Would you pay more for a uke signed by Jake?

Drew Bear · Jan 16, 2012

Or would you consider the uke less valuable? He seems to make an effort to autograph neatly and legibly. I was considering asking him to sign the back, upper bout just below and to the right of the neck (see bad photoshop'd image below).

Part of me agrees with Jake:

I’m like, “I can’t believe you want me to sign this beautiful ukulele.”

austin1 · Jan 16, 2012

There's no button for "I would never buy an autographed ukulele," but that's what I would vote.

nix · Jan 16, 2012

I wouldn't pay more money for a uke signed by Jake. It would only have added value if it was personalized to me or if I had the experience of meeting him and getting him to sign it. For me, it's the memory of the experience that would be more important than the physical item signed. I have a lot of books signed by authors (I'm a librarian) and it is the memory of meeting the author and having a bit of a chat that mean so much more than just ink on a page.

Nix

mascompro · Jan 16, 2012

I would not, signed Ukes really don't make a lot of sense to me, I would rather get something else signed, and keep a nice uke nice.

That being said, if I ever had a chance at a Uke signed by George Harrison, I would have to rethink my current stance.

Drew Bear · Jan 16, 2012

austin1 said:
There's no button for "I would never buy an autographed ukulele," but that's what I would vote.

Blast! I knew I would forget an important option. I don't see a way to edit the poll.

You probably fall into the third category. Surely you'd buy a Kanile'a tenor for $100 even if it had been autographed? Never is a long time.

Then again, it's safe to say that we'll never see a functioning Kanile'a K-1 for anywhere close to $100.

SailingUke · Jan 16, 2012

nix said:
I wouldn't pay more money for a uke signed by Jake. It would only have added value if it was personalized to me or if I had the experience of meeting him and getting him to sign it. For me, it's the memory of the experience that would be more important than the physical item signed.
Nix

Why, Jake is so young he will probably sign millions of ukes in his life.
I agree meeting Jake and having him sign a dolphin was the thrill for me.
What's really cool is I have a James Hill signature on the same ukulele.
Seeing them both in the same was really special.

Chris Tarman · Jan 16, 2012

SailingUke said:
Why, Jake is so young he will probably sign millions of ukes in his life.
I agree meeting Jake and having him sign a dolphin was the thrill for me.
What's really cool is I have a James Hill signature on the same ukulele.
Seeing them both in the same was really special.

That makes more sense than having them sign a really expensive instrument. I might pay somewhat above market value for a Dolphin signed by either of them, or Bill Tapia or someone like that. But it would need to be verifiable. If I was going to a concert by Jake or James, I would probably take something in the Dolphin price range to try to get signed. I wouldn't try to sell it though. I doubt that I would ever buy one that had been signed for someone else.

stevepetergal · Jan 17, 2012

I would only want an autograph on an ukulele I would never play. I would only display it. So, I might pay 100 dollars for an autographed 75 dollar ukulele. I wouldn't want his sig on one of my good instruments.

dkcrown · Jan 17, 2012

austin1 said:
There's no button for "I would never buy an autographed ukulele," but that's what I would vote.

I agree. I saw Jake last summer and after the show had him autograph my flea hardcase. I would not buy a uke with an autograph on it. Unless the autograph was Chuck Moore's, William King's, or Mike DaSilva's and it was on the lablel on the inside of one of their ukes.

mr moonlight · Jan 17, 2012

I generally don't like signatures on my ukes and they wouldn't have any value to me unless I got them myself with one exception ...Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. Even then I wouldn't pay much extra for it.

bbycrts · Jan 17, 2012

I have a (cheap) uke that Jake signed. The only value in the signature, if you ask me, is that I was right there when he did it and had the chance to visit with him a little bit. It's the memories that surround the signature that have value, not so much the uke itself.

UncleElvis · Jan 17, 2012

I would pay extra... the price of a ticket to the show and, if he wasn't doing anything, dinner afterwards.

greyghost · Jan 17, 2012

bbycrts said:
I have a (cheap) uke that Jake signed. The only value in the signature, if you ask me, is that I was right there when he did it and had the chance to visit with him a little bit. It's the memories that surround the signature that have value, not so much the uke itself.

