Why do you buy?

Joyful Uke

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Just curious what various reasons people have for their UAS.
Why do you buy? What stops you from buying something?

My progression with UAS started with wanting to experience different sized ukuleles, different woods, different necks, and see what I liked.

Then I began the hunt for sound.

I have most of those factors narrowed down now. I am a concert sized person, 35 mm neck, (38 is too wide for me), don't care about radius vs. flat fretboard.

I have some great ukuleles now, and thought that I was cured of UAS, but found myself browsing anyway. It is fun to window shop (on Windows, or any operating system), but what stopped me from buying, aside from not fitting my requirements now, (size, neck, and so on), was appreciating how great my current ukuleles are. Hard to top that, at least at a price that fits my budget. But, UAS does seem to be lurking. LOL.

What about you all?
 
I started my buying trying, selling or keeping for the same reasons you stated. Once I found what I like, radius fretboard a must, warm open big resonant sound then I hunted hard for the keepers I have.

I listened to the Rebel NEO II with cedar and ebony a few days ago on HMS. The sound was amazing, Corey was floored by it. I had to have it, no radius though. I went and played 4 of my tenors and happily turned off the computer screen. I am very satisfied with what I have amassed........but still I look and listen...you never know;).
 
For me a lot has to do with the look combined with sound and playability. I only play tenor cutaway, at first I restricted myself to under $200, but when I bought a Kala cedar top a/e for for $379 by Mim's recommendation, I let that go, it's a great uke. In the first year I went through 16, then culled them down to my 4 best playing and sounding. In the last 4 years I slowly added 4 more really good ones.

I keep control of UAS because my humidified display shelf only holds 8 ukes, if I want another one, I have to get rid one, and so far I'm not ready to. I do peruse the internet every day just to see what's out there. I can also be inspired by posts here on UU. I became aware of myrtle from one post, I really like the grey coloring rather than the usual koa, spruce and mahogany. I made a mockup for a custom I would have Bruce Wei make, but it's on the back burner for now.

Myrtle leaf hole dual 800.jpg



8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos
 
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#1 was to see if I would like the ukulele enough to stick with it. (I did) It was cheapish but not a toy or something I would soon get bored of if I stuck with it. I loved the feel of it and it sounded pretty good. I kind of regret selling it.

#2 was to upgrade to an all-solid uke. I loved the look of it and I loved the story behind the top wood (sinker redwood)

#3 was to try a different size. (concert --> tenor) It sounded great but I never bonded with the look or the bigger size so I sold it.

#4 was an unexpected whim. I was considering a spalted maple laminate as my #1 purchase but I didn't do it. Then I saw a beautiful spalted maple concert I fell in love with. It had a solid spruce top which would give it a distinctly different sound and look from my other ukes so I indulged my whim and bought it.

#5 was because I had a large balance in my PayPal account from selling a bunch of my old stuff so why not spend it on a uke? This one was an all-solid, premium grade acacia, a real beauty queen.

I'm done! No UAS for me.
 
Originally, I bought a uke to try & teach myself to play an instrument in my retirement.

I'd tried many times in my life to learn an instrument, but it never seemed to work.

My first option on retirement was an electric piano - didn't work for me - so I got a harmonica - but couldn't get my head around not being able to see where the notes were.

Along came a uke.....a tenor was recommended to me, so I bought a Makala.

I found the stretch of the fretboard too much, so bought a Makala Pineapple Soprano, lovely sound, but too cramped - so, a Makala concert was next - right scale to learn on, for me.

Then, of course, having found this site, & seeing what was available, curiosity got the better of me. :)

First it was a better quality laminate concert, then I saw a long neck soprano, (Kala KA-SLNG), & just had to have it.

This was the uke that I really took to & spent most of my learning time on - but the bug had set in - & I had to try a solid wood uke.

Along came an Ohana long neck soprano, to be joined shortly after by a giraffe neck soprano, as I was finding the concert scale easy but maybe a bit tight. :rolleyes:

I was still looking for 'something' though, & I found it in the long neck concert. Bought an Ohana solid mahogany.

So, were all these people right, that spending a bit more than £300 on a uke would get you a better one? I really wasn't sure about that, but in the end my UAS got to me again, & I bought a KoAloha Opio long neck concert solid acacia......well, that uke had something different, not sure quite what it was, but I'd found what I had been looking for.

No more UAS for me! :music:
 
I love to learn about and experience new ukes. I’ve migrated from sopranos to concerts to tenors to baritones. (An old left hand injury limited me to comfortably playing only sopranos and concerts at first. Through playing ukes over the years my hand motion improved, allowing me to enjoy playing tenors and then baritones.)

