Malaiselele

DaveY

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Is anyone else frustrated — and maybe a little baffled — by the lack of brick-and-mortar stores selling quality (and quantity/variety of) ukuleles? Sound samples and written descriptions and phone conversations don’t come close to the experience of trying out an instrument. (I mean, it’s at least 94% subjective.)

Supposedly ukuleles have become relatively popular in recent years, but still it’s the same brands (Kala, Lanikai, and other mostly inexpensive ones) in most stores. (I’m not knocking those brands; I just want more variety.) I’m not just looking for higher-priced ukes, either.

Why are there so many more guitars to try out — or are the guitars also the same brands, repeated among stores? (And I’m sure there still are many more guitar players than ukulele players.)

Do certain uke makers require an investment (number of ukes purchased) by the store that the store feels it can’t justify?

Is it also that too many stores see ukuleles as toys, and it’s easier to just put anything out there because, you know, it doesn’t really matter?

Are they afraid that the “fad” will end suddenly, like the ’29 crash, leaving them destitute, sitting on a street corner with a sign reading “will strum for food”?

There, I’ve vented. But . . . what do you think?
 
I've wondered about this myself and talked to folks who work at Sam Ash. They've cited a general decline in instrument sales at their store. That broke my heart. We've seen lots of bookstores close on Long Island. Are music stores next?

Why Kala and Lanikai? I wonder that, too. I also am not thrilled with how ukes are displayed at the S.A store-one vertical rack, all the ukes on their backs.
 
I just asked my local brick and mortar why they didn't carry Martin. The reply was tha a lot of manufacturers won't let a dealer carry just a few models, they have to stock all models and it's just too expensive to do that!
 
I just asked my local brick and mortar why they didn't carry Martin. The reply was tha a lot of manufacturers won't let a dealer carry just a few models, they have to stock all models and it's just too expensive to do that!

Why is it that manufacturers require that? Are they trying to get the store to stock (and sell) more models, or is there some less sinister explanation?
 
That's why, when the "play it before you buy it", crowd jump in with their sage advise, I think, "in your world maybe you can do that, but not mine."
 
That's why, when the "play it before you buy it", crowd jump in with their sage advise, I think, "in your world maybe you can do that, but not mine."

Yeah, I've kind of wondered about that, too. I think most people's worlds are limited in play-before-you-buy options. Part of my frustration is looking at an online seller like theukulelesite / HMS and wishing I could try 90% of what they have online . . . without going to Hawaii. Which I intend to do, but not this week.
 
I am truly amazed ...really that in the US you seem to have so few stores....shops, locally that sell ukes ...and the other musical trifles like guitars and things...

From where I live I can count at least , hang on....Omega , GuitarGuitar, JGWindows x 2, The Guitar Shop, Curvy Sounds,Rainbow,Core...without thinking . All within a 45 mile radius...spoiled or what ?
 
You may not have noticed, but here in the US we're mainly consumers of entertainment, not producers of self-entertainment. Our pub musical tradition is limited to karaoke. Big Music has convinced most of us that folk music is complete rubbish, and no music is worth listening to if it's not recorded or performed on stage by so-called professionals, blasted at us at 30 db with unrelenting drum tracks and frenetic effects-soaked electric guitars. Uke is only slowly making inroads into that world.

We are also a culture that increasingly shuns contact with each other. I long for your SMSs, but don't interrupt my texting with your noisome conversation. So naturally we prefer to order things online rather than change our sweatpants for trousers and slog all the way to some {gak} store where there are {gak} other people and we might have to {gak} wait for service. Wait for service! Can you even imagine!


I notice that you are using "gak"...are you promoting the Shop "Guitars and Keyboards" whom have several branches acros the UK and oooowwwwww...stop hitting me !!!

Actually you have also put your finger on something else that has been irritating me slightly for a while about UU and the general response to Links and Videos.....

If it isn't an over rehearsed slick production by a card carrying pro then here is generally no response....not even a "Well that was crap, but hey it was fun"....hmmmmm...you may have just rendered this site redundant for me...

Thanks Ubulele, you have just made it all very clear....:biglaugh:
 
You may not have noticed, but here in the US we're mainly consumers of entertainment, not producers of self-entertainment. Our pub musical tradition is limited to karaoke. Big Music has convinced most of us that folk music is complete rubbish, and no music is worth listening to if it's not recorded or performed on stage by so-called professionals, blasted at us at 30 db with unrelenting drum tracks and frenetic effects-soaked electric guitars. Uke is only slowly making inroads into that world.

