The ukulele resurgence is over, say UK music store Gear4Music

Doc_J said:
All I know is wait time setting up a new instrument at HMS has not decreased over time. So I'm guessing sales of high-quality ukes haven't gone down.;)
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They may just have reduced staffing levels ... just saying, like ;)

There's certainly less ukuleles on the wall at the local music shop, but that just might be that the local market has flooded :confused:
 
Doesn't read like much more than an infomercial for their cheap monophonic synth kits - which look gimmicky and faddish at best.
 
Doc_J said:
The original article had a little to do with Ukuleles. Ukes were only mentioned in passing with no supporting data.
NAMM will have good uke sales data.

All I know is wait time setting up a new instrument at HMS has not decreased over time. So I'm guessing sales of high-quality ukes haven't gone down.;)
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It seems to me that HMS has fewer brands listed, though. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe that's meaningless anyway. I'm guessing that stock will pick up post-NAMM? And even if they wanted, they couldn't have a stock of Collings, or even Kamaka right now.

It also seems like some ukuleles that I expected to sell quickly, (Kinnard tenor, Kinnard soprano, for example), are still there, (at least, when I last looked not long ago.)
 
kypfer said:
There's certainly less ukuleles on the wall at the local music shop, but that just might be that the local market has flooded :confused:
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Definitely true at my local music stores. Ukuleles have almost disappeared.
 
jollyboy said:
Doesn't read like much more than an infomercial for their cheap monophonic synth kits - which look gimmicky and faddish at best.
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Analog synths have definitely been coming back, though! Even Behringer released one, the Deep Mind 12. It's funny to watch. When digital synths came out, everyone said they were so much better and prices and sales of analog synths fell through the floor. Now everyone is saying that analog synths are so great and have so much warmth that computers cannot match, and it's hard to sell digital synths because "they are just software in a primitive box".
 
A lot of trends arrive in Denmark a bit later than in the States, but with the internet probably not as much as it used to be.

Yesterday I watched the main danish TV song talent show, danish X-factor.
Someone showed up with an ukulele, and one of the judges remarked: " that is the instrument of the time... if you had been here 10 years ago".
And imma be like - whaaat?
I have watched that show for the last 10 years since it first aired. Nobody showed up with an ukulele back then. The first time that happened was last year. This year we see a lot of ukuleles as well. So though the sales perhaps are dropping a bit, here in DK it is still a rather new revival.
 
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I practice classical piano, would I rather choose that everyone plays classical piano or that I'm of a rare kind?
I choose the latter.

Therefore it doesn't really matter to me if the uke popularity is a trend or resurgence or what have you.
It doesn't affect me being a student of it.
 
Down Up Dick said:
Your personal ukulele resurgence is over when you say it is. Keep on strummin'! :eek:ld:
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I vote Down Up Dick for president.................and a chicken in every pot. HERE, HERE!!!!!!!
 
Debussychopin said:
I practice classical piano, would I rather choose that everyone plays classical piano or that I'm of a rare kind?
I choose the latter.

Therefore it doesn't really matter to me if the uke popularity is a trend or resurgence or what have you.
It doesn't affect me being a student of it.
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That's where I'm at. I didn't know that ukuleles had resurged until I started playing the ukulele, and actually there isn't very many ukulele players around where I live so evidently there are places where it hasn't. That's fine with me. I didn't start playing it to be a part of anything, and I've never understood the urge that some people have to go out and try too persuade everyone they meet to play the ukulele too.
 
I will say that the market has changed in the ten years I have been playing. At one time spending $800-$1000 would get you a high end made in Hawaii ukulele. Actually less if you bought used. At the same time the lower end brands really were lower end and a Flea or Fluke was considered the way to go. And the aspiration was to one day own a K brand.

What has changed is the lower end ukes have improved tremendously, but at the same time it is not uncommon to see $3000+ ukuleles for sale. Many luthiers start off at $2000/2500 and go from there. I have no problem with luthiers getting what the instrument is worth, especially for the time and effort expended. And it is still not an occupation that leads to a high income paycheck. And while K's are still a dream for many they will not be seen in the same light as an MB.

What this has done is push the ukulele into a similar market as custom guitars. Not a bad thing, but the instrument is a little less cute and a lot more serious well into 4 figures. While this may not reflect if a researgence is going on or over, it sure feels like the popularity has settled into a similar ebb and flow as guitars.

