How many ukes do you own and how often does each get played?

I know that there are a lot of people here who own multiple ukes if not a collection of them. I was just curious about multiple uke owners:

How many do you own? Size doesn't matter, if it's a uke, include it in the total.

How often do each get played? Let's define regularly as weekly or 2-3 times a month. Monthly? Quarterly? Annually?

I was kind of wondering where the tipping point is in the total number of ukes when some start becoming more part of a collection than a player.

I've thought about your question a lot too, mikelz777. I have 5 ukes and a coupla wall hangers. I don't play mine much anymore because I mostly play my banjos or other instruments, but I also have trouble giving all them a play too. Just dusting and examining them all takes a lot of time.

I also have some trouble adjusting to the different sizes and string widths and tunings too, but I'm an old geezer and not as quick or agile as I usta be. I really think I'd be better off with just two or three instruments these days.

I don't see how one with 10 or 15 ukes can get much enjoyment out of all of them, especially if they're stored away in humidified, closed up cases.

But, I guess we're all marching to our own strums . . . ld:

My only uke is a concert Flea made by The Magic Fluke Company. I have no desire for more ukes.

UAS is not in my genes. If it were lost, stolen or damaged, I'd replace it with an identical concert Flea uke.

I play it as often as possible, 'life permitting' of course - sometimes an hour per day, every day, and sometimes work and life gets in a the way and I simply have no time and it goes unplayed for a few days, and during that time I miss it.

I have not had a vacation in a very long time (it's simply a luxury I cannot afford now) , so I've not had to consider the choice of 'traveling with it' or 'leaving it behind', but likely I would take it with me, as I do have a hard foam case for it.

My wife and I have 5 between us.
My 'travel' uke is an inexpensive Cordoba plywood. It goes in the camper each time we go. I probably play every other day while camping.
At home I play one of my vintage Oscar-Schmidt about once a week unless I find a new song I want to learn, then it is every day till I am comfortable with it.

My wife and I have 3 ukes between us. I play 2 of them every couple of days. Rarely touch the third, but my wife will pick that one up once a week or so.

I'm up to the most I've ever had at one time in 8+ years of playing: five, which I think may be one too many for me. They actually all get played - I'd estimate two of them daily, two of them every other day, and one seems to be mostly neglected at present but I expect that to change; if it doesn't, it will end up being re-homed.

I have 7 including my U-bass...the U-bass gets played weekly at a jam. My main player is my Kanile'a concert, which gets played usually twice a week at jams. I also sometimes take my old Martin to jams. Very Occasionally, I'll take my banjolele. My Islander, sometimes I grab off the wall to strum a quick tune or 2. The other 2, are mostly wall decorations, my first uke and the Fender Piha`ea rarely get played.

Well, I've got a few, & they get played when I feel it's the right one for the tune or song.

Actually, harmonicas have taken over my spare time just lately, (& I've got a few of them too ), so my ukes aren't getting played as often as they used to, (I was a fairly regular poster in the Seasons thread).

Presently, my most played are my Ohana solid mahogany long necks.

(P.S. I also still have my starter ukes, but I'm aiming to pass them along to some organisation that can make good use of them.)

I have nine at the moment with three more on the way. Four concerts (three standard and one 16"), four tenors, and one baritone. The three incoming are tenors (one is 19"). In terms of tuning, the concerts are all re-entrant C except the 16" Rieck which is linear Bb. The tenors are all linear Bb except the Collings which is re-entrant Bb. And the Baritone is linear G (sometimes A).

I keep three on wall hangers in my playing area, with usually another in a floor stand and sometimes a fifth one in a case near my playing chair. The others are in the closet. I rotate which ones are out periodically. The only "rule" is I always have both linear and re-entrant ukes in rotation, never solely one or the other.

So, I regularly play 3-4 but which 3-4 I play depends on the songs I'm working on and the rotation. And while I may not play all four each time I play (pretty much daily), I more often than not play at least two of them.

I have owned more than 50 ukes and as many as 13 at one time. It has been fun to experience so many different builders/woods/sizes. I don't like having things I don't use. Sometimes I think I should pare down to 4-5 or so. I've been very fortunate to own some pretty special (to me) ukes and it is getting more and more challenging to let go any of the ones I now have. It's always easiest to imagine parting with ones not in rotation, but then I get them out and play them and the decision becomes almost impossible again. But I have re-homed some special ukes and when it goes to somebody who truly cherishes the uke, it provides another type of joy which makes it a lot easier.

