Just wondering how many of you are like me spending lots of money and time buying , searching for that one perfect sounding uke . In the end, the ONE that won your heart took the least of your hard earned money and the maker that you never gave it a second look.
Life is full of surprises.
I have a Kala cedar top concert and a Pono solid acacia concert. After quite a bit of messing around with strings, set up etc. I've decided to keep the Kala and sell the Pono. Just prefer it *shrugs*. I bought it second-hand and it has a wonky strap button (really badly off-centre) and a couple of dings but it's still my go-to instrument
There's no "right or wrong" to this. I'm sure many here are on that road with you, spending time and money seeking just the perfect uke for them.
I've already been down that road with numerous other instruments, and ukes as well years ago.
A large part of the appeal of the uke to me is I now just play them. They ALL sound different, even mass produced ones made to the same specs on the same day at the same factory.
Obviously so many contributing variables there--size, shape, wood type and thickness, bracing, even strings. One uke can also sound very different depending on how you play it.
I don't really have the desire or funds to chase the tone dragon, though I understand why people are inclined to do this, and I cheer them from the sidelines. I just hope to play my cheapies into the ground, having as much fun as possible. No agonizing, no searching, no swapping - buying - selling - shopping. Just playing.
Griffis, wiser words were never written.
I have chased the ukulele rainbow, and have found my true love. My Cocobolo ukulele simply cannot be beat. I'm not sure if I'd even trade it for a Kamaka or a MB.
Maybe.....
We did recently purchase another tenor, a Tiny Tenor, to be exact. A close friend, who has UAS real bad, wanted to rehome it, and we couldn't resist.
I cannot tell the tone from my Ohana concert, but the intonation of the Ohana is so off that the tenor is a welcome addition to our small family.
I hope the buying is done. I just wanna play.
It all depends on what you want and what you want to spend you can play cheapies into the ground as he said or if you want something from a talented luthier plan on spending from $2,000 and up, some like Chuck Moore go as high as over $10,000. I had mine custom made by Beau Hannam but he also makes a less customized Uke called The Players Model that are still incredibly beautiful looking and sounding, check out his website.
I recently bought a few customs as well as a vintage Martin and they are all amazing! To me they were worth every penny of what I paid for them. However, if I were to rank my ukuleles as best bang/fun for the buck, none would come close to my Ohana SK-25! I picked it up 2nd hand for about $100 and it is a blast to play and has that wonderful mahogany sound. If I were ever in financial trouble and was forced to sell my more expensive ukuleles I would keep this little guy and survive quite nicely.
I think most of us go through this at some point, usually when we first start playing - the expenditure of time and money on finding the "right one(s)" at least as our time and money allows. I was pretty fortunate to have settled on the sound I like early on (koa, Kamaka, Martin fluoro strings - this hasn't changed for me in 7 years); for me it was chasing down the right scale length that had me buying and selling a few times.
It all depends on what you want and what you want to spend you can play cheapies into the ground as he said or if you want something from a talented luthier plan on spending from $2,000 and up, some like Chuck Moore go as high as over $10,000. I had mine custom made by Beau Hannam but he also makes a less customized Uke called The Players Model that are still incredibly beautiful looking and sounding, check out his website.
To me there's no such thing as the prefect sound. I like the bright sound of my Chinese dual hole acacia koa with Martin strings, I also like the slightly warmer stronger sound of my Kala solid cedar top, acacia koa body with stock Aquila strings, I also like the deeper sound of my custom solid acacia koa glossy black mandolele, my custom gypsy jazz solid flame maple top and solid Indian rosewood body does not have a lot of projection or sustain, but has a very sweet sound with Aquila strings. My newest one, a Brice Wei Arts $100 eBay all solid acacia koa with brown burst finish is right in the middle of the others. Of the 12 others I went through my first year of playing uke, I also liked the sound of the Gretsch G9121 A.C.E. solid 1/4 sawn mahogany top and mahogany body with Martin strings.
I actually don't play any gypsy jazz, though I do like that style a lot. Through all the years I played guitar (almost 50), I always longed for a Django Grande Bouche Selmer Maccafarri but never could afford one. When I started playing uke, I thought I would get one made that looks like a gypsy jazz, but boy were the well known builders expensive, the I found Bruce Wei Arts out of Vietnam who quoted me less than half the price so I went for it ($780 US shipped).
I decided on the woods and details, but my mistake (according to Pepe Romero Jr.) was that I chose a solid flame maple top, which is too stiff to resonate well, exactly what happened. The build is very good, maybe too good for the lack of projection and sustain, but the mellow sound does have good tone and I added a pickup and preamp, so it's a keeper.
Just wondering how many of you are like me spending lots of money and time buying , searching for that one perfect sounding uke . In the end, the ONE that won your heart took the least of your hard earned money and the maker that you never gave it a second look.
Life is full of surprises.
While this is generally true, there are lower-priced excellent sounding custom ukes out there. Ono's start at $1,000 (HMS has one now with some "adders" at $1,400). And Covered Bridge makes a nice sounding uke for about $1,000 as well. I'm sure there are others but those are two with which I have personal experience.
And yes, BH's Player's Model comes in just under $2k at $1,850.
Sadly, this is something so many people succumb to and struggle with, myself included. It's part and parcel of living in a consumer-driven culture. People equate "desire" with "need." The simple yet functional and unadorned is rarely valued; even frowned upon.
There is no "perfect" one size fits all uke that will satisfy all of someone's wishes all the time. That can be a fun and edifying journey, but it's also a road with no end.
While this is generally true, there are lower-priced excellent sounding custom ukes out there. Ono's start at $1,000 (HMS has one now with some "adders" at $1,400). And Covered Bridge makes a nice sounding uke for about $1,000 as well. I'm sure there are others but those are two with which I have personal experience.
And yes, BH's Player's Model comes in just under $2k at $1,850.
I've no experience with luthier-built ukes, though I did own an early Beltona concert reso uke for a time. I have had luthier-built guitars and basses.
The Black Bear ukes I've seen (and admittedly lust for) come in well under a grand, as do many Earnest Instruments ukes by Joel Eckhaus, though I don't know if he's still building.