Exactly. I got his sig on my Kala, but it's the memory of the brief conversation (and the photos) that give the signature meaning. Also, he's so genial and willing to sign whatever you hand him that there's certainly nothing rare or difficult-to-obtain about such a uke.

itsme · Jan 17, 2012

No, I would not. I would take a good uke to a show, ask him to strum it to put some of his juju on it, have a picture taken of us together with him holding my uke, and then ask him to autograph a CD cover (or his tab book when that's out).

Paul December · Jan 17, 2012

I'd sign Jake's uke, but would have to charge him.

foxfair · Jan 17, 2012

Nope. Never.

ukecantdothat · Jan 17, 2012

Bill1 said:
I think the best way to show support for any artist is to buy a product that has some income flowing to the artist, and then get the artist to sign the product....

If you had one of the limited run Jake Signature Model Tenors Kamaka put out a while back, would you then have him sign that? I know I would, redundancy not withstanding. He also endorses the Analysis Plus Gold series instrument cables, but at 5 grand for a 10ft cable I don't think the resale value would go up that much!

Drew Bear · Jan 17, 2012

itsme said:
I would take a good uke to a show, ask him to strum it to put some of his juju on it, have a picture taken of us together with him holding my uke, and then ask him to autograph a CD cover (or his tab book when that's out).

This is what I'm thinking...even though the juju bit is probably pure mumbo jumbo.

Mostly I just want to hear the music my ukulele would be able to produce in the hands of a great musician.

Bill1 said:
I am not sure if Jake gets any income from...any of the other makers mentioned in this thread...Is it fair to use his name to advertise products when he actually gets no return?

Not trying to advertise any product here. Just asking a hypothetical question. Sorry if it sounded like I was drumming up some money-making scheme.

Bill1 said:
Instead of paying more for a uke with his signature on it, you would get a lot more value by buying a ticket to his concert...and cueing up to talk to him.

My intent IS to attend one of his concerts and ask him to sign my uke (the one in the photo). I mostly wanted to know if such a signature would decrease the value of that uke should I ever choose to sell it. Obviously the signature would hold the most significance for me personally and may even add enough sentimental value (it's also my first uke) that I would never want to sell it. But since I'm inclined to the one uke philosophy and may want to 'upgrade' to a custom built uke, I may need to sell it at some point.

So maybe I'll have him sign something that I will definitely never sell. I agree with all the sentiments that the memory of hearing him perform and then speaking with him would be of greatest personal value. A photo with him would be a kick.

It's kinda funny to be thinking about this. I've never even thought of approaching any famous person for either an autograph or a photo. Maybe it's because uke players seem so approachable? I like the idea of having one uke for autographs. Kimo Hussey, James Hill, Brittni....so many.

bdukes · Jan 17, 2012

As others have said, the signature is more for the memories and totally for my benefit. I dont think i'd pay more for an instrument with a sig though nor would I expect others to either. However, it seemed fitting to me for Jake to sign my Kamaka as a Kamaka player himself. Just like it seemed appropriate that Jumpin' Jim Beloff sign my Fluke. And if I have the pleasure of meeting Mike Hater, I'd probably ask him to autograph my Mainland. I guess I'm kind of OCD that way. It would be like asking Michael Jordan to sign a Lakers jersey. I couldn't do it.

My signed ukes are all keepers that I intend to pass down to my kids. I think they'll appreciate the stories.

itsme · Jan 17, 2012

Drew Bear said:
This is what I'm thinking...even though the juju bit is probably pure mumbo jumbo. Mostly I just want to hear the music my ukulele would be able to produce in the hands of a great musician.

Well, juju is a bit of a mystery and requires some kind of faith in it.

Now, I happen to have a Mainland red cedar tenor that was played by Aldrine. It is the only Mainland I've ever owned, so I don't have any direct comparison. But I swear it sounds extra sweet because of the juju Aldrine infused into it.

Would you pay more for a uke signed by Jake?

Would you pay more for a uke autographed by Jake?

Yes.

I would pay used market value. The autograph adds no value for me.

I would want a discount for the "marred" uke.

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