Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome (UAS) - Is it real ?

I absolutely agree.

The problem is.. people buy a starter uke, and then keep doing small incremental upgrades... when really they're going to end up with a more expensive uke.
The thing is... those small steps... each cost money.

You hear about people buying 12-40+ 200-400 ukes. If you do the math, 10x $200=2k... when you could have bought a nicer higher end K or something else in that price, that you're likely to do anyway.

It's cheaper to skip those intermediates and go for something higher end, or at least make bigger jumps so that you don't end up with a closet full of intermediates and cases.

This is what makes the material world go around.....consumerism. I guess a lot of people are making money selling ukes that otherwise wouldn't be. They cash in on our fun disease. Pretty smart.
A woman who works in my credit union always has a car payment, because she sees something new she likes and buys it. That's way crazier than UAS. She's getting ripped off massively and doesn't care.
 
Starting with a cheap uke might be good for a person with no other musical background. If someone already plays an instrument, that person should know the dedication it takes to become proficient enough to enjoy creating music. By the same token, he/she already knows the value if a quality instrument and the reasons why it is worth spending a bit more to get a better ukulele.

John

When I bought my first ukulele, I didn't even know if I really wanted to play the ukulele. It looked fun. That's it. Nothing more. I thought, that looks fun. I had no idea about what ukuleles cost. I bought a Makala concert, because it got pretty good reviews and it was cheap. How would I know anything else? That's it. It took me a year on that Makala to come to the realization that playing the ukulele was going to be a long term thing for me, and realize that the Mainland Concert was what I really needed. I had never even heard of Mainland. The Mainland came as a result of my experience with the Makala, pure and simple. I don't know how anyone just starting in could just pick that one great more expensive ukulele that is going to carry them through their ukulele journey with no actual hands on experience.
 
When I bought my first ukulele, I didn't even know if I really wanted to play the ukulele. It looked fun. That's it. Nothing more. I thought, that looks fun. I had no idea about what ukuleles cost. I bought a Makala concert, because it got pretty good reviews and it was cheap. How would I know anything else? That's it. It took me a year on that Makala to come to the realization that playing the ukulele was going to be a long term thing for me, and realize that the Mainland Concert was what I really needed. I had never even heard of Mainland. The Mainland came as a result of my experience with the Makala, pure and simple. I don't know how anyone just starting in could just pick that one great more expensive ukulele that is going to carry them through their ukulele journey with no actual hands on experience.

I did. But as I indicated, I already played guitar and piano. My point has to do with already having a musical background, if you don't, buy cheap. And I'm not saying to go buy a expensive ukulele, buy a good one or a good used one.

I see it in surfing and cycling where people buy cheap and end up having to buy decent or having a tough time selling the cheap board or bike. Buy good used and sell for close to what you paid.

John
 
My first ukes were Makala, a tenor, a soprano, & a concert. This was so that I would be able to decide which was the most suitable for me, without spending a fortune. Then I discovered the long neck soprano, & that became my most used/played of the lot. But I had to see if a better quality concert uke would make that much difference, compared to my cheap one. Then there were different woods, that were supposed to sound different, so I needed to try a couple just to see. In the mean time my hands had stretched, so I was now able to play a tenor scale, & if I could play a tenor, how about a baritone, so along came a baritone. Now I thought this would be the last one that I'd buy, so I spent a bit more on it. Turned out it wasn't really my scale, so I got an electric tenor. That was fun for a while, but it wasn't that easy to record, did I forget to mention, I had started to participate in the Seasons challenges. Next I needed a microphone to record with, to make it easier to take part in the Seasons. Where was I, oh yes, UAS does it exist, I'm keeping an open mind. :p
 
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I did. But as I indicated, I already played guitar and piano. My point has to do with already having a musical background, if you don't, buy cheap. And I'm not saying to go buy a expensive ukulele, buy a good one or a good used one.

I see it in surfing and cycling where people buy cheap and end up having to buy decent or having a tough time selling the cheap board or bike. Buy good used and sell for close to what you paid.

I think, though, that if you have no idea if the ukulele is something you're going to enjoy, it's not a bad idea to get a cheap one. You'll never have a problem finding someone who will take it off your hands if you decide to upgrade and you won't feel bad letting go of an uke that cost less than a new video game. It would be a bigger pain to try to get your money back on the purchase of a more moderately priced instrument you ended up not enjoying.
 
UAS is caused by a Virus!

Oh UAS is real, this is a microscopic image of the virus that causes it. And there is no vaccine... but why would you want one? :)

Art-of-the-Cell-UAS-Blue.jpg
 
I think, though, that if you have no idea if the ukulele is something you're going to enjoy, it's not a bad idea to get a cheap one. You'll never have a problem finding someone who will take it off your hands if you decide to upgrade and you won't feel bad letting go of an uke that cost less than a new video game. It would be a bigger pain to try to get your money back on the purchase of a more moderately priced instrument you ended up not enjoying.

You could buy a $50 uke and then keep it or sell it or give it away. Or a $350 uke and sell it for $300. It's either the same or slightly better to buy cheap.
 
I think, though, that if you have no idea if the ukulele is something you're going to enjoy, it's not a bad idea to get a cheap one. You'll never have a problem finding someone who will take it off your hands if you decide to upgrade and you won't feel bad letting go of an uke that cost less than a new video game. It would be a bigger pain to try to get your money back on the purchase of a more moderately priced instrument you ended up not enjoying.

Lots of folks (on UU included) are of the opinion that a very nice playing uke starts at ~$100 with setup from a preferred vendor.

There is always someone who will happily accept that uke as a hand-me-down if/when when the time comes.

