spot for sharing their favourite ukulele blogs, resources and videos online. This month we're taking a look at an unusual ukulele hybrid from the 1920s, considering the pros and cons of buying a ukulele online and sharing some inspiring quotes which will get you strumming in next to no time. Ready? Let's hit it...

Ukelin: Where Ukulele Meets Violin

Check out this rad video from Nick Kurepin's ukulele blog. This is a ukelin; part ukulele, part violin and all sorts of crazy. This musical Frankenstein is a bowed psaltery with zither strings which became popular in the 1920s before losing favour sometime in the 70s because the thing was pretty much impossible to play.

With eight clusters of four strings (16 melody, 16 bass) this fiendish instrument is played on a table with a bow in own hand and a pick (or finger picking style) in the other. Completely mad? Yes. Totally fascinating? Absolutely. Read more about the Ukelin here.

Can You Really Get a Feel for a Ukulele Online?

This is a really interesting question raised by Andrew Kitakis on The Ukulele Review blog: Can you really get a sense of an instruments tone and feel through the internet? We may have a physical store in Bournemouth but we also do a lot of business online, which is one reason this question is so important. If you're looking for your next instrument, can you really choose it on the strength of online videos and recordings?

The answer, at least according to Andrew, is “no”. Even with great quality recordings, you're going to miss out on so much of an instruments tone and timbre unless you hear it in the flesh. The solution? Well, you could make the trip to our Bournemouth ukulele paradise, or you could take a look at reviews – plus the instruments your ukulele heroes favour.

14 Ukulele Memes to Get Your Strumming Ukulele-Quote-george-harrison-everyone-i-know-who-is-into-the-ukulele-is-crackers

If you're just starting out with the ukulele, as with any new instrument, it can be easy to get disheartened or sidetracked when you don't become a maestro overnight. To remedy your ukulele blues, the wonderful Uke University has compiled a collection of 14 quotes in meme form which will inspire you to pick up your uke and keep on strumming. Thanks, Uke University!

Do you have any ukulele or musical quotes which inspire you? Share your thoughts below or let us know via Twitter @SUS_UKES.