We are also a culture that increasingly shuns contact with each other. I long for your SMSs, but don't interrupt my texting with your noisome conversation. So naturally we prefer to order things online rather than change our sweatpants for trousers and slog all the way to some {gak} store where there are {gak} other people and we might have to {gak} wait for service. Wait for service! Can you even imagine!

So are you saying that there aren't enough people (demand) for ukuleles in walled stores, or that the perception is that there aren't enough people? Or . . . both?

Sure, most people want to only receive music. But of those who want to make it on a uke, are there enough of us to warrant stores with a quantity and quality of options?
 
I also think that the price setting makes ukuleles a little less interesting for shop owners or shop keepers than keyboards and guitars. A decent 'sell one every few days' ukulele costs a third or less than a decent keyboard or guitar sold at the same frequency. That's why they usually have more choice in drum sets than in tambourines.

I don't think canned music is to blame - it has been around for several decades, and people still make their own music, although less than somewhat over a century ago when the only music was live music.

As for brands only supplying shop stock on their conditions, I've only heard it about the Gibson vs. Elderly trial.
 
I am truly amazed ...really that in the US you seem to have so few stores....shops, locally that sell ukes ...and the other musical trifles like guitars and things...

From where I live I can count at least , hang on....Omega , GuitarGuitar, JGWindows x 2, The Guitar Shop, Curvy Sounds,Rainbow,Core...without thinking . All within a 45 mile radius...spoiled or what ?

Spoilt!! ;)

Without catching a boat or 'plane we've got just the one "proper" music shop, a second-hand shop that carries a few instruments occaisionally and one or two small (one person) repair shops. The range they carry isn't bad, but if they don't have what I want in stock I'll have to wait for the next delivery ... which well may be several weeks/months hence, as they have to bulk up an order to any one supplier to keep the prices down. Even then, they'll only order stock they think they can sell anyway if I change my mind (understandable).
 
So naturally we prefer to order things online rather than change our sweatpants for trousers and slog all the way to some {gak} store
Do you really get changed out of your sweatpants into trousers to go downtown? Wow. Commitment mate. I am not worthy.

We have 2 (count em) music stores in Hobart with a few uke brands hanging on the wall. Painted Mahalos take up half this space. The others are Lanikai, Lag, A couple of Anuenue's and Gretsch's and some banjo-uke thingy. Oh and there was a Maton uke there a few weeks ago which was overbuilt and sounded like poo. Try before you buy? Aaaaaah, not in my world either.
 
It's the Same down here Mr Dribble in the Byron Bay Area of NSW the usual suspects like you described on he walls of the music shops mostly out of tune ,,,,and yes I've had a go of the Maton and found the head stock shape not helpful and yes sounded like poo keep posting I enjoy your posts
 
ok, I'll bite...:)

Could it be a perfect example of cause and effect, or Chicken and egg?

Maybe the scarcity of our beloved instrument, and selection of only a few brands in mainstream retail brick & mortar music stores is a consequence of Amazon Prime. My local retails stores that are NOT Sam Ash or Guitar Center, and family or single-owner run shops are Ritchie's Music in Denville and The Music Den in Ledgewood.

Ritchie's is an authorized dealer for both Kala and Cordoba and has at least one uke in each size hanging up in the acoustic room and ready to play, and can order anything not in stock and it takes about 2 weeks for them to get it. That's how I bought my first uke (Kala KA-T). Their prices match most online shops and 20% advance deposit gets you anything you want.

Music Den seems to only carry Oscar Schmidt's lowest-end ukes, and a few Asian import brands I never heard of. I'm not a fan of OS ukes so I have not bought anything from them.

The nearest legit shops that I know of that have a better selection are either Mandolin Bros. in Staten Island or Matt Umanov Guitars in NYC, both are at least 1 hr or more from my door on a good day.

I'll be the first to admit that if I can wait 2-3 days, and don't need to inspect before buying, that I'm a lazy pile of flesh and will order it online.

I suspect that more and more folks adopt this behavior over time as Amazon grows into an even bigger empire that's trying to crush WalMart and Sears.

I would think that the owners of retail stores know this and just figure that it's not worth carrying the stock, and tying up shelf or display space with niche products.

Sadly this is only going to get worse over time - oh, and by the way - I know it's only September, but have you STARTED your Christmas shopping yet?

Black Friday (and Cyber-Monday) are only ~75 days from now. LOL.
 
