Rediscovered basement gem

DownUpDave

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There are threads on here that sometimes go......." what's the use of owning so many ukes, you can only play one at a time".

I get that and I also firmly believe to become a virtuoso sticking to one instrument is beneficial. It becomes a part of you, like Jake with his Kamaka tenor. I will never reach that level, although I work on improving, who doesn't want their playing to sound better. But for me it is the pure enjoyment I get from the different sounds produced by different ukuleles

Having more ukes than you can play seems silly until you rediscover one. I keep about 6 ukes in the dining room stood up along a wall in their cases. The others are in their cases in my finished basement. Having recently taken up guitar many ukes have been sitting idle. I pulled my Kamaka 100th anniversary baritone from the basement last night and have been playing it for hours since then. It is like getting a brand new ukulele. I remember why I said I will never sell this, it just sounds so good. The reason to have many ukes is to experience and rediscover the wonderful sounds and appreciate them for decades to come. They don't have to be played everyday to be worthwhile, they just have to make you smile to qualify.

Who's got some hidden gems that need to be pulled out and played. Why do YOU keep them???

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Yes, I do keep all I’ve bought, and yes I do plunk away at ‘em once in a while. Mine aren’t as nice as DUD1’s, but they’re mostly all tuned differently and have their own personalites.

Lately, I’ve been workin’ on learning (and remembering - Ha!) some new folk songs to sing. :eek:ld:
 
Hey DUD-2 brother they don't have to be high class fancy. I rediscovered my Kala super soprano when I took it camping a few weeks ago. Great campfire strumming and singing uke
 

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Hey DUD-2 brother they don't have to be high class fancy. I rediscovered my Kala super soprano when I took it camping a few weeks ago. Great campfire strumming and singing uke

Yeah, and I suppose, if you got cold up there in the frozen north, you could always make a fire wid it.

We don’t go nowhere, down here, that ain’t air conditioned. Maybe I could use a soprano for a little fan. :eek:ld:
 
I have 19 bass ukes (some are actually mini bass electric guitars) and during the week because our group meets twice a week, I'm able to rotate through them regularly. On Sundays I play ukulele with an acoustic group in the park and I rotate through my 8 tenor cutaways, so I don't have any that sit unused for any length of time, but I'm still impressed with the sound of each when I play it.


8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://www.theukc.org
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No one needs to justify their ukuleles to me. Buy as many as you want and do with them as you wish.
 
I have 6 instruments but only play my Kanilea and Kamaka Tenors. I've offered to loan or give my other ukes away. So far no takers.
I came up as a trumpeter and gigged regularly for many years. I had 6 horns at one time. I sold most of them and kept the two best just in case I ever get the itch to really play regularly. I don't think that's ever going to happen. Selling them feels wrong though.Trumpeters are as bad at collecting horns as ukers. I know some trumpeters who have 15 or more instruments.
 
I have 6 instruments but only play my Kanilea and Kamaka Tenors. I've offered to loan or give my other ukes away. So far no takers.
I came up as a trumpeter and gigged regularly for many years. I had 6 horns at one time. I sold most of them and kept the two best just in case I ever get the itch to really play regularly. I don't think that's ever going to happen. Selling them feels wrong though.Trumpeters are as bad at collecting horns as ukers. I know some trumpeters who have 15 or more instruments.

Wow, I’m surprised to hear that. I’ve always said that “wind players don’t collect stuff like uke players”. So, I guess they really do. I don’t though. I’ve got two baritone horns, a tuba and a bunch of flutes, but I used most of the other stuff for trade ins. Well, live and learn.

I started out with the trumpet, but I only had one. :eek:ld:
 
You just changed my thinking in this one thread ! :mad: I now have nothing to sell but more to buy.

Nothing to sell but more to buy sounds like many people here. :)

I've been trying to figure out if I can sell something, but so far, I can't talk myself into parting with anything. I'm lucky to have some wonderful ukuleles, and as long as I can still enjoy them, that's what I plan on doing.

Some get more play than others, but some days, I play them all throughout the day, if I have the time. I'm down to 2 sizes now, (15 and 16 inch), and can't pick just one size for now. Nothing goes for long without getting played. The variety is fun, and keeps things interesting.

