Ukulele Dreaming!

Folks, I need some suggestions. I want to stop smoking, I've tried many times but the daemon weed always wins.

I was up at my local and saw/played a beautiful Nalu Baritone. At $700 it is just out of my reach, and I was a little bummed out. I have very little spare cash. I thought that if I were to stop smoking I could save some money up for six months or so and get a really nice Ukulele.

So I thought if I bribed myself to stop smoking for six months, then at Christmas I could afford a "good Ukulele". I had been able to stop for 36 hours but the jitters got to me and I relapsed a bit. A 55 year habit is hard to break!

I have had second thoughts about the Nalu, they don't really make a Uke that 'sends' me. I'm not a fan of spruce and mahogany is nice but there must be another really nice playing/sounding/looking Ukulele out there that could keep me on the straight an narrow to kick this habit?

So I'm asking for suggestions for a sweet sounding, sort of blingy, good playing Tenor or Baritone that I can use as a goal. I'll probably string it in dGBE/DGBE as C tuning is not my thing. I need a Uku that I can put on my desktop so every day when I open my computer I'll see my "Dream Uku" to reinforce my resolve. I'm thinking that somewhere between $300 and $800 is all I should spend. I need to support the wife, house, cars, insurance, taxes, and stuff too.

So how about suggestions for me. Something not too plain, so I can really get behind this. Something that sounds amazing and has nice playability?

Oh, but it is all so subjective isnt it? To me the wood itself paired with a nice finish can be really blingy. Are you looking for bindings and inlays etc?
I was oh so close to getting the concert variant of this:
http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/ohana-redwood-rosewood-tenor
A fellow UU:er, WCBarnes, played that uke a few weeks ago and he was very positive, perhaps he can chime in .
It sure looks lovely, and I'd really like to have a redwood uke one day. Hmm...still on my radar aint it? Perhaps in a few years!
But, I recently got a KoAloha KCM-00 (perhaps you saw my NUD post?) and it's BEAUTIFUL! The stunning koa paired with the gloss finish makes it look very exclusive !

You have the right attitude to quitting, I found something that needed the money that I was wasting on the deamon weed, & it worked for me.

I have a nice Kala solid cedar top baritone, very nice looker, lovely tone, & not too expensive; or you might like to go for the solid acacia model, has a bit of bling, but not too much.

Good luck with your quitting.
(I quit in 1983.)

Give up smoking for good and buy yourself a Collings tenor....

Aren't Collins too expensive, I'm pretty baroque.

That Ohana sinker redwood is very tempting. I love rosewood too.

I was tempted by a Kala Ceder Baritone (~$300), but it is not as blingy as I had hoped for my Dream Uku. Truth be told I'd sacrificial some MOP for the right sounding uku. I pretty much want to be able to play it before I buy. So that limits me a bit. But for a pinup temptation in the meantime, I'm looking for a beautiful uku that will really motivate me.

I'm an ex smoker and the "want" ever quite leaves you, but after a while, it is just in the background. Be a serial quitter - quit as many times as you need to. Don't ever give up on quitting!!!

My mom smoked and my dad resented the money she wasted. He secretly put back money every time she bought a carton of cigarettes. He walked in one evening with a brand new television. My mom was aghast and asked where he got the money. He told her it was his cigarette money. She was LIVID, but what could she do? He later bought another television the same way. I thought it was brilliant.

The longer you quit, the more money you save, the better uke you can purchase! Go for it!!!!!! I'll cheer you on all the way!!! I know how hard it is.

I was surfing, looking and found this Pono.
http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-at-5-acacia-pro-classic-tenor-w-case.html

Probably the top of my price list but really pretty and sounds pretty good. Very close to making me quit.

I also saw that Kanile'a' was making a 19" tenor, which would be perfect for a dGBE tenor, unfortunately it's way out of my price range at ~$3,000!

JackLuis said:

I also saw that Kanile'a' was making a 19" tenor, which would be perfect for a dGBE tenor, unfortunately it's way out of my price range at ~$3,000!

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Does Islander, the Kanile'a budget line, make one? If so, that should be much less expensive, but still good quality.

