Would you hang your ukulele?

Thought I would post bigger photos of both my uke cabinet and my bass uke/mini electric bass racks.

Shelf 7 ukes 800.jpg


Bass wall rack 1024.jpg
 
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Thought I would post bigger photos of both my uke cabinet and my bass uke/mini electric bass racks.

Uke shelf group 800.jpg


Bass wall rack 1024.jpg

Holy batman! What a collection kohanmike
 
I'm going to get opinionated here for a moment: I sometimes think that, in order to create a cottage industry making hard-shell cases and nifty humidifiers, some folks started a rumor that hanging your uke up is the path to ruin. Now, most wooden violins are still made with hide glue, but ukes are not. Hide glue, with sufficient humidity and ambient heat, will indeed give up the ghost -- and that's still a rare occurrence. Most uke makers I know of use a more modern version aliphatic resin glue, which tolerates humidity and heat quite well.

The other issue has to do with the expansion/contraction of wood with changes in temperature and/or humidity. The basic uke design takes this into account quite nicely. Unless the instrument was made with badly seasoned wood in the first place it can take quite a lot.

I love ukes not only to play, but to look at. If it's in a case it's not being played and it's rendered invisible. I have no argument with -- nor intend no criticism of -- folks who do the case/humidifier thing. There's nothing wrong with that, and there is some potential good in it. However, it's not for me. There are times when that case would be just enough of an impediment to keep me from playing and and off through the day :)
 
do what ever you like, my guitars are on stands my ukes in their cases, it could easily be the other way around too
 
See my avatar, all hanging on leather straps on the tuners from brass screws with hooks inside a humid control cabinet.

I have THREE cabinets like yours but twice as high , how did you humidify the cabinet. Looks like glass suspended from bottom, what is underneath
 
I have THREE cabinets like yours but twice as high , how did you humidify the cabinet. Looks like glass suspended from bottom, what is underneath

There are two trays on the shelf at the bottom with covers that I slide open and closed or remove as the humidity changes. There's one analog and one digital hygrometer.

Uke shelf trays.jpg
 
I'm going to get opinionated here for a moment: I sometimes think that, in order to create a cottage industry making hard-shell cases and nifty humidifiers, some folks started a rumor that hanging your uke up is the path to ruin. Now, most wooden violins are still made with hide glue, but ukes are not. Hide glue, with sufficient humidity and ambient heat, will indeed give up the ghost -- and that's still a rare occurrence. Most uke makers I know of use a more modern version aliphatic resin glue, which tolerates humidity and heat quite well.

The other issue has to do with the expansion/contraction of wood with changes in temperature and/or humidity. The basic uke design takes this into account quite nicely. Unless the instrument was made with badly seasoned wood in the first place it can take quite a lot.

I love ukes not only to play, but to look at. If it's in a case it's not being played and it's rendered invisible. I have no argument with -- nor intend no criticism of -- folks who do the case/humidifier thing. There's nothing wrong with that, and there is some potential good in it. However, it's not for me. There are times when that case would be just enough of an impediment to keep me from playing and and off through the day :)


I don’t know about humidifiers, but cases have been around almost as long as the instruments they were designed to protect. No rumors or conspiracies, just the convenience and protection of a case to safely store and transport fine musical instruments.

As far as hide glue’s strength and longevity is concerned, Martin used it exclusively up until the move to the new factory in 1964. That means that every Vintage Martin Uke without “Made in USA” stamped inside was made with hide glue. Pretty durable stuff. In fact, one of the reasons that Martin switched to Alphiatic Resin glues was that it releases faster when exposed to heat and moisture (steam) for repair purposes.

I’m also in the to-each-their-own camp. For myself, I keep my guitars and Ukes in their cases. I had one friend who’s hanger strap failed and his mandolin fell off the wall and crunched it’s lower bout. Another friend kept his guitar on a stand in his living room until it got knocked over (by him) and snapped off the headstock. As a result of their experiences, I don’t take any chances with my instruments.


Scooter
 
I live in the desert of Arizona and I hang all mine. I won't play them if I don't. I have several in the room Im in most often and a few off in a bedroom out of cases. I never play those in the bedroom. Out of sight out of mind. I live where they do suggest you carefully humidify. I thing there are sellers that won't warranty (is that a myth) if you haven't humidified. Most instruments are made of aged wood. Is that wood aged for years in a controlled environment? Im guessing some are part of the time and some aren't. I have ukes ranging from $1500 on down and they are all out and so far they have been fine. My house stays right around 30-40% depending on the room. I do have each of them with a cigar humidifier dropped inside the sound hole and if I remember to add water I do but really I don't obsess about it.

I thought it was really interesting to see a video of the Mya Moa builder answer this question about his brand. He said he builds in a controlled humidified room but his opinion was that if your room wasn't below 25% he felt they would be just fine. That really put my mind at ease about my ukes.
 
There are two trays on the shelf at the bottom with covers that I slide open and closed or remove as the humidity changes. There's one analog and one digital hygrometer.

Uke shelf trays.jpg

Just a tray of water with cover will solve this problem. The water just evaporates in cabinet? Seems like it is too simple. I have the meters in each case like yours and have not so far had this problem
 
Just a tray of water with cover will solve this problem. The water just evaporates in cabinet? Seems like it is too simple. I have the meters in each case like yours and have not so far had this problem

Sorry, I wasn't clear, the two trays are filled with water, moving the covers allow more or less evaporation as is needed to keep a 45% to 55% humidity level.
 
Thanks.
Yes I'm liking it, as I thought I would.
I keep my Tenor in the case and often just grab one of these for a quick melody, as long as they are tuned it's just a simple grab and play scenario.
Looks good too.
It's all about Happy Ukeing.
 
Hi everyone,

What are your views on hanging your (most expensive) ukulele? I don't trust wall mounts but have the parachord ukulele hangers from ukulelehangers.com and am thinking about hanging mine from a metal bar I have in this little cubby like area in my bedroom...

All opinions welcome!

Surely there is no easy answer that is going to always be right or wrong, it's so situational.

How expensive is your most expensive Uke and is that cost significant to you? Is a particular Uke special to you and irreplaceable? Might others in your household mistreat a Uke left out on display or is there potential for accidental damage? Do you (not everyone does) actually live somewhere where changes in humidity are significant?

Personally I would be happy to hang any and all my Ukes on a wall and have a Uke left out ready to play by my chair all of the time. The rest are bagged or boxed but that's more about being space efficient that anything else. My Ukes are all laminates so are hardy and relatively inexpensive, there is zero chance of the hanger failing (it's so strong compared to the weight of the Uke) and I'd rather take the minimal risk of accidental damage to an instrument than hide it away. If you have a solid instrument and live somewhere where humidity fluctuations matter then casing it is sensible but otherwise let your Uke hang and enjoy its availability.
 
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If it's expensive like a Kamaka, only if you had a controlled environment with proper humidity, otherwise you better have it stored in a proper case with humidification packs like D'addario's Planet Waves Two Way Humidification System!
 
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