Help me cure my UAS...

I almost bought a ukulele yesterday; almost. Today, I'm actually happy that I didn't. (Well, if I did buy it, I'm pretty sure, I'd feel super excited and happy today. my oh my, terrible isn't it?)

Right now, I'm telling myself that I must first reduce my ukulele herd to 2 before buying a new ukulele since I only have 3 wall hangers. I don't know how long I can hold out with this reasoning. Hints? advice?

In less than 2 months, I've collected 5 ukuleles. This is terrible and good all rolled into one. Wife thinks it is too weird and tells all our friends. I need a cure. What's the best way to control UAS? Please share!

I cured mine by going to high-end ukes. Instead of groping about with mid-range instruments and always wondering if there was something else beyond the horizon, I just went all-in for the usual suspects: Martins, K-brands, custom ukes. Now when NAMM comes around I don't care what little tweak Ohana or Kala is affecting; I know what I have is better. That's what I did, but that's of course predicated upon my own psychology. It may not work for you. However, I offer it for your consideration.

I was in the same boat recently. I had a "fun money" balance sitting in my PayPal account and I got caught up in the excitement of the hunt and the idea of a new uke. I was ready to commit and pull the trigger but the right uke didn't materialize. I realize now that had I ended up buying another uke, I would have regretted it. I currently have 5 ukes and I like them all. I'd have a terrible time deciding what to do if I had to let one go to make room for a new uke. Questions you may want to ask yourself: What would a new uke give me that I don't already have with my current ukes? If it provided something that I don't already have would it really make that much difference? Can I do what I want to do musically with what I already have? Do I really want a new uke or am I just caught up in the excitement with the idea of a new one? What else could I do with the money I would spend on something that I already have multiples of?

In response to that last question I decided to get myself an adult kick scooter. I've been trying to lose weight and I need to be more active so I thought a kick scooter would be a fun way to help do both. It wasn't cheap but it was still much less than what I almost spent on that uke. As far as ukes go, I'm going to concentrate on enjoying what I already have. Having 5 affords plenty of variety!

ripock said:

I cured mine by going to high-end ukes. Instead of groping about with mid-range instruments and always wondering if there was something else beyond the horizon, I just went all-in for the usual suspects: Martins, K-brands, custom ukes. Now when NAMM comes around I don't care what little tweak Ohana or Kala is affecting; I know what I have is better. That's what I did, but that's of course predicated upon my own psychology. It may not work for you. However, I offer it for your consideration.

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Indeed there is no reason to have more than one mass produced China uke. The appeal is all in having multiple K brand ukes, vintage Martin from different decades, and maybe some Collings and luthier custom builds thrown in.

merlin666 said:

Indeed there is no reason to have more than one mass produced China uke. The appeal is all in having multiple K brand ukes, vintage Martin from different decades, and maybe some Collings and luthier custom builds thrown in.

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Once you try good luthier built ukes, the bar for a uke to seem attractive goes up and the price point as well and those help slow down UAS. Also, as your progress you will appreciate various aspects of a uke and you will want to change the collection. If you want to keep the ukes at 3 I would suggest, one uke you don’t mind carrying around and taking a few bumps, one really nice vintage martin soprano or a Ken Timms or a Wunderkammer and one high end tenor, the Collings in the market place is a steal at around $1400.. now if you want different tunings accessible at all times then the count may go up..

Tell your wife how many ukes you already have and then tell her how much you want to spend on yet another one!

I'm afraid I can't help you. I have a new uke being delivered tomorrow, I just put a deposit on a nice tenor that will be my take-out uke, and I decided to do a custom build. My friends and family just do not understand. :rofl:

I’ve walked away from a lot of ukes. A couple I wish I had, but most didn’t leave an impression.

If you are buying laminated ukuleles, you are kind of buying a variety of the same thing. Oh, there might be slight differences, but they play and sound similar. It is fun to buy, but liking something isn’t really a reason.

The uke has to be much better “and” something you don’t have (or similar), something that is unique that won’t always be available, or at a price that you will never find again. If you can buy it a month from now it might not be that special.

