Do you have a name for your uke(s)?

byjimini

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I can't get into this habit; I read about BB King and I think it sounds awesome, but I just don't view my ukes as having their own souls etc, well at least not yet. To me they're just beautiful pieces of wood that make a lovely sound.

No guitarist is more wedded to his instrument than the reigning Monarch of the Blues, B.B. King. As the man himself tells it, in 1949 he was playing a ‘Chitlin Circuit’ dancehall in Arkansas when the heater upended and set the building on fire. In his haste to escape the flames, King left his beloved Gibson semi-hollow electric guitar inside.

Mortified at his potential loss, King ran back into the burning building and retrieved it. The next day he learned the fire was started by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille, so he named the guitar ‘Lucille’ to remember those mad moments when he risked his life to save it. He then vowed never again to run into a burning building or fight over women (some will argue these are two separate things, but they don’t understand the blues).

In 1968 King described Lucille with equal parts sacred devotion and dirty passion: “it loves to be petted and played with. There’s also a certain way you hold it, the certain noises it makes, the way it excites me … and Lucille don’t want to play anything but the blues … Lucille is real, when I play her it’s almost like hearing words, and of course, naturally I hear cries.”
 
Yup, Astrid, Lilo, Rhea, Hoa & Hope are my five, pics in my sig...

A friend told me to name them and I'm easily led
 
Mine already had names on their headstock! :)
 
nup. no naming ukes for me. I can't anthropomorphise instruments...mine are just known by what they are...Black Bear soprano, Mahalo soprano, Beansprout concert etc...but each to their own! I do love 'em, but not the way I love eugenie...he he :love:
 
I have names for my ukes.

My Ohana Tenor is called Luke...as in Luke the Uke
and my toy soprano is called Tigger.

Don't really think of them as having souls.
 
I have some great ideas for names... but can't quiet go there with my ukes. I don't' name cars either. Kind of want to but. Byjimini maybe if we named them that would give them a soul. I think if you played a uke for 20 years the relationship would change and you may actually infuse some soul into the uke. Ummm I think I just gave a beginning argument on why less may be more.
 
I have names for a couple of them. My soprano has a peace dove on the headstock, so I think of it as the Peace Uke. My pineapple concert has the Chinese character for "happiness" on the headstock, so I think of it as the Joy Uke. I am still waiting for a Love Uke to come along.

Unfortunately, and ironically, the Peace Uke exploded yesterday. The bridge came unglued very suddenly and went hurtling violently across the room. I still haven't found the saddle. I am very sad. Perhaps I should try playing the Joy Uke. Ah well.
 
My Pete Howlett Tenor is called My Pete Howlett Tenor...
and so on.I don't give names to inanimate objects however
beautiful they may be!
 
I have names for a couple of them. My soprano has a peace dove on the headstock, so I think of it as the Peace Uke. My pineapple concert has the Chinese character for "happiness" on the headstock, so I think of it as the Joy Uke. I am still waiting for a Love Uke to come along.

Unfortunately, and ironically, the Peace Uke exploded yesterday. The bridge came unglued very suddenly and went hurtling violently across the room. I still haven't found the saddle. I am very sad. Perhaps I should try playing the Joy Uke. Ah well.

Ah man that sucks! I've had pins launch and put my eye out while tuning, but that's not the same thing.

The Kanile'a is Gaius because he has dreamy hair. The Kala archtop was Laura, but since like Laura, it died, I'm thinking of transfering that name to the Mighty Uke. It's matte black, so Laura would be fitting, because Blackbird might yet one day be taken by another uke perhaps. The Koaloha and Ohana don't have names yet.

But I still call the Kanilea the Kanilea because no one knows what I mean by Gaius.
 
Ah man that sucks! I've had pins launch and put my eye out while tuning, but that's not the same thing.

The Kanile'a is Gaius because he has dreamy hair. The Kala archtop was Laura, but since like Laura, it died, I'm thinking of transfering that name to the Mighty Uke. It's matte black, so Laura would be fitting, because Blackbird might yet one day be taken by another uke perhaps. The Koaloha and Ohana don't have names yet.

But I still call the Kanilea the Kanilea because no one knows what I mean by Gaius.

Yes, I've never seen anything like it. I wasn't even playing the uke at the time. It just went KAPOW while it was leaning against the piano bench.

Gaius is a good name for anything at all.
 
I've never seen the point in naming anything that can't come when I call it... LOL
 
My pineapple in Bob, after sponge bob
My OU-2 is frank, he looks like a frank
My lanikai is curly, it is curly koa
My main guitar is laura, it reminds me of my friend laura with blode hair and she is really loud
my 20's banjo uke is Norman, it was written on the inside
I have named review ukes also, like the Martin S-1 is Marty, hmmm wonder why?
and the Kala travel I call big Jim, its ironic
and the ohana sopranino I call Mimster, since she first showed one to me.

I like to name them, I even put "Uke Name" on the case tags I hand out since so many people name their ukes
 
I think there are two kinds of people in this world: those who anthropomorphize their possessions, and those who don't.

I generally don't, but I've referred to my two Kamaka concert ukes as "The Twins" on occasion.
 
I find it cute and think it's great that people name their instruments, but it's just not for mer. Who knows, maybe one day I'll see the light. :D
 
I find it cute and think it's great that people name their instruments, but it's just not for mer. Who knows, maybe one day I'll see the light. :D

I find it rather charming, too, but it just doesn't come naturally to me. Maybe it's like naming pets - sometimes it takes a while for their true personality to show, and then suddenly you know exactly what the right name is.
 
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