What's Your Thought Process Prior to Selling or Keeping Your 'Ukes

niwenomian said:
Wow! I bet there are music stores with fewer ukes per square foot. With space at such a premium, I imagine each is distinctive enough to justify it's spot.
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Ha, there probably are :) Mine are really just garden-variety off the shelf Kamakas and Kiwayas, but all are really good examples of their particular size and style. One beach uke, three sopranos (one longneck) that are daily players, and two concerts - it's those latter two that aren't getting played and I'm on the fence about, since I tend to go through soprano-only or concert-only phases. My soprano-only phase has lasted extra long this time around though.

I did have a bit of a reality check today, in that I'm 8 miles away from a fast-moving wildfire and in my head I went through my checklist of what to take if the fire jumps the freeway and heads my way and I'm only able to grab two ukes and my cat with my two hands!
 
janeray1940 said:
Ha, there probably are :) Mine are really just garden-variety off the shelf Kamakas and Kiwayas, but all are really good examples of their particular size and style. One beach uke, three sopranos (one longneck) that are daily players, and two concerts - it's those latter two that aren't getting played and I'm on the fence about, since I tend to go through soprano-only or concert-only phases. My soprano-only phase has lasted extra long this time around though.

I did have a bit of a reality check today, in that I'm 8 miles away from a fast-moving wildfire and in my head I went through my checklist of what to take if the fire jumps the freeway and heads my way and I'm only able to grab two ukes and my cat with my two hands!
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Be safe. It's a scary situation.
 
Duplicates are typically the first to go. But it's easy to find lots of small differences between similar instruments...
I tend to feel bad if something sits in the case for an extended period of time. That usually promts some selling.
Mix all that together with a healthy dose of UAS and before you know it, pictures are being taken.
 
janeray1940 said:
Thanks! I think the worst for us is going to be air quality and traffic due to the freeway closure, but yeah - pretty scary.
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Jane, play it safe, take the cat and all the ukes and get out early. I hope you have someplace to go hide from this miserable fire!
Please let us know you're okay when the smoke clears.
 
OP here. Thanks for your thought processes.
My playing turned into collecting quickly - primarily owning examples of 'ukulele history. Thoughts of who might have played each 'uke still entertain me when I play them. So I'm thinking I should take the 'ukes out of their cases and display them instead of selling them.
 
Peterjens said:
OP here. Thanks for your thought processes.
My playing turned into collecting quickly - primarily owning examples of 'ukulele history. Thoughts of who might have played each 'uke still entertain me when I play them. So I'm thinking I should take the 'ukes out of their cases and display them instead of selling them.
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Yes, I really enjoy looking at all my instruments. I’ve always wanted a music room where I could display them, and now I have it. I wish it was bigger, but I have the annex (bedroom) too where I actually play them.

All my gig bags and cases are hanging in the garage. Looking at them is not nearly so enjoyable. :eek:ld:
 
Nickie said:
Jane, play it safe, take the cat and all the ukes and get out early. I hope you have someplace to go hide from this miserable fire!
Please let us know you're okay when the smoke clears.
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Oh, I'm fine - other side of the freeway from the evacuation zone and down in the flatlands. But it's still a little too close for comfort. I've lived with SoCal fires all of my life but I think this one is the closest to home that has ever happened. That combined with knowing what happened in northern California has me a bit hypervigilant - I think I've got a plan in place, which hopefully I'll never need to use!
 
I've been playing for 8 months and I've been through 7 ukuleles. 5 were purchased, one was a gift, and one I won in a prize raffle at a ukulele festival. At the moment I own 2 with a third being built. I have gifted 2, and sold 3. One I sold was a duplicate of a size I already have, and it wasn't played much. The other two I sold weren't a good fit for me in overall size or in neck size. I gifted my Waterman to a teenager, and I gifted my starter concert to a friend who's just getting started.

I've had a bit of the UAS bug since I started playing. By trial and error, I think I'm refining my needs & desires in size and sound. My goal at the moment is to have 3-4 ukes that get played regularly, each with a specific purpose.
 
I think I have a dozen, but must have owned and sold at least twice or three times that amount.

What triggers the sell, is the question what other ukulele could be bought with the sale... And on a more serious note, 2 years of almost no playing also crosses a line.
 
ukulelekarcsi said:
I think I have a dozen, but must have owned and sold at least twice or three times that amount.

What triggers the sell, is the question what other ukulele could be bought with the sale... And on a more serious note, 2 years of almost no playing also crosses a line.
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Just curious and I don't want to put you on the spot, but have you bought and sold ukuleles in the past two years that you have not been playing much, and if so, keeping with the original post, what has prompted it?
 