It really comes down to filling in a collection with instruments that you will still play as the years go on. Not for a few months.

Quite often the questions, “What does this uke really give me that I don’t have?” snd, “Is this really better ryan what I have.” Usually the answers are not much and no.

John

Thanks to your replies, I'm rethinking about my ukuleles. I really have no use for a new ukulele and probably can't judge the sound well enough since I a new player and have been adjusting my technique constantly. (It is tempting though since the uke is local and they have same-day curbside pickup... hmmm... I think I can resist.)

I've even given some thought to the number of ukuleles I really want to have around. Your replies are invaluable; I should think about my use cases and sound instead of basing on an arbitrary number (i.e. my currently installed wall hangers). A lot to think about as I dislike having too many things in general.

I had UAS for a while, but it came to an end - first I found the type of uke I'd really been looking for all along.

For me it was the tenor scaled concert (long neck or super concert others call them).

Then I bought a really good one, cost double what I had previously paid, & that was my cure.

So, you want to know what it was now don't you - well, it was a KoAloha Opio solid acacia. :music:

Sounds like you need more wall hooks! They're super cheap in the home organization section of home improvement stores (garden trowel holders) and fit use necks perfectly.

In all seriousness, though, there is a lot to be said about aiming for more high-end ukuleles. I have two laminate ukes (well, one has a solid top) and hardly ever reach for them. One is the use that I always loan to friends when they're thinking about buying an ukulele of their own and the other was inherited when a friend died.

The others are all solid and have their own different appeals be it tone, feel, or size. In the guitar world I've seen collectors really latch onto a specific model and collect multiple examples of it (the same brand, model, and sometimes even the same year) but this has never really appealed to me. I like the variety more than anything else, I suppose.

And it does help with UAS because, excluding rare exceptions, when cheaper ukes come out, I find myself looking at them and then looking at my wall and shrugging. "Why bother? I've got perfectly good ukes right here!"

That's not to say they have to be expensive or even particularly pretty, either. The two ukes I reach for most is a Kala ASOV-T (which didn't do well on the market and was even found as a return to The Ukulele Site because someone didn't like it) and a Pono soprano that is solidly a blem model with half of the rosette missing abalone.

Neither was expensive, but are such good examples of ukuleles that, with few exceptions, I'm satisfied enough.

So long as you don't go into debt, you can have whatever you like.

The way I justify it is this. The purchase cost doesn't matter at all, but to be worthwhile you need to think of an instrument as a price per hour. If you don't get much play from an instrument within six months of buying it, it's time to move it on.

My favourites become my favourites because of the stories that go with them.

Keep in mind to do what's right for you and don't get too caught up on what others are doing. If you really want that high end ukulele, go for it. But if it's not in the budget or you're not convinced you'd fully appreciate it, skip it. As for laminates, not much use collecting a lot of them unless you want a nice wall display.

Personally, I got caught up in the UAS for a while. I sold them regularly to keep the numbers down, but I tended to have a better feeling selling (or returning) them than buying them. I didn't need the money, but it felt good to get them out of my home and to someone who might enjoy them.

We all might have different reasons for our UAS, so finding the cure for yours might not be what kind of cured mine. (I think I'm cured...but sometimes still consider a purchase, so maybe I'm not cured. Haven't bought anything in over a year, and don't expect to, though. But one never knows.)

My UAS was triggered by wanting to find what worked best for me. Tenor? Concert? Soprano? (Didn't try baritone.) 16" size like Ohta San?
Then there are the various neck shapes, nut widths/string spacings, and radius vs. no radius. And, of course, different woods, different sounds.
Lots of options for UAS there.

Then there are different tunings, and whether you want to keep more than one tuning readily available for a practice session, (like high g vs. low g.)

But, once I got that sorted out, and now have some great ukuleles that make me happy, it's harder to justify another purchase. It also narrows the possible selection down dramatically, since I'm now very specific in terms of size, neck, nut width/string spacing, radius, etc. My fingers get crabby if I wander off from those specs.

