How many ukes are enough?

willisoften said:

The next one will be enough - probably

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That's what I'm hoping for ... I just ordered my third today, and I got my first one about a year ago.

plastuku said:

That's what I'm hoping for ... I just ordered my third today, and I got my first one about a year ago.

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I don't think it's unreasonable to buy and try, learn what you like and perhaps buy something more suitable, or even a little different ( size, quality, neck shape, pickup etc).
I'd caution against buying on impulse - try to have a reason or at least a good excuse

Here's what I have done so far:
starter soprano. This is for the kids- too small for me... But it's the one that started it all!

I bought a Luna Concert to try it out.

I bought a tenor and read about a low G. So now it has a low G. But I find that it's too big for my reach.

Which brings me back to the concert, but now I want to try one with a low G.

I bought two Kamaka concerts, a Koaloha concert, and want to get a Kanilea concert. One of these I will probably put a low G on. Any suggestions? So I don't buy any more??? :stop:

As it happens I have a Kanilea K1 concert, be aware the neck is wide at 38mm, it also seems heavily built and it's quiet compared to many other Ukes I love the tone but sometimes it seems a little stiff like there is a lot more it wants to give.

willisoften said:

As it happens I have a Kanilea K1 concert, be aware the neck is wide at 38mm, it also seems heavily built and it's quiet compared to many other Ukes I love the tone but sometimes it seems a little stiff like there is a lot more it wants to give.

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Do you think a spruce top would solve the softness?

Does the thicker neck feel different? I have small fingers and a small reach, that's why I go for the concert. Not sure about the thicker neck...I'd hate to spend the grand + to find I don't like it

I've never tried spruce.
The neck is wide but not especially thick. I find the wider neck a little more tiring / stretchy on certain chords and riffs, D, Dm7, Eflat E.
I only have one concert - I'm more a soprano person.

Really the answer will be different for each player. There is no right or wrong. I liked that someone mentioned Jake saying he only owned one and it got me to thinking of some guitarists who are associated primarily with one iconic instrument. Willie Nelson and Trigger, Muddy Waters and his red Telecaster, Maybelle Carter and her Gibson acoustic.

Some people are minimalists, some people are poor, some people want to squeeze every drop from one special instrument. Other people are able to buy new custom made beauties every other week and enjoy having dozens and dozens of ukes. Some are happy with one mass-produced player.

It's all good. Ukuleles are wonderful things.

At my peak around 2003 I had 15 ukes, mostly sopranos, a couple concerts, an old Harmony baritone and a vintage Martin baritone. The collection included an A/E Applause, vintage Martin, Gibson, Gretsch and Favilla sopranos, a couple banjo ukes, a custom Beltona resonator concert scale, among others. But, as I experienced with guitars and basses, for me owning that many became more of a chore than a pleasure.

Now I have 4 and it still seems like too many sometimes. The baritone I have was a gift. I have two sopranos, a recent Gretsch G9100 and a no-name Japanese one, probably from the 50s, both standard re-entrant. I have a Mitchell concert uke, low G for more fingerpicked, jazz and classical sorts of things, and I am still figuring out where the bari fits in, but I sure enjoy playing it!

Truth be told, I could be happy and content with just one soprano if I had to.

I bought quite a few in my first year of learning to play - thought there would be big differences in sound qualities, but there doesn't seem to be a great deal in it.

What I have done is change favourite scale, I spent most of that year using concert scale ukes, but I now prefer tenor scale, but not body size, it would appear.

So my 'best' uke is now a tenor scale concert body solid mahogany, closely followed by a tenor scale soprano body solid mahogany, then the solid top baris.

I bought my fourth a year and a half ago. So far so good.

Griffis- OMG 15 ukes is a lot! I would love to play just one down if it were a perfect fit. I think I am still learning and think that I want to branch out and see what works best. Those guys probably started younger and were able to grow with a teacher and evolve until they arrived at their destination. As I said in a previous post, I wish I could borrow some and return them, like a uke library. But unfortunately I have to buy them, and they are not cheap. Plus there is not a huge uke community where I live in SC. I don't want to keep buying more, but I am always wondering how different kinds of ukes match my playing style. For instance, I have some Kamaka HF2s, but find them to be soft in volume. To me they would be good for the old-skool Hawaiian type of music. I am looking to possibly get a spruce concert with more volume, and a low g for jazz type of music and soloing when I get to that level.

