Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome (UAS) - Is it real ?

Interesting topic. I started my instrumental hobby playing Irish whistle. As it is not a chromatic instrumental, I had “justification” for buying a variety of keys. I stopped buying once I had a quality instrument in keys ranging from low c to high d.

Then I started playing uke. I’ve been playing for 18 months and have 6 instruments at present....although I’ve owned a total of 11. I think I have met the requirements to join this club.

However, I have found this syndrome has helped me refine my playing. I know more about the sound I’m looking for and am learning how to milk better sound out of each instrument...

I’m also grateful for second hand marketplaces like uu. It has allowed me to sell and buy/try instruments without additional cash. I even sold some whistles and a few ukes to purchase a nice nice uke. It’s all part of the journey and all part of the fun.

Ironically, it was getting a very nice uke that drove me to UAS. I LOVE my Koaloha Koa tenor, and could play that thing all day long. Because of that, I never want to put a pickup in it or anything like that.

That being said, I find myself wanting to get into styles of playing that can only be done with a pickup and amp. My other uke, a Pono mango pineapple tenor, sounds great for strumming, but not for picking. So here I am, searching for a spruce top tenor that will compliment my Pono. [On a separate topic, any suggestions?]

Oh, and I also recently picked up a Pono jumbo baritone steel string, which I also adore. It’s totally different than anything else I have or want to have, and let’s me feel like a guitar player when I want to. So I don’t know if what I have is your classic UAS or if I am just unable to focus on one particular style or sound I enjoy.

KaminTheWeaver said:

Ironically, it was getting a very nice uke that drove me to UAS. I LOVE my Koaloha Koa tenor, and could play that thing all day long. Because of that, I never want to put a pickup in it or anything like that.

That being said, I find myself wanting to get into styles of playing that can only be done with a pickup and amp. My other uke, a Pono mango pineapple tenor, sounds great for strumming, but not for picking. So here I am, searching for a spruce top tenor that will compliment my Pono. [On a separate topic, any suggestions?]

Oh, and I also recently picked up a Pono jumbo baritone steel string, which I also adore. It’s totally different than anything else I have or want to have, and let’s me feel like a guitar player when I want to. So I don’t know if what I have is your classic UAS or if I am just unable to focus on one particular style or sound I enjoy.

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I Think if you have more than one or two ukes, and you want another, then you get it, and later you want another, you are probably a victim.

You may have the belief that "the next one is the holy grail, it just has to be."

If you spend the rent money or the grocery money on ukuleles, you need more help than you can get here....we're enablers, but we'd never recommend going into debt like that.