What's Your Least Often Played Uke?

Mivo said:

Right now, it's actually my best (best sounding, best workmanship) ukulele, the Barron River tenor.

The reasons for that are all somewhat silly, too.

For the most part, it's simply because of its value and uniqueness, which make me worry about bumping it into something or put it on the desk unprotected (the high glass finish makes me more cautious, though I'm not sure if that concern is even justified). So I only take it out of the hard shell case when I know I won't get interrupted and I'll be able to practice for a while.

The fact that it is in the case adds to that. Much easier to pick up the KPK tenor that is in a usually half-opened padded gig bag or the KPK soprano that sits on a side table (the soprano is also playable pretty much everywhere, I don't need to sit properly, and it is tiny). I recall reading in a guitar forum that putting a guitar into a case is a sure way to skip practicing on it frequently. That applies to me.

On a psychological level (and this is the silliest reason of them all!), I also feel that my current skill level isn't where it needs to be to do justice to such a formidable instrument, so I feel "unworthy". Too strong a word, but you get the idea. It's just the thought that I should save the experience for later when I'm a better player. I know, it's silly and backwards, because practicing on a great instrument is an excellent approach.

Finally, I sometimes get the idea I should stick to sopranos, because they are the most original of the different sizes, offer the best portability, and are the least guitar-like; when that happens, I focus intently on just sopranos for a few days, until inevitably I start missing the more mellow sound of the tenor(s) and the higher string tension (makes picking more comfortable and "feels better" to me) and focus on tenors again for a while. It seems to be an endless cycle of shifting preferences for me.

I should make that custom tenor my most played ukulele. If it collects some dings, that's okay. In the end, most instruments that are actually used will.

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