As a recovering guitar addict, I've seen the "Vintage" scene change over the last half century, resulting in the fact that there are a lot more vintage guitars in the hands of collectors rather than ordinary players. It got me thinking about the ukulele community, and its makeup.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that we are living in the golden age of ukuleles. For example, I had a Martin baritone a while back. It played and sounded great, but I didn't think there was anything magical about it, except for the fact that it was a Martin, and was over 50 years old. When I compared it to my pro-level Pono, I'd have to give the nod to the Pono.
Couple that with the fact that there are many talented luthiers building great custom instruments today and I can't see there being an "older is better" bias, when it comes to ukes. Rather, I see the quality of today's ukes being consistently higher across the board, regardless of where they're made.
It seems that the ukulele community is more focused on playing, learning, and enjoyiing their ukes than viewing them as "investments" which may pay off at a later date.
Am I all wet? Is there a subset of the uke community that's in it for the money? From what I've experienced, it sure seems to me to be a lot healthier attitude shared by folks on this forum. Believe me, I am not demeaning the guitar community, of which I am still a part. It just seems to me that there's more focus on fun here. Thanks.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that we are living in the golden age of ukuleles. For example, I had a Martin baritone a while back. It played and sounded great, but I didn't think there was anything magical about it, except for the fact that it was a Martin, and was over 50 years old. When I compared it to my pro-level Pono, I'd have to give the nod to the Pono.
Couple that with the fact that there are many talented luthiers building great custom instruments today and I can't see there being an "older is better" bias, when it comes to ukes. Rather, I see the quality of today's ukes being consistently higher across the board, regardless of where they're made.
It seems that the ukulele community is more focused on playing, learning, and enjoyiing their ukes than viewing them as "investments" which may pay off at a later date.
Am I all wet? Is there a subset of the uke community that's in it for the money? From what I've experienced, it sure seems to me to be a lot healthier attitude shared by folks on this forum. Believe me, I am not demeaning the guitar community, of which I am still a part. It just seems to me that there's more focus on fun here. Thanks.