And, of course, the economic uncertainty that came along with the pandemic adds to a possible cure for UAS.

Don't know if that applies to your situation at all, but since you're new to ukulele, you might still be in the stage of exploring all the options, and your UAS might settle down once you decide what works best of for you.

As long as the budget allows, and it's adding enjoyment to your life, being under the spell of UAS isn't the worst thing, IMO.

clear said:

What's the best way to control UAS? Please share!

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More music; less shopping.

Music hobbyists are often both creators and consumers. Try not to consume gear that does not fulfill a creative need.

I first got into ukes back in 2009. My first uke, the uke that made me fall in love with the ukulele, was a koaloha pineapple soprano. For whatever reason I couldn’t just be satisfied with it and play and enjoy it. I started buying ukes like crazy. I picked up a vintage Martin made Wurlitzer style 0 off eBay. It had a sound hole chip and I could never get used to it’s toothless appearance. I eventually sold it. I also purchased a Pohaku soprano in koa, and it’s the only uke I still have from that first flurry of UAS. I purchased many more, custom builds from the hot builders of that day, two Martin 3’s, and all sorts of this and that. When I sold them I almost always took a loss, some big, some small. Only occasionally did I break even, and only once did I make a 50 dollar profit. The worst thing about it is that I sold that original koaloha pineapple soprano I loved so much. I knew I made a mistake after it was gone and I tried to buy another one, but it didn’t sound as good, so I sold that one too.

Here it is 2020 and I’ve started a whole new phase of UAS. First I went from 1 uke to 2 and that held for several months. I found a Harmony made Airliner uke at a swap meet. The sound charmed me and it was inexpensive, so I had to buy it. Then just before quarantine hit I got it in my mind to get a vintage Martin. I got into a mindset where I couldn’t pass up a good deal. I’m not sure how good of a deal my purchases have been, but I have 9 ukuleles now, all vintage except for the Pohaku (is 11 years old vintage?). I feel like I’m starting to snap out of it, but to be honest there are still a couple ukes I wouldn’t mind having.

I don't think there is a cure but my advice would be stay out of UU Marketplace!

I speak from experience (and am following a tracking number as we speak!) :uhoh:

What I really enjoy is finding a local or small part-time builders and see what they offer and where the prices fall. Generally you can find good deals on good ukuleles. They will be more than a generic laminated import, but there is something about a one-off build made by hand. Even if it is a typical build, I find there is still something unique in each one. Not just number 12,891 out of 25,000 nearly indentical factory instruments.

John

Start by setting aside money to fund a new uke. Or decide on saving a little a week. Skipping a Sarbucks coffee or two would give you $10/week. You'll have $520 in a year. Establish a budget for how much you want to pay.

Make a list of the features and sound that you want in a new uke. Use reviews and sound samples to get an idea of what you like and don't like. Include things like woods. shape of neck, slot head vs. paddle. Open geared-tuners vs Planetary Gear. Ears versus back of headstock. Low-G vs High-g. Arm rest or not. Double Bout or cutaway.

Try to make a large-ish step up in quality or a lteral move in construction. If your present ukes are laminate move to all-solid. If you have only solid koa then try a spruce top. But try to have the uke different than what you already have. And a resulting different sound. Or aim for playablility. The idea is to have a firm idea of what you really want.

Do some research. Check out the sellers and makers. Have fun exploring and make a list of the ukes that tick your boxes. Then revisit your choices and see if they still do it for you. Narrow it down. When you have only a few left, then start searching for deals.

The hunt becomes as interesting as the actual purchase and playing. And you'll find that you will have something that you really want to have to grow with as a player.

Your UAS won't be cured, but it will be controlled and you'll wind up with some serious instruments.

And, no, I'm not this disciplined. But it's a goal I try to follow as well as leaving myself open to a "Holy Grail" if I come across it.

Geez, clear, it took me years to obtain that many ukes.

You're hanging out in the wrong place for help, we're all enablers here. You need UAS Anonymous for that kind of help.

If I had bought every ukulele I wanted, I wouldn't have any money, nor a car, nor a wife!