FYI for all UAS Sufferers

ichadwick said:

My UAS is protected by 24-hour wife surveillance!

Click to expand...

ichadwick said:

I think it was my second one. That uke started the "Can you play more than one at a time?" questions. Followed by the "How many of these do you need?" That led to the demonstrations where I played each one for her elucidation, but those always with, "No, I can't hear any difference."

She must have realized early on this was no ordinary passion - or obsession. She's not insensitive to music or art, merely practical.

Susan and I met in my guitar phase, 25 or so years ago. I was living alone, in a two-bedroom apartment shared by a dozen or more guitars (acoustic and electric), several amps, mics, sound mixers, effects pedals, recording machines, stands, drum machine, miles of cables, a bass, two (three? I can't recall) keyboards and a bunch of harmonicas. Plus, of course, a whole lot of computers (a few Ataris, Commodores, Apple ][, TRS 80, Sinclair, and several others). And the walls were lined with book cases crammed to overflowing, with unsorted piles stacked on the floor.

By the time we moved up here, that had been whittled down to about four guitars, a couple of amps and a keyboard. Still a lot of books, but that too was a smaller collection.

I've been pretty good about collecting things since we've been here. Just one electric and one acoustic guitar, plus one amp these days. Sure there was my shakuhachi phase, but they're small and hardly noticeable (albeit pricey). Ditto with the Tibetan singing bowls. And I still have way too many Buddhist malas hanging on pegs in my work room. Yes, I did have more than one motorcycle in the garage at a time for a while, but I got past that, too.

Ukuleles, on the other hand, seem to be sprouting up like May mushrooms on a suburban lawn. I've had a dozen at a time, sold or traded that down to six, now we're at close to a dozen again. What used to fit easily under the dining room hutch is now an ungainly collection of cases and instruments scatered around the house.

Susan is a neat, tidy and non-compulsive person. We are the attracting opposites of the old saying.

Now she's watching my every purchase carefully, trying to head off what she can, surely filled with visions of the collection gathering on the staircase, under the bed, in closets... and trying to temper my passion with common sense. Of which, I'm told, I have little.​

Click to expand...

ichadwick said:

Nah. I know all about them. They're hard to play unless you're a lot more dedicated and experienced than I was. Lowest I ever owned was a Bb and it was tough to play without losing the tone.

I even have several pieces of PVC pipe in my basement I bought to try and make my own low-range, big bore shak. I was even contemplating a trip to Japan to pick up a few... Susan was adamant I wasn't going.

Now I'm much more conservative. I only want to go halfway to Japan... Hawaii!​

Click to expand...