Niche?

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Niche ukes, is there really a reason for them, or do we invent a reason to have them? I will freely admit that I fight the urge all of the time to buy a uke for a special reason that I'm fulfilling already with a uke that I have. I look at thin travel ukes all of the time. Thanks vetcvm. Anyway, there's thin travel ukes, outdoor ukes, ukes you can keep in your car, ukes that you can keep in the truck, motorcycling ukes, livingroom ukes, kitchen ukes, tv room ukes, garage ukes, workplace ukes, beach ukes, camping ukes, ukes that serve dual purpose as a canoe paddle in an emergency. Seems to be a uke for every occasion. I just always find those discussions and the justifications interesting. Carry on.
 
I’ve always had a problem with travel ukes. Coming from a guitar, if anyone brought up the existence of a travel uke, they would be laughed at. Every uke is a travel uke.

I can see the need for an electric ukulele, like a Godin or Pono TE, if someone performs in a band. Not necessary, but it would be a worthwhile niche ukulele for me.

John
 
What, no bathroom uke? :p

I like the idea of a thin body uke, less for travelling and more because it feels comfortable playing in a reclined position. Having said that, I don't own one. I do have a cheap stick uke for quiet practice and I suppose travel too, heck it's my only uke with a pickup so if I need to rock out ... not so niche after all.

My baritone is a niche uke for the rare occasion I want to pretend I'm playing guitar.
 
I actually like the idea of selecting ukes for particular applications. The right tool for the job. It makes more sense than the usual UAS problem of making impulse buys and only later wondering when and why you might choose to play THIS uke instead of all the others.

One person's niche is another person's lifestyle. I do not own a camping uke because I go camping like once every ten years. Whereas I own a bari uke that exists to play blues on the back porch -- a "niche" that occupies as much of my time as I can manage.

Currently I am preparing to lead the local uke club in Leon Redbone songs -- not the first time I have done this -- and as I contemplate which uke to use I realize that I really like the sound of a banjo uke with these songs... but I also like a low-G... and now I am wondering if I need a banjo uke (maybe a tenor) set up low-G for leading Leon Redbone songs. Which is admittedly a narrow niche but one that I often find myself in and I believe it to be a good niche. The fact that a pal recently showed up with an Outdoor banjo uke and I fell head over heels in love with it -- well that has nothing to do with this! :cool:
 
Is "they're cool" a sufficient reason? What makes something a niche use? If I'm primarily a tenor player, is a soprano-for-the-sake-of-having-a-soprano a niche uke? 'Cause that's pretty much why I have a soprano!

From a strictly utilitarian standpoint I don't need most of these. I'd be fine with just one, and I can make a utilitarian argument for one in each room. But they all bring me joy and were well within my discretionary budget.

Pretty much everything I have could be argued as niche in some way or another. Everything except for the concert gets played at least weekly

  • Solid body electric - because rock & roll
  • Outdoor Ukulele - to keep in the car. I wouldn't call this niche, personally
  • Kala TEMB ukulele - because I needed a low-G tenor for a workshop, and I like blue. Also not sure this is niche
  • Klos Carbon Fiber - because CF is cool, and it's my best sounding ukulele (and by far the most expensive on this list - probably cost as much as the next three or four combined)
  • Flight Soprano - because it was really inexpensive, well rated, and I didn't have a soprano
  • Kala Soprano mando-lele - modded for 8 strings and tuned in fifths
  • Rondo UBass - possibly more niche than it is a uke ;) much easier to play on the couch than the full-size P-Bass
  • Concert - my first decent Ukulele. Not really niche, except that I only keep it around so I have a concert
  • Cheap baritone - to see if I liked baritone, and if it was more complimentary with guitar than the smaller (yes, and not really)

On the to-buy or build list:
  • Banjolele - no real need, but the Little Gems are pretty, especially with LEDs. On hold until / if I learn clawhammer
  • Resonator - I've been toying with a slide, but worthy resonators aren't cheap, and I'm not good enough that I want that much volume yet
  • A better baritone - I really like the size, but I'm stuck in analysis paralysis between several that I like but which are too expensive to commit to without trying
  • StewMac Tenor - is DIY a niche? Theoretically in progress, but I overcomplicated it and back-burnered last July and I'm just now getting back to where I can work on it. I'm still overcomplicating, but my workshop is almost to the point where I can probably get re-started this weekend (so long as nothing else explodes)
 
You say niche like it’s a bad thing. It’s taken me 2 years and more than a dozen ukuleles to fill my niche needs. Each of my 4 ukes fits a need in sound & functionality.
 