If that uke might sell for $30 at a garage sale (whether a month or 3 yrs later), might it not be worth just donating it to a needy person? you'll feel better, and yes I know 'feelings' does not buy groceries or medicines...

There is not much risk in being 'stuck' with an unloved ukulele.

We all also need to remember that even just $100 to spend can be LOTS of money for other folks.
 
I suppose it depends on where you live to some extent. I would have no trouble finding someone to take a $50 uke off my hands but trying to sell one for $300 would be a hassle. I'd end up having to sell it on eBay and thus would need to get good packing materials and all the other sundry tasks just to lose the same $50. To me, just not worth it.
 
I suppose it depends on where you live to some extent. I would have no trouble finding someone to take a $50 uke off my hands but trying to sell one for $300 would be a hassle. I'd end up having to sell it on eBay and thus would need to get good packing materials and all the other sundry tasks just to lose the same $50. To me, just not worth it.

Everyone has their own tolerance for risk and/or tolerance for pain, and needs to follow their own best interests...nothing wrong with any of that. :)

OTOH - 'YMMV' :)
 
Confession time. I totally forgot about the Kala Waterman that I bought as my very first ukulele. Once I bought my Teton uke, I didn't care for the Waterman. I gifted it to the teenage girl in my "rafting family" and she adores it. It was fun to give as a gift to her, and now I'm guaranteed to have a second uke player to jam with on river trips. My Teton is already set aside for a friend who wants to learn how to play. She's almost done with grad school, and then she'll start playing. I feel good about sending my starter on the her.

My biggest challenge right now is what to do about my tenor. It's a sweet uke, and it holds a special place in my heart because of how I got it. I play it often, and for the most part like it, but the concert size is definitely my happy place. Reading uke1950's post above about growing into different sizes over time, makes me pause & consider just hanging on to it a little longer. A wise uke player told me a few days ago....."you can always let it go, but you can never get it back."
 
If someone can only spend $50-$100 for a uke, that is great. A lot of decent sounding ukes out there if you take your time to find a good one. I think if someone can only afford a half-a-dozen $50-$100 ukes due to UAS, it might be wise to limit the UAS and get a little nicer one, or two.

John
 
Last Christmas I decided to get a "Good" uke. I had been playing my Caramels which are 'cheap Ukes" but sound pretty good to me. I bought a solid cedar and rosewood Ohana TK-50G and love it, however it doesn't work well for strumming. My Caramel Zebra woods do work well for strumming and that's what I've been concentrating on since I started playing.

Now I have to start finger picking to get my "Best Uke" to thrill me.
 
It's good to buy fairly cheap ukes to start with as they can be passed on without any worries about losing money, after all, how much does a night out cost you.

My neighbours are spending £4,000 on a weeks holiday for two, they enjoy cruising, but my uke collection hasn't cost me half as much as that, so basically I wouldn't be losing anything but a week away if I lost them, that's the way I look at it. :cool:

(I've just passed 6 of my first cheap ukes over to a nursing home for the residents to enjoy, they're no loss to me, but will bring joy to someone else.)
I'm not rich by any means, I'm on a state pension, but once I've bought something, the money is gone & I don't really think of it again. ;)
 
Not sure the issue is a more expensive ukulele or the wrong wood for certain types of playing. My wife and I both have cedar top ukuleles. I wouldn't classify either be of them as strummers. I'm sure some people have had great success strumming, especially heavy, with that tone wood, but I have found that it has a definite ceiling and doesn't like to be pushed beyond a certain point.

Koa and mahogany seem to hold up well. Not sure about spruce on a uke for more aggressive strumming. I need to try out a few more.

John
 
It says something that a thread about buying ukes is up to six pages now! Let's keep it going -- at least it's keeping me from shopping while reading it.

In case there are any folks new to the ukulele reading this thing: There are a lot of lower end ukes that are not "set-up" well. This makes playing and learning harder. Do your best to purchase from someone who checks and corrects the set-up on every uke they sell. Search the site for HMS and Mim as an example. A well set-up decent cheap uke is fine to learn on. I've given away several.
 
This is definately the last uke I'm going to buy :rofl: - just ordered a Kala KA-ASAC concert scale uke, (those ukes I gave away left an empty space), & I needed something a little brighter than mahogany. :D
 
So it's been about a week since I kicked off this thread and about a week since I upgraded my ukulele, from the Kala S15 to my all wood Pono AT. And I cannot seem to put the instrument down. Since upgrading, I've probably played more on the Pono in the past week than in all the 2 years that I haphazardly picked up the Kala S15. Perhaps I feel compelled to invest more time since I've invested more money? Not sure. Or maybe I have it backwards? Maybe since I had been playing the ukulele more recently, I felt compelled to invest in a higher quality instrument? In either case, I'm happy with the investment.

But given how much I love my Pono, I cannot imagine ever needing to purchase another ukulele. I'm actually returning to Dusty Strings (the Seattle string store where I purchased the Pono) today for a group ukulele lesson (my first group jam) and I'm going to seriously avoid the section where I originally tested (and purchased) my ukulele. Because in my first post on this thread, I failed to mention that I deliberately avoided picking up any ukulele from off the shelf that was labeled above $400.00; I was afraid that if I felt and heard a $1000 (or more) ukulele I would be taking it home.

Maybe that's the solution: just avoid testing those high end ukuleles all together :eek:
 
First picked-up a uke two months ago. Own and play 10 now. UAS is real... FUN!
 
Opio.d?

Oh UAS is real, this is a microscopic image of the virus that causes it. And there is no vaccine... but why would you want one? :)

Art-of-the-Cell-UAS-Blue.jpg

Love this image. It's more fun to be infected and hang with the afflicted. Even if we're relegated to the Underground.

Anybody hankering for an Opio? I can help you with that.
 
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