I toyed with playing guitar in HS & College. I enjoyed folk music and wanted to emulate. Didn't happen.
I never learned to read music even though I sang in a few choirs. I just sang what the person next to me did (1st tenor).
Fast forward to 2017. A friend of mine suggested that I come down to the ukulele club he belonged to. The CheezLand Ukulele Band (C.L.U.B.) Sit and listen, or better yet sit at the beginners' table and try a couple of the various-sized ukuleles they have for beginners using the handout they had for the newbies.
I did. I liked the tenor size. It fit me better than the others. (No baritones.) I enjoyed playing it. It was--fun!
I bought a Fender Koa Nohea tenor on Amazon because I had a couple of gift cards. I had read that koa was the best wood for ukuleles to made of. So I ponied up for the more expensive all-koa one. It looked beautiful when I got it. Though the fake abalone trim was a bit much, the wood was gorgeous. The Fender headstock is sexy as well. And I didn't have to switch directions on the tuners. Bonus! It cost $250. Came with nylon strings. And there was no setup. I bought a Snark tuner as well and an upgraded gigbag.
I was primed. I played some of the beginner songs and found it sounded good-ish. I had a hard time fretting some of the chords, but I knew I'd get better.
I stayed at the beginners' table the next meeting. I was doing well. So the following week I sat with the group and attempted to play along. Ouch! But people were kind and non-judgemental and only winced a few times. This is really fun.
After about 4 months, I went to a music store with a guy I met at the club. He's a very good player and lives in my town. There, I found an Ohana TK-50GS. The owner told me it was just taken off sale, but he'd let me have it for the sale price. I bought it, and a case, and asked him to set it up. He did. And it was so much easier to play than the Fender! Sounded much better too!
That was the beginning of my UAS.
I discovered Barry Maz' website I'veGotAUkulele.com It's aimed at beginners, and I learned a lot, so I bought his books. I wish I'd known the buying tips before I bought my two uke.
I liked Barry's review of a Pono uke. I think it was a tenor. I liked a Pono koa I heard at the club. So, I started looking at them for my next step up. After about 2 months with the Ohana, I wound up wth a Pono MGT mango tenor. I thought the warm sound was lovely. I also discovered Martin fluorocarbon strings! Wow! What a difference from the nylon strings.
Before long I acquired a Pono Acacia tenor. A different sound, but equally nice. And I was off to the races.
Perfect segue. I had been saving my money to buy a good used sports car. But that summer, I was zipping around in my 145 hp 1991 RX-7 convertible. The twisty back roads here in Wisconsin are a lot of fun to drive. With rolling hills and beautiful scenery. Well, I went around a blind corner at 60 mph (speed limit was 55). To my horror a huge 6-wheel tractor was coming the opposite way towing an even wider wagon full of hay! It took up at least half of my lane as well as all of his! Fortunately, there was just enough room on the right berm to go past him. No time to think—pure reflex driving. The rear tires slipped a bit on the edge of a sharp drop off of about 4 to 6 feet down to the drainage ditch filled with trees and bushes. I remember vividly seeing the farmer's eyes, which were big as saucers, as I swerved to miss him. I nonchalantly waved as I drove off. But shaking a bit in reality. I began to reconsider my decision to buy a used Porche, or Mazda, or whatever. My reflexes aren't as good as they used to be. I was pretty sure I was going to kill myself in a 400 hp car.
Eventually, I decided I would rather purchase some nice, quality ukuleles that I could enjoy playing until the arthritis in my hands got too bad to do so.
Ko'Aloha, Kamaka, Kinnard, MyaMoe, Martin, Moodyville, Pono, Pereira... Well, fifteen, usually used, ukuleles later, my UAS has been slaked and my bank account is bust.
Although, there is a nice MoonBird tenor I've been hearing great things about...
I’ve met some terrific people at the uke club. Then I stumbled across the UU Forums. I've corresponded and posted with many wonderful people on the UU Forums. What friendly and helpful folks are found here. And I discovered some excellent sounding ukuleles to purchase on the Marketplace.
My playing is way better than it was only a year ago, but that may only be the nice instruments I have to make the music.