@ uke1950, I am like you but inversely. I think that I would like a tenor body (bigger sound, feels good to hold), but my scale is more of a concert. I cannot reach past 5 frets on my tenor that I plan to give to my brother. But sometimes I feel smooshed with the concert at the higher frets and like the feel of the tenor there. Am so confused! I guess time and experience will tell...

Just one! I got my bariuke in november 2016, a Lanikai LU-TU 21 B. I can't play tenor or concert ukes because my hands are too big.It they weren't I would get a Lanikai Koa tenor Koa uke as well.

I only have one, and it's only 3 days old, but I already feel like I'm going to have more eventually. I wouldn't want anything smaller then a tenor, so I'd probably move up to a baritone for my next Uke. I spent about $170 on my current Kala tenor (including accessories), but I'll probably go in the ~$500+ range for my next one, I want it to be premium. I'm almost half tempted to take the current one I have back under the 30 day return policy and just buy a much more expensive one. I mainly bought it because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or be able to learn that well, but I've been learning pretty fast. I work from home, so I can literally just pick it up whenever I want throughout the day, and practice for 5-10 minutes here and there.

My main criteria for my next one: All wood, curved back, well rounded edges along the binding, and immaculate looking......not girly flashy, just something that you look at and know it's serious hardware.


Here's something I'd probably get as my next Uke:


http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/size/tenor/cordoba-32t-ce-solid-spruce-rosewood-w-pickup.html
http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-...rosewood-tenor-scallop-cutaway-ka-srt-sc.html


I'd buy one of these if they made them in Satin rather than gloss
http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/size/tenor/kala-ziricote-tenor-ka-zct-t.html


this ones pretty nice too
http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-...pruce-mahogany-koa-bound-radius-slothead.html

Uas really struck hard once I got to see a mainland and ohana in person. Those ukes are so addicting.

Debussychopin said:

Uas really struck hard once I got to see a mainland and ohana in person. Those ukes are so addicting.

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Hi DebussyChopin,

I;ve never tried those two brands before. Why are they so addicting? Sound? Feel? (Both?!). I have some Kalas and Kamakas, but that is just about it.

I used to have a Mainland concert (this one, slotted headstock w/o any bindings or other bling) and it was an absolutely stunning instrument. Light like a feather (504g), with a full yet balanced sound (Worth BM linear strings) - I am still not sure whether selling it to a good friend was really a good idea.....

valde002 said:

Hi DebussyChopin,

I;ve never tried those two brands before. Why are they so addicting? Sound? Feel? (Both?!). I have some Kalas and Kamakas, but that is just about it.

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If you have a kamaka I'm sure that trumps the ohana and mainland ukes. However the price points would be more enticing on the latters.
The ohana and mainland are just very solidly made. They feel very exceptional and looks are exquisite as well. Sort of like eye candy for just a couple of hundred bux.
Most importantly the sound has good depth compared to cheaper or even same level priced ukes brands out there

Debussychopin said:

If you have a kamaka I'm sure that trumps the ohana and mainland ukes. However the price points would be more enticing on the latters.
The ohana and mainland are just very solidly made. They feel very exceptional and looks are exquisite as well. Sort of like eye candy for just a couple of hundred bux.
Most importantly the sound has good depth compared to cheaper or even same level priced ukes brands out there

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Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my Kamaka, but I always feel it is a little bit delicate. Also have some Kalas, a soprano and a mahogany tenor that sound great and I feel like I don't have to baby them.

Would love to try out new brands; more apt to buy another laminate because I don't have to worry when I bring it around town...(I wait in the car alot for the kiddos, lol)

If you want a laminate price to quality best value i suggest you take a look at the as4 Islander soprano (or concert ac4) for $118 shipped brand new on reverb right now.
I am so tempted to buy it but trying best to keep my willpower it will help infinitely if someone nabbed it.


I'm in the car a lot too due to when the better half goes shopping sometimes and I have to chauffeur her around town, so the laminate uke is just perfect. I used to keep looking at my watch when she shopped but now she can't shop long enough!

Ok looks like someone already nabbed it.


Relieved I can cross that off my UAS cookie jar list now.



Now,someone please nab that Teton all solid mahogany sop on reverb for $150. I'm sure a reasonable offer can be accepted

Th number of Ukes you need is one, the number of Ukes you want is always N+1 where N is the number you've already got. Go ahead ask me how I know this.