Dip in quality

hendulele said:
My prettiest and best-sounding concert used to be my Ohana cedar/willow with rope binding. I babied it. And then I left it on a chair at a jam in a bar. It hit the tile floor hard.
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At every uke fest I've attended, I've heard several ukes hit the floor. I just hoped they were cheap and undamaged.
 
I play and turn over vintage Martin sopranos, They are all "rescue" items. Most have had some or even extensive damage. To the point I carry them to Jams and performances as they are, no case or gig bags.
It makes me aware of how I handle the instrument.
I can fix any bumps scratches or outright trashing that may, but probably not occur.
The main reason I rescue them is to be played, not collected, strum on.
 
The surprising climbing skills of my 2yo daughter has given my timms a head start in beauty marks.

I think it was a blessing in disguise. It was always hoped to be a forever uke and I struggle to sell anything due to my struggles to buy lol (not a natural trader in any aspect of life) ... now, I'd struggle to sell it based on its enhanced looks/patina

Timms has thus, despite its wow irresistible volume, moved into the kitchen now and has replaced my flight tus35 as my camera I have on me.
 
steveholt said:
The surprising climbing skills of my 2yo daughter has given my timms a head start in beauty marks.

I think it was a blessing in disguise. It was always hoped to be a forever uke and I struggle to sell anything due to my struggles to buy lol (not a natural trader in any aspect of life) ... now, I'd struggle to sell it based on its enhanced looks/patina
Click to expand...

Pristine Timms ukes are a dime a dozen. Something with patina and beauty marks is unique and worth big bucks. :eek:
 
I have a few ukes I leave in cases. Mostly because of humidity needs. But also because of not wanting to ding them up.

The others are out on instrument stands for easy access for playing.

I'm getting up the resolve to sell some of the ones in cases...
 
A couple months back, I went searching for a long neck soprano. I came across a used KoAloha special issue that looked nice and bought it. I’m not sure if the Reverb seller was the original owner, but the uke looked brand new. I was very stoked to have it. Now normally I don’t hesitate to add strap buttons to my ukes. This uke also has side fret markers that are tiny & top markers that blend with the fret board, so I ordered some stick on fret dots. But I’ve been super reluctant to alter this nice little uke. It’s too nice to drill for a strap button or stick anything on it. Then something terrible happened. I opened the case & there was a ding on it. Arggggh. How did that happen? I’m so careful. I’m mortified about the ding, but now I’m much more relaxed about altering this uke to make it more playable for myself. As bad as I feel every time I look at that ding, I’m way more relaxed & happy with this uke now.
 
Even worse

Arcy said:
Riffing on Jerryc41's "The Camera You Have with You" thread, a ukulele you're not afraid to play will sound much better than one that gets left in its case!

Part of my "is this too expensive" equation includes if it's pricy enough that I'd be afraid to play it. I'm pretty lazy, and if I can't keep an instrument out and at hand it's not likely to get played. My better acoustic guitar spends too much time in its case in favour of the lesser instruments that get hung on the wall year round.

There's also diminishing returns in sound quality - most of my inexpensive ukuleles sound great on their own, even if there's a noticeable difference when played side-by-side with a more expensive one (and honestly speaking, the limiting quality factor is the player not the instrument).

--Rob
Click to expand...

Even worse, it can get to the point where you're even afraid to NOT play it, while you worry that it might come apart just sitting in it's case. To me, as beautiful as they are the high-end woodies are just not getting over the bar on fun versus worry. I gave up and bought Blackbirds and mid range lammies. For me, If I think they'll come apart, or if that "First ding" will break my heart, then they're too expensive...and they're gone.
 
I don't own a single uke without a ding. The ones that weren't dinged were sold or traded.
I don't know what that means...

My banjoukes don't have dings either.
I don't know what that means...

Maybe it goes along with "We always hurt the ones we love most"???
 
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