Seriously, how many ukes are too many

How many ukes is reasonable number to own?

  • 1-2

    Votes: 12 7.2%
  • 3-5

    Votes: 54 32.3%
  • 6-10

    Votes: 38 22.8%
  • 11-15

    Votes: 7 4.2%
  • 16-20

    Votes: 6 3.6%
  • As many as you can afford without going into debt

    Votes: 50 29.9%

  • Total voters
    167

Tigeralum2001

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All this talk about UAS has led me to wonder- seriously, how many ukes is "too many"?
 
CJ for what ever reason..i like 10..but number 11 has to be super special..or when I get that 11th one I give one of the first 10 to someone..10 sounds like a good number for me..
 
It is heavily individual, but for me I think 3-5 is a good number. I'd be happy with just one, but that is somehow difficult to achieve. :) I prefer to live "lightly" without too much clutter and "stuff", but I also can see why people have or want 10+, especially if they have room and the financial means.
 
I think it's reasonable to own one Uke for each tuning. So:

Re-entrant
Low G
slightly sharp
slightly flat
a bit sharper
a bit flatter
quite sharp
quite flat
even sharper
even flatter
really sharp
really flat
really really sharp
really really flat
oh, that's nearly in tune
oh, it's gone out of tune again
3-string Ukulele (that's the one with the 2 day old Aquila Red)
 
I think it's reasonable to own one Uke for each tuning. So:

Re-entrant
Low G
slightly sharp
slightly flat
a bit sharper
a bit flatter
quite sharp
quite flat
even sharper
even flatter
really sharp
really flat
really really sharp
really really flat
oh, that's nearly in tune
oh, it's gone out of tune again
3-string Ukulele (that's the one with the 2 day old Aquila Red)
So your answer is 17?

I seriously wonder how many is too many. Shouldn't a serious uke player have at least one in every scale? What about woods? The numbers can go up fast. When should one thin the herd, so to speak?
 
I say pick a number and try to stick to it..my 10 or whatever ukuleles for the rest of my life..when played golf I used to buy clubs like crazy,then I finally told myself it was not the clubs in my hand..it was the guy holding the clubs that was not too good haha

CJ my 2 cents
to be honest kind of hard to predict what I might do LOL
 
Most of you wont agree, because I know some of you guys have dozens, but anything above 10 in my mind is crazy lol.
 
The perfect number to own is one more than you have currently.;)
 
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Shouldn't a serious uke player have at least one in every scale? What about woods? The numbers can go up fast.

Jake just uses his custom for all performances, it seems, and focusing on one or a few ukes probably makes you more intimately familiar with them. Part of why I keep looking at different ukuleles is because I don't really know exactly what I want, and maybe there is some subconscious belief that a better instrument makes one a better player, too. Who knows if the next uke isn't perhaps THE perfect one?

Plus, buying new stuff is fun. :) It's a bit like self-induced Christmas!
 
My plan - not necessarily the same as my reality - is that I will keep one of each size uke in low G and one in high G. Not counting sopranos since I don't really play those anyway.

Ideal - 6
------
Concert high g
Concert low g
Tenor high g
Tenor low g
Bari high d
Bari low d

Reality - 8
-------
Anakoneke Custom Cat Koa Concert - high G
Black Bear All Spruce Concert - low G
Collings UC2 Doghair Mahogany Concert - high G
Collings UT2 Spalted Pecan Tenor - low G
Moore Bettah Tenor Koa *angels sing* - high G
Pohaku Art Deco Concert - high G
Pohaku Spruce/Maple Concert -high G
Pohaku Koa Baritone - standard Bari DGBE

Also, my reality number does not include the three vintage ukes I have adorning on the walls of my vintage house.

Just counting players it looks like I have 3 "extra" concerts that I can't bear to sell, offset by being one bari short (don't really need a re-entrant Bari right now.) Just 2 over ideal! Down from the 8-10 over ideal I had at one time. Yay me!
 
Not Sure, you talking to some unreasonable ukers like Kat and I :)......he he
 
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I have 11 right now, with one more on order. So, the next purchase will clearly have to be TWO ukes. :eek:
 
I was voting 3-5, cos that's my current stock (5), but then I realised I wanna get a baritone as well... so that changed my vote!
 
I answered 3-5. But that's really answering what would be reasonable for me to own. I have a Kala laminate soprano and a Kelii all-koa concert. The soprano is getting ignored. I wouldn't have the time to play 10+ ukes and give each the time it deserves. So what might I add? In the future I would like to get a solid wood soprano (preferably a Kamaka pineapple) and a tenor (wood and brand TBD) to string low G. And then I might get a vintage uke. But for now, my Kelii will be my main uke.

Why don't I have all those ukes right now? Not enough $$$ :iwant:
 
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For me it's one. I'm in the hunt for a vintage baritone and when that happens I will donate my current plinky soprano to a group of Wounded Warriors on FT Campbell that use music as a form of stress relief. I certainly have the financial means to own more but don't see the point.

For me it's the hunt that's the most fun - possibly more than buying. I love looking through ads on Craigslist or the Internet in general and of course I check eBay all the time to see if anything new has come up for auction. I also like visiting pawn shops and estate sales, always looking for that undiscovered gem.
 
As long as you have the space to store them properly and the liquid funds to acquire them, there is no limit. Musical instruments are not expenses, they are investments. If you are sensible about how you acquire them, they can generally be turned back into cash fairly rapidly if necessary or desired.
 
When my custom comes in I'll be up to 9. But then I wouldn't need my very first uke any more, so that would make it 8.

And two are vintage so they don't count somehow. (????)

And one of them is my Eleuke Peanut which admittedly I don't play much but it's great to have for travelling.

And one is a Mahalo Smiley uke which is really just for decoration (and eventually practice in doing a basic setup).

And my tenor which is a bit big for me but sounds so nice I couldn't let it go. Plus a friend plays it when he comes over.

At least I don't need any baritones -- too big for me to reach.

I'd still like to add a vintage Martin soprano. And second custom concert. And...who knows????

So no exact number here, but I think I wouldn't need any more than a dozen in various configurations!
 
For me it's one. I'm in the hunt for a vintage baritone and when that happens I will donate my current plinky soprano to a group of Wounded Warriors on FT Campbell that use music as a form of stress relief. I certainly have the financial means to own more but don't see the point.

I would try the "one uke" approach, but first I have to figure out which size and wood I *really* prefer. At the moment, I keep going back and forth between tenor and soprano. I find the soprano size more appealing (it is also less guitar-y), but love the rich, full sound of the tenor. Being a beginner still, I originally thought I would want a tenor just for picking, but then I saw what Wilfried Welti manages on sopranos, so that reason went out of the window (for me).

Maybe I should look into soprano pineapples ... those are supposedly louder and fuller sounding than eight-shaped ones. (I never had a pineapple.)
 
How many ukes are too many? For who? I answered 6 to 10 because that would be too many for me. I have five and for me that is a nice number. But if you can afford it and you like to collect, and have room to store them, then maybe there isn't too many.
 
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