Rllink said:
Just curious and I don't want to put you on the spot, but have you bought and sold ukuleles in the past two years that you have not been playing much, and if so, keeping with the original post, what has prompted it?
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Yes I did, and even do. The list is long, but I could give a few examples.
- A Regal tiple wwas sold off. Although it was very nice, rather special and I even used it extensively a few years back, it was quite loud and jangly, sung better in D than in C which I'm not that used to, and therefor rested in the attic for a very long time, save for 2 or 3 short 1 minute strum to remind me of it and its playing condition.
- A walnut flea was bought and sold. I had flea ukes before, and liked them, but I'm mainly into older instruments. Still I bought it, because it was a cheap second-hand, it had a wooden fretboard and I thought I neede it to lend out in the ukulele classes I teach. The last bit explains why it got sold as well - a student took a liking to it, and it turns out 'having instruments for lent' is a bad argument to buy more.
- An old Martin style O with a transpanted back. In fact, the back was a heavy wooden plywood board, cut to shape and stuck on. It played well, and looked OK from the front, but there were reasons for selling it. The prime one being that I'm not really attracted to the Martin sound myself, hard to explain, but it ended up not being played a lot. Another selling point was that I was planning on replacing the back myself, and never got to it. And a third that someone offered a good price for a rather battered Martin.

Does that give you and idea of what prompted it?
 
Thanks OP. I've been going through the same thing. Bought my first uke about a year ago because it sounded great, but as I learned to play I found out a tenor size was just too big for my hands. If I could put a concert neck on it I'd keep it. It's so deep and rich sounding.

May try to do a trade for a banjo uke.
 
This year my ukulele journey involved more buying and selling than I anticipated. An opportunity to get a Kala travel soprano propped up. I hated the heavy gear tuners so switch them for friction tuners and now it's a cute little companion. I wanted a good soprano to keep next to my bed because I had been playing my Mahalo pineapple every day and thought every day should be something special. Blue Frog maple fills that bill. It's beautiful it plays easy and it sounds dreamy very clear and harp like. That put the count up to 8 and it made me ill thinking about my stash. I was able to rehome the stunning Barron River when I realized I didn't like having such an expensive ukulele.If I have to store it in a case and worry about getting scratches on it it's not practical for me. I had a laminate kaka that was a precursor to Enya. It was beautiful, and sounded great had unique tortoise shell binding with open headstock. The neck was wide which is why it wasn't comfortable for my small hands. I sold it to a guitar player and she loves it. Interestingly she never asked me the name of the brand:) How do you advertise a kaka ukulele? When an opportunity to purchase a used Loprinzi came up I took that imputus to sell an unplayed opio acacia since my ear does not appreciate that tone wood.

Since selling was so successful I decided to Craigslist my 22 pound piano accordion. I was never going to pick up that beast again. It had a lovely mussette tone and went to the accordion guy who was in heaven the moment he squeezed. I think instruments have a way of finding themselves to the right homes. I love the stories connected to the journey. Selling is part of the journey:) The joy continues when the exchange was positive. Instruments are meant to be played. If you're not playing it pass it on. Hoarding weighs you down.
 
rubykey said:
I think instruments have a way of finding themselves to the right homes. I love the stories connected to the journey. Selling is part of the journey:) The joy continues when the exchange was positive. Instruments are meant to be played. If you're not playing it pass it on. Hoarding weighs you down.
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Hi I know the thread slightly old and I don't have anything particular to add to help the OP but I just wanted to say I have always felt exactly that. I've bought, acquired, sold more instruments (not just uke lots of different stuff) in my life than I can begin to care to remember, and that's it totally. They are meant to be played. If you aren't playing it let it go.

No offence to collectors that's just me ;)
 
Iulia said:
Hi I know the thread slightly old and I don't have anything particular to add to help the OP but I just wanted to say I have always felt exactly that. I've bought, acquired, sold more instruments (not just uke lots of different stuff) in my life than I can begin to care to remember, and that's it totally. They are meant to be played. If you aren't playing it let it go.

No offence to collectors that's just me ;)
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Agree totally, I've only been playing uke for about 10 months, bought 8, sold 3, gave one away, all of those disposed of didn't suit me for whatever reason, but I aint keeping what I aint playing. Got another one lined up, buit also considering getting rid of another, as it doesn't get used as much as it should.
 
Interesting situation for the OP. I have only sold 1 ukulele on the past 11 years of playing. I've loaned them out from time to time, but still have nearly all of them. What is interesting to me is that I have had a number of other obsessions since I began with the ukulele in 2007... cycling, (built a couple of mountain bikes but more road these days), sailing (boat sitting in the garage for the last few years), did the Callaway thing (even got fitted by them but not getting a lot of use), and my latest foray... back to surfing.

But for me, the ukulele has been that one love that is always just there. Regardless of what wild hair I am pursuing, it just patiently waits for me. It is a refuge for me. But, I feel fortunate because I was able to find a style of playing that I really enjoyed so it was more than learning chords or a few songs and then the newness wears off. Years ago when I played guitar I would sing, but I just didn't connect that way with the uke. But I discovered playing melodies, and that has been my niche. Music can be so medicinal, but I think each person has to find that connection.

John
 
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