You say niche like it’s a bad thing. It’s taken me 2 years and more than a dozen ukuleles to fill my niche needs. Each of my 4 ukes fits a need in sound & functionality.
Well I don't think it is a bad thing. I mean, how can buying a ukulele be bad? I think people can buy whatever ukuleles they want for whatever reason. But that doesn't mean that I can't find the reasons interesting and entertaining. That's all. I'm sure that as a white water rafter and with your playing at your church you no doubt have reasons to buy ukes that are compatible with your activities.
 
I actually like the idea of selecting ukes for particular applications. The right tool for the job. It makes more sense than the usual UAS problem of making impulse buys and only later wondering when and why you might choose to play THIS uke instead of all the others.

One person's niche is another person's lifestyle. I do not own a camping uke because I go camping like once every ten years. Whereas I own a bari uke that exists to play blues on the back porch -- a "niche" that occupies as much of my time as I can manage.

Currently I am preparing to lead the local uke club in Leon Redbone songs -- not the first time I have done this -- and as I contemplate which uke to use I realize that I really like the sound of a banjo uke with these songs... but I also like a low-G... and now I am wondering if I need a banjo uke (maybe a tenor) set up low-G for leading Leon Redbone songs. Which is admittedly a narrow niche but one that I often find myself in and I believe it to be a good niche. The fact that a pal recently showed up with an Outdoor banjo uke and I fell head over heels in love with it -- well that has nothing to do with this! :cool:

I think Niche ukes are the only reason to have multiples, other than maybe having ukes in different rooms if accessibility is important.
 
Is "they're cool" a sufficient reason? What makes something a niche use? If I'm primarily a tenor player, is a soprano-for-the-sake-of-having-a-soprano a niche uke? 'Cause that's pretty much why I have a soprano!

From a strictly utilitarian standpoint I don't need most of these. I'd be fine with just one, and I can make a utilitarian argument for one in each room. But they all bring me joy and were well within my discretionary budget.

Pretty much everything I have could be argued as niche in some way or another. Everything except for the concert gets played at least weekly

  • Solid body electric - because rock & roll
  • Outdoor Ukulele - to keep in the car. I wouldn't call this niche, personally
  • Kala TEMB ukulele - because I needed a low-G tenor for a workshop, and I like blue. Also not sure this is niche
  • Klos Carbon Fiber - because CF is cool, and it's my best sounding ukulele (and by far the most expensive on this list - probably cost as much as the next three or four combined)
  • Flight Soprano - because it was really inexpensive, well rated, and I didn't have a soprano
  • Kala Soprano mando-lele - modded for 8 strings and tuned in fifths
  • Rondo UBass - possibly more niche than it is a uke ;) much easier to play on the couch than the full-size P-Bass
  • Concert - my first decent Ukulele. Not really niche, except that I only keep it around so I have a concert
  • Cheap baritone - to see if I liked baritone, and if it was more complimentary with guitar than the smaller (yes, and not really)

On the to-buy or build list:
  • Banjolele - no real need, but the Little Gems are pretty, especially with LEDs. On hold until / if I learn clawhammer
  • Resonator - I've been toying with a slide, but worthy resonators aren't cheap, and I'm not good enough that I want that much volume yet
  • A better baritone - I really like the size, but I'm stuck in analysis paralysis between several that I like but which are too expensive to commit to without trying
  • StewMac Tenor - is DIY a niche? Theoretically in progress, but I overcomplicated it and back-burnered last July and I'm just now getting back to where I can work on it. I'm still overcomplicating, but my workshop is almost to the point where I can probably get re-started this weekend (so long as nothing else explodes)

You forgot the niche of open tunings. You need, in my opinion, open A, C, D, and G.
 