I have four - an Eleuke, a Makala shark, a Kala concert, and a Pono soprano. I play very rarely right now. I have to work on making a routine this summer so that I can play them daily. I keep them where they aren't very accessible - which is part of the problem. I am working to change that.

I have two, a Pono baritone and tenor, both acquired this year (first-time uke ownership), so the novelty has not worn off. I play each one for a while every evening and/or at night. The baritone is in its case right next to my computer chair. I'm still in the process of learning, mostly intuitively, what to do with my right hand/fingers. My objective is to be able to play both ukes just as fluently as I play mandola, pretty much transferring my repertoire (largely J.S. Bach) to a fingerpicked mode from a flatpicked one. My progress is satisfying, by and large, but sometimes I get impatient with myself. I love the sound of the instruments, and of giving yet another new voice to old familiar pieces.

bratsche

I'm in soprano heaven right now. Although I've been a one uke guy for years, I started the uke in 2011 as a guitarist since my teens. Now the guitar comes out once or twice a year. I amass ukes between trades then condense to one.

But... after getting my Timms and still enjoying my Martin it got.. complicated. I also have a Wunderkammer Ike soprano building for Christmas AND I re bought an Ohana SK35G as I had it when I stared the uke.

So... that'll be 4. Do I play the two regular. They are small sopranos so I lay the two on the sofa and swap about with the Timms staying out after as it's the main. I guess I'll do the same with 4. If for whatever reason I end up with a dormant uke it would go and be replaced.

I doubt I'll ever find anything to beat the Timms TBH.

If you did a google search of my brain for the uke sound I have as a dream the Timms would start playing.

I have 5 ukes.

One concert I play 2-4 times a week
One tenor I probably 1-2 times a week on average.
And then a tenor, a concert and a soprano that can all easily lie for a month without playing.

I wouldn't say that the three spare ukes are collectors items. One got upgraded, one turned out to be a bit small for my fingers etc...
Perhaps I should sell some of them when I find the time, but they are not worth a whole lot.

I have 9 ukes, bought in only 7 month ... and just mounted 18 wall mounts ... you never know

I play 3-4 hours per day and of cause all my babies one after an other, to compare the different sound of them.
And, what shall i say ... i love them all

I've been a member of a seniors uke group for about four years that meets twice a week, I joined specifically because I retired and wanted to fill my time. In the first year I went through sixteen ukes, then culled them down to four, all tenor cutaways that included electronics or I added it. I played 3-4 times a week. Since then I've added three, see my signature.

Then I started playing bass uke with the group, and in about 2 1/2 years I'm up to fifteen. Because of that, I play my ukes about once a week or two, the basses I play three to four times a week as I create the bass lines for the charts we do.

I guess I fall into the collector group.

Pueo said:

I have 10.
My first ukulele, a Lanikai, now collects autographs and does not get played. It also has some intonation issues.
My Gecko lives in my desk drawer at work and does get some play time.
My Kala lives in my car and gets played quite a lot,
it is also a spare, and has even been used as a loaner for impromptu jams or lessons.
My Pono and my Kamoa I would say are my daily players, and what I use for performing. My six-string custom is primarily for kanikapila. That leaves my Les Paul, which gets played every now and then just for fun, my Milo concert, which comes out whenever I need that sound, my baritone which gets played when I am looking for that sound, and lastly my all Koa mini concert, which I dearly love, but has a scary bridge issue right now so is sitting in it's case with slackened strings. I have taken it to some luthier friends but no one wants to touch it. I will get it fixed though!

Click to expand...

Hi Damon...take the uke with the bridge problems to Kilin Reese in Kailua..he busy but can do the work for you....go visit his shop and you can see some pretty old Martins and Kamakas there....he does work for many of the musicians in Hawaii....see you at the festival?

I am down to 12 ukes in house and 3 that I have lent out and don't expect to see again. That is ok because it is spreading the ukulele-love.

I have 6 tenors that are all low G except for one. There are three baritones in house and the LfdM baritone is in the process of being built. A Kamaka super concert is my main reentrant instrument but I am a huge linear tuning fan so that sees limited play.

As Eddie said I play certain instruments more than others depending on the songs I am working on. I play in a group and while preparing for a performance I will decide on the uke to use then practice with that exclusively. But all these ukes of mine get played at least once a week, some get a lot of play time during the week.

I really enjoy hearing the different tones each of my ukes possesses. It is like a sonic buffet, sampling one flavor then the next, then the next.

I'm seeing that most of those that have multiple ukes, are like myself, we appreciate that each has its own character & tone, & will suit different tunes/songs - &, yes, it is good to have that choice.