You can learn on any uke that stays in tune.. the likelihood that you will put in more time can increase if you love the sound of the uke.. there is always an unpleasantness when starting to go through the grind of learning new skills, owning a uke you have an emotional attachment to will increase the joy..
Also I like what is said here
I agree with this completely. There’s something about owning something that’s better than I am that makes me want to work at it, and when it comes down to it, most people can afford an expensive custom if they just plan for it.
A Hive, for example, is $3,600, very reasonable for a top tier custom. There are no extras needed. The $3,600 price point will get you one of the best sounding and smoothest playing ukes on the planet. The tough part is the $1,000 deposit. Once you’ve got that taken care of, though, it’s $100 a month set aside for 26 months, which is around his current wait time. $100 a month isn’t easy for everyone but doable for most if you’re willing to budget.
Plus, you know there are only 26...15...7...2 months left before it arrives, which should push you even harder to improve your playing, so you can enjoy your new masterpiece to the fullest.
All that said, you don’t need to spend $3,600 to get that feeling. Just using Hive as an example due to the title of the thread.
That’s just my 2 cents.
One last thing for the OP, sell whatever you need to. It’ll be worth it.