hungry4adobo
Well-known member
So basically my question is : In your own personal batch of ukes which uke have you kept for the longest period of time? And is there an uke of yours that you will never give up?
Which ukulele have you kept for the longest time?
- Thread starter hungry4adobo
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Hippie Dribble
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Yes, my first uke. Bought in 2006, a sky blue mahalo soprano. Still play it all the time. Very sentimental to me. 
My first......a pre-war Martin O I got on my 10th birthday. I'll be 72 in September when it will be 62 years. Wonder if anyone can beat that?
kaizersoza
Well-known member
yep my black dolphin was my first uke, the neck has cracked where it joins onto the body but it still holds a tune, this was the uke that started me on my journey, now keepers, read my sig none of them are going any where at this moment in time, but my KoAloha and Mainland will definitely be with me until my dying day
Excellent question. I still have my first uke that I bought 4 1/2 years ago. It is an Applause UA-10. But it sounded so bad that I turned it into a clock!
My oldest survivor is my first Moore Bettah. And that one ain't going nowhere!
My oldest survivor is my first Moore Bettah. And that one ain't going nowhere!
dnewton2
Well-known member
I still have mt first uke. A concert Stagg. It is more of my kids uke now, but it is still in my possession. After that it is my Moore Bettah, I don't see a reason, right now, to ever get rid of it.
Kyle23
Well-known member
Still have my Luna after a WHOPPING 6-7 months.
The uke that I've had the longest is the Collings Ut-1 with figured mahogany that I bought from Dana ( DKcrown) it is the best sounding of the 4 Collings I own. It will always be with me. That was the best uke purchase I ever made. He told me it had a great sound when he sold it to me and I immediately found out why.
Kayak Jim
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Jim Hanks
Well-known member
That is so cool!
:shaka:
guitharsis
Well-known member
My 2010 KoAloha soprano is still with me. It's my second K brand and my only soprano. My first K brand, a 2009 KoAloha concert, was replaced this year with a gorgeous curly koa KoAloha concert from HMS.
Plan to keep all of my present ukes.
Plan to keep all of my present ukes.
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OldePhart
Well-known member
I guess that would be my Mainland mango tenor - not for any particularly sentimental reasons it's just the second uke I bought and I very rarely can bring myself to go to the trouble to sell an instrument.
Of course, if we count ukes that I've given away but are still in the family, then the oldest would be my first uke, the Lanikai LU-21C that I gave the wife when she said she liked it. Of course, it's mostly a box warmer, now, along with the guitar, dulcimer, etc., that I gave her. I think she's a confirmed keyboard player (thank goodness she doesn't have KAS).
John
Of course, if we count ukes that I've given away but are still in the family, then the oldest would be my first uke, the Lanikai LU-21C that I gave the wife when she said she liked it. Of course, it's mostly a box warmer, now, along with the guitar, dulcimer, etc., that I gave her. I think she's a confirmed keyboard player (thank goodness she doesn't have KAS).
John
I bought my 1920's Stella Banjo Uke at a pawn shop in Auburn, NY for $30 in 1979 or 1980, and considered it to be Wall Art.
A couple of years ago, at the local uke club, one of the other members was playing a similar vintage Stella. That's when I found out that mine was playable. (Friction tuners and I don't coexist too well...)
My Harmony, given to me by my late Father-in-law in November 2010, was the first playable uke I ever knowingly had. He bought it new in the late 50s - early 60s.
I still have every ukulele I've ever owned.
So far.
A couple of years ago, at the local uke club, one of the other members was playing a similar vintage Stella. That's when I found out that mine was playable. (Friction tuners and I don't coexist too well...)
My Harmony, given to me by my late Father-in-law in November 2010, was the first playable uke I ever knowingly had. He bought it new in the late 50s - early 60s.
I still have every ukulele I've ever owned.
So far.
-Kurt
guitarsnrotts
Well-known member
My early-70s Kamaka soprano. Same answer for both questions.
haole
Well-known member
My grandfather's 1970s Aria baritone (inherited in 2000), and my Kamaka soprano that I bought new in 2004 on Kaua'i. I'll never get rid of either one.
I still have my first uke, a Kala KA-S that I bought on a whim from Amazon (before I knew any better), but that was only 17 months ago.
There are several that will never leave me, but the foremost of all is a Boat Paddle M-style concert that I bought in the marketplace last August. The short version of the story is that googling Boat Paddle in February 2012 (before I had ever heard of the UU) brought up an old thread from a UU member detailing the building of his special custom Boat Paddle concert, and that thread brought me here to the UU. Six months later I bought a Boat Paddle M-style concert in the marketplace, and it turned out to be the exact same uke whose thread I had seen in February. I didn't know that when I bought it - I figured it out later by tracing its history through the marketplace. It is truly special to me.
There are several that will never leave me, but the foremost of all is a Boat Paddle M-style concert that I bought in the marketplace last August. The short version of the story is that googling Boat Paddle in February 2012 (before I had ever heard of the UU) brought up an old thread from a UU member detailing the building of his special custom Boat Paddle concert, and that thread brought me here to the UU. Six months later I bought a Boat Paddle M-style concert in the marketplace, and it turned out to be the exact same uke whose thread I had seen in February. I didn't know that when I bought it - I figured it out later by tracing its history through the marketplace. It is truly special to me.
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kenikas
Well-known member
I too still have every ukulele I've ever owned. The first was the Makala MK-T I got from MGM about 4 years ago ( it's currently on loan to one of my nieces). But my favorite tends to change fairly regularly, and is currently my Pono mahogany tenor, or maybe my Mainland Mango concert.
janeray1940
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Oh man, I wish I had kept my first uke, which I received as a present for my 7th birthday. Then again, I wish I had kept playing all those years as well.
When I started playing again nearly 40 years later, I bought a bunch of ukes in rapid succession - an Ohana Martin look-alike, a vintage Columbia, a Koaloha soprano, a Kamaka HF-1, and TWO Kamaka HF-2s. I sold or gave away all of them but the best HF-2, which I still play daily, and bought a Kamaka HP-1 pineapple and then later a mahogany custom. Those remain my three daily players, and I doubt that I will ever give them up.
When I started playing again nearly 40 years later, I bought a bunch of ukes in rapid succession - an Ohana Martin look-alike, a vintage Columbia, a Koaloha soprano, a Kamaka HF-1, and TWO Kamaka HF-2s. I sold or gave away all of them but the best HF-2, which I still play daily, and bought a Kamaka HP-1 pineapple and then later a mahogany custom. Those remain my three daily players, and I doubt that I will ever give them up.
TheOnlyUkeThatMatters
Well-known member
My first uke (Lyon & Healy Camp Uke I got for Christmas in 2007) is badly broken, but I've still got it. No plans to let it go, yet. Might even look into repair at some point.
The working uke I've kept longest is the first uke I bought myself---a Kamaka HF-1 (found it on local craigslist in spring 2011). It's a great uke---no plans to let it go. I do plan to strum off as much of the finish as I can over the next few decades, though.
The working uke I've kept longest is the first uke I bought myself---a Kamaka HF-1 (found it on local craigslist in spring 2011). It's a great uke---no plans to let it go. I do plan to strum off as much of the finish as I can over the next few decades, though.
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