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Can't speak to the wider market issue but here in Hobart the reasons are obvious:

1. Uke is still a very small and niche group. Nothing like the numbers of people that play guitars, drums, bass, keys. Consequently the range and quality of that range is diminished. Sales at retail outlets are also down here across the board and stocking a uke valued in the 800-2000 price range just doesn't make sense. It would most likely sit on the shop floor gathering dust, attracting comments like: "But it's an ukulele!Who would pay x dollars for an ukulele??!!!"

2. Music retailers (generally run by mainstream musos) still see the uke as a novelty and don't take it seriously beyond a kitsch and fun toy.

3. The only real market here is kids and beginners. Hence, painted Mahalos occupy half of what is already a small uke space. (See point #2)
 
2. Music retailers (generally run by mainstream musos) still see the uke as a novelty and don't take it seriously beyond a kitsch and fun toy.

I believe this is the main reason, besides sales. If something sells they will stock it.

For all the talk of the "boom," for the two years I have been at this, the retailers GC and Sam Ash have never stocked more than an entry level Lanakai, Kala or Cordoba. Oh, and one Mitchell at GC. And even then there is always one or two missing a string.

Not to mention, nobody in these stores knows much if anything about the instrument or can even play it. No selection, shoved in a back corner, no sales support, no marketing...gee, I wonder why we can't sell any ukulele's.
 
It is very simple, money talks and bulls**t walks. Retail stores are there to sell product and turn a profit. You have limited wall and shelf space so to survive financially you display items that have the best chance of turning a profit for you.

I worked in retail for a number of years in my teens and 20s. A lot of manufactures force you to carry X amount of their product line to get a deep enough discount to be profitable.

Sorry boys and girl but as great as we all here think the uke is...............it's hardly even an after thought in big buisness. It is all about numbers
 
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Well, as much as the ukulele is popular with us, I don't think that it is really that popular. I mean, I don't think that there are a lot of people out there "discovering" the ukulele. It is sort of a novelty, and when it comes to picking up an instrument and learning to play it, I don't think everyone is caught up with it. For me, coming across the ukulele was literally the stars aligning at exactly the right time and place.

You may not have noticed, but here in the US we're mainly consumers of entertainment, not producers of self-entertainment. Our pub musical tradition is limited to karaoke. Big Music has convinced most of us that folk music is complete rubbish, and no music is worth listening to if it's not recorded or performed on stage by so-called professionals, blasted at us at 30 db with unrelenting drum tracks and frenetic effects-soaked electric guitars. Uke is only slowly making inroads into that world.

We are also a culture that increasingly shuns contact with each other. I long for your SMSs, but don't interrupt my texting with your noisome conversation. So naturally we prefer to order things online rather than change our sweatpants for trousers and slog all the way to some {gak} store where there are {gak} other people and we might have to {gak} wait for service. Wait for service! Can you even imagine!

Ubulele, it is interesting that you say that, because I do think that it is very true. But at the same time, me and my ukulele have become very popular around here this summer. Lately, when my wife and I get invited to our friend's, they say, "bring you ukulele along too." So I think that there are a lot of people who like that kind of entertainment, there just doesn't seem to be anyone else doing it. I don't know what it is, actually, but I think there is room for it. Also, whenever we end up going somewhere, and I end up playing the uke, which isn't always, even if I do bring it with me, someone will say something like, "Oh, I used to play the accordion when I was a kid, I should get an accordion and play it." But they never do. But you are right. Sometimes people say, "bring your ukulele", and when I do it just sits in the corner, because they are listening to something else, or they just want to visit.
 
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Well, as much as the ukulele is popular with us, I don't think that it is really that popular. I mean, I don't think that there are a lot of people out there "discovering" the ukulele.

I think it still suffers from the toy reputation of being a "mini guitar". Literally everyone who isn't familiar with the ukulele and that I have shown some videos of Jake, Val, John King, to said something along the lines of, "Wow, I didn't know you could do that with a ukulele!".
 
So now my question is . . . How/why do a few stores carry a quality/quantity mix of ukuleles? That is, how can the exception help to explain the norm? I'm thinking of (in eastern USA) Bernunzio Uptown Music in Rochester, NY and The Music Emporium in Lexington, MA. Have they already established themselves as "serious" stringed-instrument stores, and therefore know that people will come to them for better instruments? Also, Bernunzio is around the corner from the renowned Eastman School of Music (where the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will appear on 9/30, FWIW) and Lexington is a relatively affluent suburb near many, many colleges. Do these places already have the customers that will buy the ukuleles that would hang forever in other stores?
 
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