itsmemattchung
Active member
A few other members who had visited (or reside in) Seattle suggested stopping by Dusty Strings, a local music shop that not only offers lessons but also specializes in selling (since 1982) string instruments: violins, harps, guitars, and ukuleles. So I decided, this past Saturday, to pay a visit since for the past 2 years I've been playing on my Kala 15-S, my first and only ukulele. Up until two days ago, I've never even fiddled with a different model—let alone touched another ukulele.
When I stepped foot into the shop—the top of entrance door has a faced-down acoustic guitar mounted at the top, the strings sing a beautiful chord as the door swings open–I turned right and walked towards over to the 40 (or so) ukuleles neatly mounted on the 10 foot wall.
As I approached the ukulele section of the store, I was immediately greeted by a friendly employee, who I explained to that I was searching for a second ukulele—nothing too fancy—that falls within my budget: $200.00 and $300.00. He then suggested that I simply just try a few out, handing me a Shark tuner to clip on to the end of whatever ukulele I planned on test driving.
I grabbed a tenor ukulele from off the shelf, sat myself down on a leather stool, and cradled the ukulele in my arms. I then coiled the fingers on my left hand, positioning them across all four strings and forming a C chord in it's first inversion. With the strings pressed against the fret, I strummed all four strings.
And now ... I understand ...
I get.
I spent the next 45 minutes playing around with all sorts of ukuleles. Some concert sized. Some tenor sized. Some laminate. Some all wood.
There's a massive difference (in feeling ... in sound) between a $50 ukulele and a $150. I understand the bigger difference between a $50 and a $300. Because in the end, I walked out with a $400 ukulele, my second ukulele that I've been unable to put down since Saturday.
It's real people. I caught it—ukulele acquisition syndrome—it's no joke.
And here it is, my very first (and only, so far) Pono AT[1] with a artful strap installed:
[1] https://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-at-acacia-tenor.html
When I stepped foot into the shop—the top of entrance door has a faced-down acoustic guitar mounted at the top, the strings sing a beautiful chord as the door swings open–I turned right and walked towards over to the 40 (or so) ukuleles neatly mounted on the 10 foot wall.
As I approached the ukulele section of the store, I was immediately greeted by a friendly employee, who I explained to that I was searching for a second ukulele—nothing too fancy—that falls within my budget: $200.00 and $300.00. He then suggested that I simply just try a few out, handing me a Shark tuner to clip on to the end of whatever ukulele I planned on test driving.
I grabbed a tenor ukulele from off the shelf, sat myself down on a leather stool, and cradled the ukulele in my arms. I then coiled the fingers on my left hand, positioning them across all four strings and forming a C chord in it's first inversion. With the strings pressed against the fret, I strummed all four strings.
And now ... I understand ...
I get.
I spent the next 45 minutes playing around with all sorts of ukuleles. Some concert sized. Some tenor sized. Some laminate. Some all wood.
There's a massive difference (in feeling ... in sound) between a $50 ukulele and a $150. I understand the bigger difference between a $50 and a $300. Because in the end, I walked out with a $400 ukulele, my second ukulele that I've been unable to put down since Saturday.
It's real people. I caught it—ukulele acquisition syndrome—it's no joke.
And here it is, my very first (and only, so far) Pono AT[1] with a artful strap installed:
[1] https://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-at-acacia-tenor.html
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