And let's not forget ukes that have a unique appearance. I find it hard to resist them. I think this is a case of filling a need that no one knew existed. I didn't know that I needed a uke shaped like a dewdrop until I saw the Dewdrop uke. :)
 
My personal niches, and how I filled them......

Plugged in play - two ukuleles with pickups that have very different sounds for variety - Bright & punchy KoAloha, and more mellow & well-rounded aNueNue Moonbird. The Moonbird took the place of two other ukes that I had with pickups. Playability & sound of the Moonbird beat out those two.

Travel & camping - Started with a Waterman (yuk). Used an inexpensive laminate soprano for awhile (decent sound, but didn't jive with soprano scale). Tried some laminate concerts that didn't do it for me. Settled on a Blackbird Clara. Pricey, but great sound, playability, and sturdy.

Because I wanted that soprano bark & jangle - This one really does fall into that niche category. A long neck soprano. Specific sound with the scale I'm comfortable with.

I still like to look at ukes for sale, but I'm not looking to fill any specific niche. Or to create a new niche to fill. Not right now at least.
 
My niches are rather modest: 1 beater vintage Martin soprano for when the sop urge strikes, 1 concert Flea as my go-to, leave out & travel uke, I just love that little guy, so much fun to play. Finally, 2 tenors; a Cordoba in low-G, and Martin T1K as reentrant. I've had more at one time, but really don't see the need anymore, and that satisfies me.

Would I like a nice K-brand tenor or a Moonbird? Sure, but I'd need more riches to fill those niches
 
I just remembered a niche that I unsuccessfully tried to fill. This really was a niche I created on impulse. At a uke festival, I played someone's banjo uke for about 10 minutes and thought it sounded fun. I bought a Gold Tone Little Gem banjo uke, but quickly returned it. Not my thing & not a niche that I needed to fill.
 
I’ve always had a problem with travel ukes. Coming from a guitar, if anyone brought up the existence of a travel uke, they would be laughed at. Every uke is a travel uke.

I can see the need for an electric ukulele, like a Godin or Pono TE, if someone performs in a band. Not necessary, but it would be a worthwhile niche ukulele for me.

John

You can say that until you try to fly on really cheap airlines without paying for any bags.
 
You can say that until you try to fly on really cheap airlines without paying for any bags.

I guess it depends on how cheap. But I’ve carried my tenor on a lot of flights. If needed I could fit a standard concert or soprano into bags a lot easier than a thin 26” travel uke. Obviously something like an Outdoor uke is pretty indestructible and maybe a better choice, especially flying United... lol.

John
 
Niche Fail: My Waterman did not fill my SCUBA ukulele niche. It sounded a little muffled. And took quite a while to fully dry out when I was done.

Besides, the Seaworld Aquarium people said I was annoying the fish.
 
I guess it depends on how cheap. But I’ve carried my tenor on a lot of flights. If needed I could fit a standard concert or soprano into bags a lot easier than a thin 26” travel uke. Obviously something like an Outdoor uke is pretty indestructible and maybe a better choice, especially flying United... lol.

John

Airlines that only allow you one "personal" item which must be 17" or less, and which, if it is a uke in a case and not in a "personal bag", means no clothing for the trip. I usually try to not fly on these airlines, but if I don't plan far enough ahead or fares are higher than usual, I do, and the sopranissimo fits in my personal bag, as does my purse, with my wallet in a belt.
 
I have no niches to fill.
 
If you want to talk about 'niche ukes' have a look at BEau Hannam's website. He just crafted a fretless uke. People have been calling it a Oud-kulele. It allows micro tonalities to be played as in Turkish and Egyptian traditional music. Have a look, it's quite amazing.

http://www.beauhannamguitars.com/Fretless-Ukulele.html
 
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