Exploring a new uke is similar to traveling to a new location. It’s great to find a place you like ‘best’, but that doesn’t stop a person from continuing to enjoy visiting new places, each is unique. And, you have to leave one place to visit another. So for me it’s UED, Ukulele Exploration Desire....not UAS. Time to look and see what’s new and exciting in ukes.
 
Nothing more fun than a new ukulele. The anticipation of a new shipment and the initial playing period can't be beat. I wonder though, if I'm constantly looking for "THE" instrument. You know, the one that will magically turn me into a great player?

The late, great Guy Clark kind of said it all in his song "The Guitar".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHxOego2Sso
 
I love UAS threads. They are never about buying ukuleles, it is always about justifying them. I think there are a few here who have said at one time or another that they just want them. I applaud those people. No one needs a reason to buy a ukulele. Haha, that said, I have three. The first one was because I caught the bug and wanted to play the ukulele. The second was because I thought that I needed a better one to be taken seriously. The third one, I convinced myself that I needed a backup for number two in case something happened to to it and I needed to get my hands on another ukulele fast. So there you go. I can justify all three of mine.
 
I think UAS is just a bit more rampant for beginners. Ukuleles are so much fun that folks get pulled into the UAS by the relative low cost and seemingly endless variety of Ukuleles. At least that was my excuse early on! I think the "cure" for me was buying a high quality Kanilea, that I honestly don't see I could improve upon in terms of my musical needs. I now do more playing and less shopping!
 
Sometimes when you get some bad news nothing cheers you up like hunting a new uke and finding another amazing one.

Had this experience just the other day.
 
I've not bought a new uke for a while simply because the best one I have is fine and my 2nd best one is okay. If I had more money then maybe I'd buy just one more, but only so I could have a really good spare.
 
Sometimes when you get some bad news nothing cheers you up like hunting a new uke and finding another amazing one.

Had this experience just the other day.

I hope that all will be OK.

I know I've had UAS hit as a distraction from stressful times, so I know that the hunt for a ukulele can be therapeutic.
 
I think I got UAS when my friend told me it would cost her at least $25,000 for a new cello. That’s like expensive monogamy. With ukuleles, it’s “playing” the field for a lot less. So much fun to hear those different tones.
 
Sometimes when you get some bad news nothing cheers you up like hunting a new uke and finding another amazing one.

Had this experience just the other day.
I hear you. I've had a bad week. Strained my knee & I have to skip a kayak trip in Grand Teton Nat. Park next week that I've been looking forward to since January. Too hard to get in & out of my kayak, tent, & run from bears with two bad knees. So, while I've been laying around, doing PT, and feeling sorry for myself, I've been browsing. Not good to browse when you're feeling sorry for yourself. I have absolutely no need for a new ukulele, but one has caught my eye. Of course, it's expensive, but it sure is pretty to look at.

Back Away From That Website. Put Down That Credit Card.
 
Curiosity, mainly. Stress relief. When my dog died, I bought a Martin C1K. When my cat died in June (not the one in the avatar) I bought a Martin 2K tenor.
 
So we could also ask, why do you sell??
 
I think I'm like others. It was about wanting to own different sizes, and pursuing the sound I like most. And now I know! Generally, I like a big, open, bright, modern sound, and generally, I'm a Koaloha guy. Generally, I also prefer koa for sound and looks reasons. And now that I have built up a healthy collection (9 total, once my final instrument is done being built soon), I'm good.

I actually have only sold one uke I ever bought, my first "serious" instrument, as it just didn't click for me. I still plan on keeping everything I've bought so far, as they all have their own unique voice and sound. Once my final uke shows up in the next month or two, though, I'm pretty much done, and I genuinely feel that way at this point. I'll have 9 that I can play and enjoy, all with their own style, look, and sound, and all made by great businesses/builders that I am glad to support, like Koaloha, Blackbird, Kanile'a, and Asonu.

At this point the only things I could ever see myself buying in the future are a Blackbird Farallon, and a Kanile'a baritone, both of which I've played in person and have really enjoyed. That's really it, though, and neither of those are short-term wants given everything else in the arsenal, and given that I don't plan on getting rid of anything anytime soon. I plan on making an Oahu trip in about a year, and I may try to buy one of the two at HMS if I can.
 
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So we could also ask, why do you sell??

Don't know if we want it in this thread or a separate, (I'm the OP, and I don't have a preference), but the ones I've sold were ones that didn't quite work out for me, even if they were great ukuleles. After trying different ukuleles, I found that some were the wrong size, or had the wrong neck width. I didn't know what would work for me until I tried them. I haven't sold any because I was disappointed in the sound.
 
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