You said that a Collings was out of your price range, but would a used Collings be an option?

Whatever ukulele you decide on, good for you for planning on quitting smoking! We'll all cheer you on.

And for now, you have the added bonus of getting to anticipating UAS! Dream big!

No help here, I just wanted to add my voice to your cheering section!
You can do it!

If that 36 hour hump is a doozy, try some smaller prizes for 2 days, 3 days, 4 days!

It's a nasty, dirty, stinky, disgusting, stupid habit that can kill you! Is that enough motivation? I quit 30+ years ago and have no desire to ever smoke again and can't stand cigarette smell! I substituted sunflower seeds and coffee to help.

As far as a ukulele motivator, You'll have to find that yourself.

If it helps, I've been ogling Cocobolo ukuleles for a while https://www.facebook.com/groups/cocoboloukulelesmarketplace/ and I bought a Mele ukulele that I absolutely love http://meleukulele.com/

Maybe something like this? http://meleukulele.com/product/mele-koa-tenor-4-string/

No help here on which uke, but I have to say that e-cigs are way cheaper than smoking. 5.5 years since I had a nasty.

When I decided smoking was a bad habit that I did not want to inflict on my children, I kept a half full packet of cigarettes in my pocket. I wasn't giving up, I just decided not to have one. Occasionally I would get one out and smell it then put it back in the packet. People would ask have I given up smoking I answered "no, I'm just choosing not to smoke right now". After carrying the packet around for several years I finally put the tatty thing it had become on a shelf in a cupboard. When we moved house about six years ago, there it still was. It made me laugh and I finally threw it away. The whole exercise started in early 1980. Cigarette smoke does not bother me and I'm still choosing not to smoke.

As for choosing a uke. Buy the one that makes you happy. When you play several of them there always seems to me to be a stand out that I really enjoy.

My dad quite cold turkey at 55 after smoking for about 30 years. He lived to be 93. I think the Kala cedar top acacia koa ukes are great (uke is the common abbreviation).

Pono makes really nice baritones in a range of woods and prices.

As for smoking, I feel that voluntarily quitting an addiction permanently has a good chance of succeeding when people are ready for it and really want out for the sake of gaining freedom from the drug. If you do it for something (or someone) else, but not because you're really done with it, you're just enduring and waiting, sort of hibernating, not really putting an end to it.

Quitting smoking, drinking, any drug is hard and painful, and there is no easy way of doing it. It'll suck badly for a while. The physical dependency is relatively easy to deal with (you'll be over the worst in a few days), the emotional, psychological dependency is the real challenge. The habit of doing X (smoking, drinking, etc.) to get relief, to escape the uneasiness, the listlessness, the restlessness, it's really hard. When the addicted brain starts to make suggestions why it wouldn't be so bad if you smoked just one ... and really, you're a grown man, why shouldn't you smoke if you want to? ... and aren't there 90+ year olds who have smoked all their lives? ... don't you deserve something nice once in a while? And so on.

I think that is when relapses happen, when people deceive themselves by rationalizing, excuse-making, wanting the relief, a break from the tension. I like the way Kara described. It's self-trickery too, but it takes out some of the finality, some of the harshness, and it blunts the edge a bit, because you don't HAVE to stop, you CHOOSE to stop. It's a mind game, but one that may work better than the forceful method where you push so hard against yourself (I have to stop. If I don't stop, I'm a loser. I failed so many times, I can't fail again! etc).

Be easy on yourself.

Well I have six months to get free before I can buy so I'm not anxious, I have seven other ukes to play. I need to work with them so I can be worthy of a good ukulele. It's a mind game but, hey I can live with that. I need to work on finger dexterity and scales and stuff so I can really appreciate a fine instrument. Playing fairly well on a cheap instrument is plenty fun but on a better instrument must be better.

