Effort in Los Angeles to set ukulele-playing record falls short

LOS ANGELES – What do you get when more than 1,100 ukulele enthusiasts gather and begin playing their instruments?

Lots of noise, but not a new world record.

Crowds gathered Saturday in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles in a second annual attempt to set a new mark for the largest ensemble of ukuleles, the Hawaiian instrument that looks like a mini guitar.

The ensemble played the same song for five minutes, but the Los Angeles Times reported that 1,102 participants fell short of the official Guinness record of 2,370, set in England.

Meanwhile, a recent gathering in Tahiti said it attracted an as-yet-unverified 4,750 participants.