John
 
Rllink said:
That's where I'm at. I didn't know that ukuleles had resurged until I started playing the ukulele, and actually there isn't very many ukulele players around where I live so evidently there are places where it hasn't. That's fine with me. I didn't start playing it to be a part of anything, and I've never understood the urge that some people have to go out and try too persuade everyone they meet to play the ukulele too.
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I totally agree. Never understood the ambition to get people to learn (and maybe even master) the very instruments I cherish and makes me unique.

Yeah, I get it, if they want to learn,sure , I can teach if they want me to (for argument's sake) I'm all for that but I won't market it to try to get the whole world to learn lol.

I do understand sharing the music though. Recitals and cds and such.
 
Popularity of an instrument brings many advantages: far more variety and choice (more builders, more brands, more wood combinations, more options), better availability (of instruments, accessories, strings, etc.), substantially more learning and studying resources, more support networks (larger and local communities, conventions, etc), and a better price/value ratio at least in the lower price segments. When I was shopping for a guitar in the under $400-500 price range, I was amazed at how much you get for relatively little money (including bling like abalone/MoP inlays) compared to ukuleles. I'm not a professional musician, I'm not worried about competition, so if everyone played ukulele, that would be fine with me -- in fact, it would no doubt benefit me.
 
Mivo said:
When I was shopping for a guitar in the under $400-500 price range, I was amazed at how much you get for relatively little money (including bling like abalone/MoP inlays) compared to ukuleles.
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I'm sure you are correct about supply and demand and the economies of higher production, but it is interesting that the quality of comparably priced guitars appear to be a much better value. Granted the sheer size of the instrument can mask the tone deficiencies to someone without a discerning ear, but it is still a tough sell when both instruments are placed side to side.

John
 
Mivo said:
Popularity of an instrument brings many advantages: far more variety and choice (more builders, more brands, more wood combinations, more options), better availability (of instruments, accessories, strings, etc.), substantially more learning and studying resources, more support networks (larger and local communities, conventions, etc), and a better price/value ratio at least in the lower price segments. When I was shopping for a guitar in the under $400-500 price range, I was amazed at how much you get for relatively little money (including bling like abalone/MoP inlays) compared to ukuleles. I'm not a professional musician, I'm not worried about competition, so if everyone played ukulele, that would be fine with me -- in fact, it would no doubt benefit me.
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+1. That's why I would prefer ukulele to be popular vs. not. Otherwise, it doesn't matter to me. I don't play ukulele with others, and am not trying to be unique, (I've got enough other quirks for that, LOL), so it's not whether I fit the current trend or not.
 
If you want to play am authentic thirties or forties Tin Pan Alley tune a la Smeck or Formby you need a Uke...... So get one ...If you want to play some Yes or Wakeman's "King Arthur" or "Journey to The Centre etc" ...ya need a Moog ...so get one...the article never said anything like "The ukulele resurgence is over," it just used the uke revival as a comparison and said that the new revival is synths....Now , I just so happen to live quite near to Gear 4 Guitars...I fancy me a Moog ...hmmmm ....White Rock on a uke..?
 
Just had a thought ...80 s...that was silly Midi type keyboards ...the REAL synths were from the 60's and the 70s , Hot Butter, Walter (?) Carlos, and the like ...80's ...pthhhh...LOL
 
CeeJay said:
Just had a thought ...80 s...that was silly Midi type keyboards ...the REAL synths were from the 60's and the 70s , Hot Butter, Walter (?) Carlos, and the like ...80's ...pthhhh...LOL
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You may be right brother Jarvo, but I still think that the Casio CZ-101, Yamaha DX7, and Korg MS-20 will now rise in value, even if 'only' due to their 'vintage' status. :eek:
 
The fact that I play ukulele doesn't make me unique. What I play on it is what makes me unique. I choose to present it to as many people as possible, so that they might find the joy in it that I have.
I neither persuade nor cajole them.
And the resurgence isn't waning. We had a record 35 people in our jam session tonight. One played a brand new Cocobolo Ukulele, and another had just received a brand new Tiny Tenor.
TBUS and the ukulele in Florida are just getting started.
 
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