I haven't played many Pono's and may find a few at my local, though they carry a lot of other good brands too. Interesting thing I saw was Martin Tenors were under a grand? Is that right? I think it was mahogany but might have been koa? Maybe I ought to play one of those too? Hmmm

Mivo, you are NOT a loser. Tobacco is a very heinous, dangerous drug, and is legal only because Big Tobacco owns congress. Jack, you and Mivo can quit.
I've taken care of way too many people that died of COPD and cancer from smoking the damned evil stuff.
You CAN quit.
Do NOT go cold turkey, I can almost guarantee it will make you miserable and may not stick.
Pick out the uke you want, determine how many months of not smoking it will take to save that much money. Cut out a pic of it and put it on your refrigerator door. If you can find one, have someone take a pic of you playing it. Look at it every day.
Now, start tomorrow, smoke one less cigarette than you did today. The next day, smoke two less, the next day, three less, keep doing that until you are down to 1 cancer stick a day. The next day, it will be a lot easier to smoke NO cigarettes. You have to count them, keep track of it, keep looking at the uke pics, listen o YOU tube videos of it being played. Imagine it being you playing it.
Stick with us, we'll help keep you accountable.
Good luck, best wishes, and look forward to a healthier life!

Ukejenny said:

I'm an ex smoker and the "want" ever quite leaves you, but after a while, it is just in the background. Be a serial quitter - quit as many times as you need to. Don't ever give up on quitting!!!

My mom smoked and my dad resented the money she wasted. He secretly put back money every time she bought a carton of cigarettes. He walked in one evening with a brand new television. My mom was aghast and asked where he got the money. He told her it was his cigarette money. She was LIVID, but what could she do? He later bought another television the same way. I thought it was brilliant.

The longer you quit, the more money you save, the better uke you can purchase! Go for it!!!!!! I'll cheer you on all the way!!! I know how hard it is.

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I bet the real reason your Mam was livid is that your Dad had shown her just how much money she was wasting and she didn't like to admit it. Good for your Dad, btw. Great way to save.

I first gave up 50 years ago when I was 21 but I relapsed a couple of times over the next 10 years. The last time I relapsed was at my sister's wedding. It was quite a do and I had drunk far too much and lit up a fag. It made me violently sick. That completely removed any residual desire to smoke and I've not touched one since. The thing I noticed wasn't so much the money save but I got my sense of smell back. You don't realise till you stop how much smoking impacts on your senses.

Everyone needs a powerful incentive to stop to enable you to overcome the craving. For me it was fell walking and I realised just how quickly I got out of breath climbing a hill and if I wanted to continue to enjoy my walking, I had to stop.

Nickie said:

Mivo, you are NOT a loser. Tobacco is a very heinous, dangerous drug, and is legal only because Big Tobacco owns congress. Jack, you and Mivo can quit.

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I'm not smoking! I'm boringly drug-free, I don't even drink alcohol. Not even caffeine. I did have some drug abuse experiences when I was younger, though, and I pulled myself out in the cold turkey way (rather irresponsibly so, too), so I know first-hand that it can be rather challenging. But it inevitably does get better and eventually the "need" fades away.

So far it seems a Pono or an Ohana look like they might get to be my Dream Ukulele, but surely there are other Brands/models that have some bling, sound good and still fit my price range? Islanders seem to fit everything but the bling. I need to play a few to see if they have the 'sound' to offset the lack of bling?

So far in three days I have cut my smoking down ~>50%, but this is just another attempt. I need to get a Uke upon my desk top to stay focused and fill up the Uke acccount.

Do mid priced Kala's, (not the Elites, which are a bit dear), sound as good as Pono's? I did get a little jazzed by a Kala ceder topped baritone, it was a little plain but sure sounded nice. Maybe not a slick playing as the Nalu, or as light, but pretty nice, and $400 cheaper. Ohana has a ceder topped rosewood model that looked like it might fit

I've been doing some string tests, to see which strings sound best as dGBE on my tenors and baritone. (I haven't gone re-entrant on the bari yet, but have the strings in hand.) I have two tenors, and each has a very different voice. The thin line is really sweet with most any strings, but my standard sized tenor is 'different' in that it isn't as sweet but much louder. I've been playing it a bit more lately and have gained an appreciation of it's tone. In G tuning it is a lot more sonicly acceptable than in the C6 tuning. After playing mostly G tuning for the last six months, or so, I need to play my concert and soprano to train my ear to accept the C6 so I can objectively compare Ukes at the store.