My number one question asked to me at NAMM

MGM

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This years Namm was interesting at best.....not a lot of new ground breaking new stuff but yes a lot of interest and manufacturewrs juming in the uke market Seems that they are having a wake up call call that the uke is booming and theirs lots of new interest. Heres the thing though...As one who has sense of the market and direction....this is what hey asked every onr with a sort of fear in their eyes.....:"how long do you think this bubble of ukulele interest will last" ....I know how i answered it how would you?
 
I would laugh and say "Ukes are like guitars now, an instrument that will rise and fall in popularity, but it is here to stay"
I over heard a gentalman walk by the Kamaka booth and say to his friend "When will this F*&#ing ukulele fad go away?" I wanted to punch him in the nose.
 
There's no way to predict. But there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that this is a classic bubble phenomenon. I think it is still on the upswing, which is why it doesn't feel like a bubble yet. I'm planning on riding this thing all the way up and all the way down, cause I'm loving every second of it... But I'm pretty sure that my son is going to inherit a bunch of nice ukes that he will probably unload at the Sally Ann!

And if people were any good at predicting when bubbles will burst there would be a heck of a lot more millionaires out there.
 
Musical instrument "fads" seem to last pretty long. In the 60s, all the British Invasion groups really liked to feature the harmonica and tambourine up-front. And in the 80s synths and cheesy electronic drums defined the whole era. So perhaps the uke "bubble" will last a decade, or it might even stick around long enough to be a semi-mainstream instrument.

If it fizzles out in another year I still won't be upset, because I enjoy playing it regardless. :B
 
Musical instrument "fads" seem to last pretty long. In the 60s, all the British Invasion groups really liked to feature the harmonica and tambourine up-front. And in the 80s synths and cheesy electronic drums defined the whole era. So perhaps the uke "bubble" will last a decade, or it might even stick around long enough to be a semi-mainstream instrument.

If it fizzles out in another year I still won't be upset, because I enjoy playing it regardless. :B

Speaking of long lasting musical fads, there's the story (perhaps apocryphal) of the British record producer who quipped after an audition of a struggling band calling themselves "The Beatles", something to the effect, "All these guitar groups are just a passing fad".
 
I think the ukulele wave will last a while -- it still appears to be on the upswing, judging from sales reports -- unless another Tiny Tim comes along. Still, if the bubble bursts, I'll wait patiently for the market to be flooded with "barely played" K brand ukuleles at a fraction of their original price. :)
 
I think the ukulele wave will last a while -- it still appears to be on the upswing, judging from sales reports -- unless another Tiny Tim comes along. Still, if the bubble bursts, I'll wait patiently for the market to be flooded with "barely played" K brand ukuleles at a fraction of their original price. :)

No kidding! I don't care much if the world in general is interested in the ukulele.. I enjoy it, and if the fad dies a bit, that just means the prices of vintage ukes go down. Right now, it is coming to the point where everyone with a dusty cheap uke thinks it ought to be worth hundreds on eBay. That's not good for ANYONE!
 
Totally agree with you Chris and Mark. As a buyer and collector, I hope the bubble does burst sooner rather than later in a way, for the simple reason that the prices will drop. Right now there are some crazy prices being asked for vintage and new ukes.

My contradictory and heartfelt hope though, is that the uke is here to stay. That the bubble won't burst, but that the beautiful, humble uke will become a mainstream, widely played and accepted instrument.

Hmmmm...maybe then I might start playing my Appalachian Dulcimer and Kalimba more seriously!!!! :)
 
In your position I would have said "Only a few more months, cut your losses and take the opportunity to unload your inventory on me now while you can still can get a little cash for it. By Memorial Day it's going to be all about balafons."

Kidding of course, I have no idea about market direction in a macro sense. But I would guess it will run it's course, and the hardest hit when the cycle goes down may be the entry level first time makers who depend on volume and the very high end non-traditional makers. In the meantime, I would guess many noobs like me will be upgrading to more playable instruments for a while.
 
I'd answer, "We're here to stay!" :D

Well, I hope so. I believe Jake when he said, "if everyone played the ukulele, the world would be a better place." :rock:
 
I've had the question too. Theres just so many great makers, variety, tonewoods, styles, sizes etc for one to get not to get bored with this instrument. Why would it go away? Easy to play, portable, affordable etc has been what I've said.
Not only the standard sizes but banjoleles, luteleles, sitarleles, harpelele, sopranino sizes who know the tubalele may be the next big hit:)
I think there are plenty more amazing and interesting ukuleles in our future...The Space-ulele!
 
I know I've posted this beautiful Schulz strip several times before, but here looks like the perfect spot for anyone that hasn't seen it before to enjoy
it... :)

ukulele pic charlie brown_tmp.jpg
 
No kidding! I don't care much if the world in general is interested in the ukulele.. I enjoy it, and if the fad dies a bit, that just means the prices of vintage ukes go down. Right now, it is coming to the point where everyone with a dusty cheap uke thinks it ought to be worth hundreds on eBay. That's not good for ANYONE!

I'm going to say that I do not wish for the bubble to burst too badly. With more popularity comes more companies and more opportunities for invention and new ideas. Plus, I would hate to see some of my favorite ukulele companies lose customers, whether those customers be good players or not, that is not the point. I would much rather see my fav companies charging more for their ukes if it meant that they were doing better.

I have always stuck by one thing with the ukulele, although it may be small and take less materials to make, it is an instrument nonetheless and I am willing to pay what is percieved to be "expensive" for an instrument that is well made. The mere fact that you can get an amazing top-of-the-line custom build ukulele for $2-3k is fantastic. Look into top of the line customs or vintage instruments for other instruments, I've seen $10,000 flutes and saxophones, $20,000 vintage guitars, $70,000 amps.

I say people think it is expensive because they are maybe collecting too many ukuleles in the first place. I'd rather have 2 amazing ukuleles than 20 middle of the road ukes.
 
Rihanna, Pink, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Justin Bieber.

I hereby prognosticate that when they have all recorded at least one single prominently featuring our favorite little instrument, then the end of the golden days is near.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

And, incidentally, if Bieber makes the uke "cool" by popular culture standards, I'm gonna have to keep my uke-in' on the down low. Waaay down.
 
I got asked that a lot too. In fact I had a lot of stores tell me that it is on the downswing.
If the excitement I saw was a downswimg, I am very sorry to have missed the up swing.

I am personally new to discovering how much fun the uke is, but even more how fun uke players are (as the NAMM was really my first exposure to so many in a live setting)

I think the ukulele wave will last a while -- it still appears to be on the upswing, judging from sales reports -- unless another Tiny Tim comes along. Still, if the bubble bursts, I'll wait patiently for the market to be flooded with "barely played" K brand ukuleles at a fraction of their original price. :)
 
I got asked that a lot too. In fact I had a lot of stores tell me that it is on the downswing.

That's not what my local shop is telling me; this Christmas they had 200 ukes out the door!

I think it will be here as long as the current Great Depression II lasts; it's affordable, it's fun--I mean even if you have NO MONEY you can buy a Dolphin for $50, or heck, a Mahalo for $29. I think it may be a while before people can go back to massive spending on other things. Unless you're crazy like we all are and love to collect the buggers, I think we have a way to go until we see deep market penetration, i.e., a uke in every house. I have not yet seen a major media star emerge like Arthur Godfrey was back when. If we get Conan playing the uke and giving uke lessons on the air like Godfrey did, then we'll really see usage explode. We have a way to go still.
 
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