how big are your ukulele collections?

[VegasGeorge]

I have 15. I have given at least 15 away over the past 10 years.

Oh Petey! Did you at least retain visitation rights?

 

[PeteyHoudini]

Oh Petey! Did you at least retain visitation rights?

Haha. They all went to good homes. I gave many away to coworkers who had kids who wanted a uke. I gave some to my friend who has fixed some of my ukes (i.e. dressing the frets) as well in exchange. It took a long time to find the sound I was looking for so I bought many uke types along the way since 2006. I still have a list of all my ukes which I will put on my blog once I contact Godaddy to see why Google says my WordPress site got hacked months back. A Pono soprano was the first sound I liked after many ukes and then I stumbled on the new Martins and started a buying spree. I've had Mainlands, Kala, Ohana, Mahalo, Oscar Schmidt, Brüko, Lanakai, etc). I mainly stick to Martins, Kamaka, Risa, and vodka these days. haha

Though, I'm really working on getting my classical piano back up to speed. I like to play some blues and boogie-woogie as well on the piano. Never heard boogie-woogie on the uke. You would need a low G and we all know those aren't real ukes ;-) haha

 

[PeteyHoudini]

At this point, I'm not sure. You see, most of mine are in storage while a new house is being built. Here in the apartment I now have 18. I know the total is over 80, but I can't say for sure exactly how many. They better hurry up on that construction before I need a bigger house!

Now 80 is of epic proportions!!! You're gonna need a Hacienda built to house all those ukes! When I was in Hamburg, Germany a few years back, I visited Tuke at his house and he had a massive collection of ukes. Not as much as you though. haha We had an informal jam with a bunch of German ukulele players and drank white wine and ate fresh apple pie with fresh whipped cream. His wife had just picked the apples from their backyard the day before. Man, that was good! German dry white wine was great.

 

[Steedy]

I thought it was n+1?
where n is the number you currently own.

That works, if ya can't hold at 42!

 

[Ziret]

Always pack a ukulele... and a towel.

And Don’t Panic.

 

[ScooterD35]

Currently, I’m holding steady at 11. Details in my signature below.

Scooter

 

[rafter]

Marry somebody who doesn't play; that'll cut down your uke count.

I currently have 4 ukes after giving a couple away. Now with only 4, I can easily list all my uke without forgetting any. It's funny, because just as I was typing the previous sentence and listing all my ukes in my head, I realized that I forgot 1 uke, so I actually have 5. Now, I'm worried if I really just have 5... This is the trouble of only playing a single uke and keeping the rest in semi-permanent storage.

I wish it worked like that for me. When I got married, I only had a guitar and a mandolin; I didn't even play the uke. My collection's gotten a little out of hand, and they started putting their foot down, but too late! Problem is, I like low G and high. On all sizes. And with different wood variations. Also thin lines and travel ukes. Throw in a kiku/guilele, a banjo, and some more guitars. I literally don't know how many I have. I mean, it's just a fraction of some of the big hitters on here, but still more than I like. I have some on the cutting block, but I sort of got burnt out on selling stuff in other hobbies, and I dread it now. Unfortunately, my wishlist seems longer than my offload list.

 

[Ninevolt]

Just the one amahi 210 c

 

[clear]

I wish it worked like that for me. When I got married, I only had a guitar and a mandolin; I didn't even play the uke. My collection's gotten a little out of hand, and they started putting their foot down, but too late! Problem is, I like low G and high. On all sizes. And with different wood variations. Also thin lines and travel ukes. Throw in a kiku/guilele, a banjo, and some more guitars. I literally don't know how many I have. I mean, it's just a fraction of some of the big hitters on here, but still more than I like. I have some on the cutting block, but I sort of got burnt out on selling stuff in other hobbies, and I dread it now. Unfortunately, my wishlist seems longer than my offload list.