When working on something specific, there are times that getting out another ukulele after playing one for a while inspires me to keep working at it, rather than call it a day. Makes it even more fun!
 
I have been trying to sell some Ukes that I don't play often. I would pick up that uke, play it and rediscover that one little thing that's unique about it. It could be the sound, that little special vibration, that tiny little special grain on the wood, the way it feels in my hands...just would make me love that Uke all over again. I can't part with any of the Ukes, my house feels smaller and smaller.
 
Our journeys seem quite similar, Dave. I also enjoy the experience of exploring and owning different ukes separate and apart from trying to maximize playing proficiency.

I always imagined I'd be good with "just" 6-8 ukes. However, my little collection has swelled to 14. And as I've recently started toying with guitar, I now have three of those as well: Blackbird Savoy, Santa Cruz Cowboy Singer Don Edwards and a Larrivee P03 Zebrawood (24" scale Parlor). I already prefer the wider nut and string spacing and will sell the P03 (it's brand new with blank warranty card if anyone is interested).

So, I'm contemplating selling some ukes, too. I don't like having expensive things I don't regularly use and while I do rotate which 3-4 ukes I have out at any time, it is hard to get sufficient playing time on them all with so many. I recently pulled out my TODA tenor which has been out of rotation for awhile as somebody expressed interest in it. And I was like, "Wow. Could I really sell this?" Of course, it's always easiest to imagine selling those that are not among the 3-4 that are out.

The "problem" is many of the ukes I have are pretty special and not easily replaced. Which do I sell? The ones that would get the most money? Or go for quantity vs. dollars generated? Do I just list a bunch and sell the first "x" that sell? Hmmm.

I guess my point is, I don't want to have any "basement gems". I'd like few enough that they each get played regularly, but enough that my appreciation of different builders, different woods and tones is also satisfied.
 
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Hey Eddie, great contribution to this thread, I appreciate you explaining your thought process. As you know I have taken up guitar as well and those numbers are up to 5 now, four steel string and a Cordoba C10 spruce rosewood crossover nylon. I have gone through many ukes, buying and selling to find the tenor and baritone keepers. I don't really don't want to part with any of them. I also have some fun time sopranos and concerts that aren't lifetime keeper ukes but I enjoy them.

I am of the mind set that if I play for another 20-25 years they will all get their time in the sun. I have committed to sit on them all for one year to see how the guitar thing goes before selling anything
 
I recently rediscovered my old starter ukes when I was sorting through old knick knacks at my parents house in England. It was an emotional roller-coaster that felt a lot like Christmas :)
 
I'm at the initial tipping point. I've been most enjoying my first uke that I bought and started out on in 2016 - the Cordoba 30T solid mahog.
Now I feel that I would practice more if I could go silent/headphoned while watching the brain-sucking machine or travel trailer camping.

So, rather than increase the herd with (most likely) a Fluke SB Tenor, I'll probably sell the Cordoba.
 
I found that my UAS actually subsided quite a bit as I got the quality instruments I needed. For me, that means solid wood ukes that my home humidity levels will allow me to hang on the wall (in other words, $300 and not $3,000 ukuleles) to grab and play at will. I actually found a lot of joy in spreading the ukulele love by giving or selling the ones I've outgrown to new enthusiastic beginners.

As for me, I have a solid acacia Lehua tenor, a solid acacia Kala baritone, a Mini-M Cordoba guitalele, a green Outdoor Ukulele for camps and adventures, and a family heirloom ukulele (Harmony baritone). Whatever comes next will have to be something that fills a nitch or offers an improvement over those that are already in the rotation.
 
a green Outdoor Ukulele for camps and adventures

I just started looking at the Outdoors this morning after seeing the brand on the forum. Might be better for leaving in the trailer rather than transporting my current Cordoba or eventual Fluke SB...

Any thoughts regarding leaving a laminate Fluke in a non-temperature controlled trailer for several weeks at a time? Probably not a good idea in the hot and humid environs of greater Houston...
 
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