What's in your uke case?

I was thinking about all the stuff I'll want to put back in the uke case, when I have one to put it in. And I wondered, what do you keep in yours? Practical stuff? Fun stuff? Both?

Here's mine:
Oasis humidifier - in the case instead of the soundhole
Strings - now that I've finally decided to keep an extra set
Polishing cloth
A-440 tuning fork
Uke Leash
Rhythm Ring
A packet of nail files
Scissor and/or nail clipper
Screw driver - for friction tuners
Chapstick, or several - DO I really have to say this isn't for the uke?
Digital recorder
And candy

I should add fretboard conditioner. But since I haven't bought it yet, it's not on the list. And I realize many of these things would do better in a separate bag, or left home until needed. But I like them in the case, and it's a good conversation starter. LOL

Just my ukes! My studio however....

Oh and some have a tuner in them. Two of them have neck straps in them too!

I am a newb and low-fi:

Uke
extra aquila strings
snark tuner
basic chord chart

I would love to find a little "pocket" tab book of songs to keep in it.

DaleR said:

Just my ukes! My studio however....

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And here I thought I was going to be the most minimalist: my ukes, each with a strap and a D'Addario mini tuner attached, and a spare battery for the tuner in the little compartment (which I always thought was overkill until mid-day yesterday when I needed that spare!).

The only permanent fixtures in my case are the ukulele, a tuner and a little pink flamingo given to me by UkuleleZoe.

Since my uke rarely goes anywhere, the case just contains the uke with strap attached, a home-made humidifier, and a hygrometer. Tuner and a microfiber cloth reside nearby. And, of course, I also have an auxiliary box that is overflowing with uke-related "necessities."

Generally speaking, the uke, an Oasis humidifier in the sound hole of the solid ukes, and a second Oasis humidifier in the headstock area of two or three if there's room. If the case has an accessory compartment or a pouch on the outside, there's a Snark and a syringe to fill the humidifiers. A few have a strap.

I don't even have a uke in a case. I have six ukes in different parts of the house and they've never see the insides of a case so far, except when delivered in them. I have four cases. I guess I could store something in them.

strings, picks (i know kind of taboo on ukulele but it came with the ukulele when i got it as a gift), chord chart, slide, capo, tuner, humdifier (if it is not in the ukulele), syringe for humdifier...

i guess anything else ukulele related that can fit into it

martin oxk (soprano) in a concert sized case.

Including
- Every string set I own, including old ones I took out.
- Blue Snark tuner.
- Percussion egg shaker.
- Uke leash.
- Unused sponge humidifier.

A lot of these posts give me good ideas.

Stuff I need to add that's somewhere in the house
- a440 tuning fork
- Kratt chromatic pitch pipe
- capo

Stuff I wish I had:
- kazoo

I mostly want to keep my kids hands off all this stuff as well.

My gig bag has:
strings,
spare tuner,
Mi-Si charger,
9V & CR2032 batteries,
capo,
shaker,
frog guiro,
harmonicas (D and G),
Swiss Army knife,
crystal file,
chapstick,
hairpin,
arnica cream,
handwritten chord sheet for Sukie's song,
and my off-book song list.

Just a ukulele!!!!

(But wait till you see my lounge room) :uhoh:

Uke case??? Singular??? Really??? I cannot answer that question...

Seriously though at home I just keep the uke, if the uke has a MiSi then the charger for the MiSi, and on a couple of my ukes I have Planet Waves/D'Addario NS micro tuners more or less permanently on the headstocks.

When I travel that's a different story - at least one of the cases will have my strap for the tenors and if I'm not bringing my whole tool box and string box (as I do when I go to UWC for example) then I'll at least have a spare set of strings and my string changing "kit". Also, if I'm going to be gone for more than a couple of days I'll put a couple of homemade humidifiers in the case. (At home I now have my office/uke room humidified to 45% 24/7.)

Edit to add: BTW, a couple of you have mentioned "strap attached to the uke" or the like. In the case of a really nice uke be careful about that. Some finishes can be damaged by prolonged contact with some leathers (it depends on how the leather was tanned, dyed, etc.)

Nothing to worry about if you've got a mass-produced uke most likely, but if you've got a really nice custom or high-end Hawaiian I really recommend taking the strap off and putting it in the neck compartment of the case, or at least disconnecting the heel end and rolling it up below the headstock if it is tied to the headstock.

If your strap is cotton or hemp then you probably only need worry about the strap rubbing against the finish and that's usually not much of an issue in a properly fitted case unless you're in the habit of hanging the case over a paint mixer...


John

eugene ukulele said:

Just a ukulele!!!!

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Same here. When I go to a uke meet I carry a tote bag with all the accessories and stuff I might need. Sheet music and a music stand don't fit in a uke case anyway.

My case doesn't have an accessories compartment, so I have a small pouch inside under the uke headstock. In the pouch are the following: spare set of strings, string winder/cutter, nail file, microfiber cloth, pickup battery, and a Snark tuner with an extra battery.

My Luna came with a gig bag. The little outside pocket only has my HMS bumper sticker - I am afraid anything else would press against the strings/saddle. Inside on the "hinged" side is the Herco humidifier wrapped in a strip of old cloth pj's. A bigger strip is my wipe down cloth and it is folded under the neck. On the zipper side of the neck is my blue Snark. That pretty much fills it. I have a vintage Amelia Earhart suitcase housing my vintage camp uke and my Fretboard Roadmap, Lute to Uke, and Baroque books are under the uke. The suitcase grosgrain ribbons hold everything mentioned as well as a homemade humidifier in place.
My songbook and percussion go on my everyday tote. I have a nice goatskin spark shaker, a small tambourine, and a xxs djembe drum.

actadh said:

My songbook and percussion go on my everyday tote. I have a nice goatskin spark shaker, a small tambourine, and a xxs djembe drum.

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You're the second person to mention shakers. Last time I was at a local music store, I bought a pair of shakers with handles like miniature maracas, just because.

At a recent uke meetup where we were playing on a coffee shop's patio, a passerby stopped and said how fun it all sounded. Someone offered him a spare uke, but he said he didn't play uke, he was a drummer. So I got my little shakers out of my tote bag and said he could provide some percussion. He sat in with us for the rest of the session and it was fun. Hope he comes back for the next one.

I'm a member of two groups, The CC Strummers in Culver City that meet twice a week, and the Westside Ukulele Ensemble that meets twice a month, a total of ten times a month. They each do gigs once or twice a month. After carrying around a gig bag, music stand bag, music binders and accessory bag, I decided to consolidate with a tenor dual uke gig bag that has shoulder straps, using the second compartment for gear. I also transferred all my music sheets to an iPad.

I have a small pouch for various accessories, and there's still room for more stuff in the lower compartment. I could even put another pouch in the upper compartment under the neck of the uke. Here's my setup:

Regarding shakers - I really like the Meinl spark shakers. I have one of the three styles. I want to get their foot shaker and ankle shells, and the LP red foot tambourine.

In my tenor case, just a bandana cloth and an extra set of strings

The gigbag for my Ubass has a cord, Baggs Para DI, snark, and a set of used Pahoehoe dreads that will never be put back on