I know your situation because I was in it a while back with guns. At first, it was just 2 pistols, a center fire pistol for self defense and a 22 for plinking. After a few years, I attended a local steel challenge event; liked the game and got a steel gun. From steel challenge, I went to IPSC action pistol and got a decent limited major gun to improve my rankings, then an open gun. Next, came IDPA and a decent SSP gun, then a decent ESP gun; and, finally, a revolver. Next, I decided to play NRA high power rifle and got an nice AR15; with the AR15, I decided to play 2 gun action event and decided to get a more action oriented AR15. Next come 3 gun events and got myself a defensive shotgun. At this time, my gun safe was too small so I bought a new safe that's much bigger than the old one. Then it was NRA smallbore pistol silhouette fun, which, of course, lead to a couple of single-shot pistols. Pistol silhouette lead to smallbore rifle silhouette, and I got a couple rifles suitable for the game. This game also taught me how important a decent scope can do, but we won't go down that rabbit hole. Next came NRA bullseye pistol, and 2 accurate center fires and a 22 that I didn't even know can cost that much. Terrible me, I moved and the nearest range was shotgun oriented and that got me into trap shooting, so I got involved with ATA and bought some expensive guns (before this, none of my guns were more than $2k by themselves). After trap came skeet, 5 stand, sporting clays, and more expensive shotguns. 5 years after that fateful steel challenge day, I don't even know how many guns I owned, but I do know that I have 3 safes, each one much bigger than the previous. Fortunately, that's also went I kind of stopped shooting because I moved to a gun-unfriendly state.

I've been selling guns for the past 15+ years; haven't bought any. Some of my guns are more specialized and hard to sell, so sometimes I get discouraged selling them. Just a few months ago, after a few years "forgetting" that I even owned guns, I decided to list some for sell again and was able to get rid of 4 of them (3 shotguns and 1 AR15). I still own too many, but at least I'm down to 1 safe now after the last transaction.

Although I only have 5 ukes, I really just want 1 uke. But I'm having trouble selling the the extras (like the guns and camera lenses and so many other hobbies of mine) at the prices I want. So, like the guns, I've become discouraged in selling them. And like the guns, I sometimes forget that I own them.

Thanks to your post, I've been checking out some of these forgotten stuff. And, with lenses, that naturally lead to snapping a photo -

 

[clear]

Actually, I currently own 6 ukes (I think!)
I'm beginning worry a bit about my memory...

Wife thinks it's from the knocks to the head when younger; got knocked out a few times when I unintentionally separated from my bicycles and motorcycles. Bike helmets are the worst; they just crack and break apart on fun-speed impacts.

Here's a uke family photo -

 

[about2]

Whoops . . . I just added one more. I needed one for my office. It was a steal of a deal. All of $36 for a vintage Conrad baritone. That gives me a total of 8 (3 tenors, 3 baritones, 1 concert, 1 soprano). Think I'm set for a good while.

 

[necessaryrooster]

I have some on the cutting block, but I sort of got burnt out on selling stuff in other hobbies, and I dread it now.

I know what you mean, I've been trying to sell off some of mine and there are still a couple I haven't even taken pictures of or written listings for. It doesn't help that there doesn't seem to be much appetite for buying right now, either. Not just my stuff, there seems to be a lot languishing on the marketplace right now. Guess it's a lucky buyer's market right now.

 

[Dohle]

My tally stood at 11 for the longest time (well ok, for three months, sue me) but I just ordered two in quick succession. One was a real cheapo that'll probably become either a display piece or a travel uke if it plays well enough but another was a mid-range uke the likes of which I've been looking for some time now. Can't wait, but also can't stop crying because of my weakness...

 

[Voran]

I have a plain black soprano uke from Gear4Music. I'm getting a Waterman for Christmas because of how much I like playing outdoors on hikes, and it would be nice to have a rainproof one for playing in volatile weather. I don't really plan on more for the near future. I have tons of repertoire I want to finish practising on the soprano uke I have.

I would like a ukubass in future though, and it would be fun to try out the tiny sopranissimos.