Multiple Ukes - Mainly play one

Doug W

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
1,668
Reaction score
323
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Began playing uke a long time ago. I didn't do much with the uke for a number of years but my wife found one at a garage sale around '95. After that I got interested in the uke again. After purchasing a few more cheapies I bought a Mainland Tenor in 2009. I have never thought of myself as a uke collector but I have 4 or 5 other ukes now and my wife has the same. Then there are a few that we have bought for our kids, that have been left here.

So the reality is that although I have a number of ukuleles, I hardly play anything but my Mainland tenor which I play daily. My wife always plays her Mainland concert and rarely anything else.

Anybody else out there with multiple ukes who only play one? How many of you pull out a different instrument every day?
 
Yeah, I’m with Gochugogi, I play multiple ukes depending on the context and the kind of music I’m playing. I have always enjoyed the variety of having different ukes, kind of like hanging out with a wide range of friends, I always appreciate different personalities in ukes as in people.
 
Yeah, I’m with Gochugogi, I play multiple ukes depending on the context and the kind of music I’m playing. I have always enjoyed the variety of having different ukes, kind of like hanging out with a wide range of friends, I always appreciate different personalities in ukes as in people.

You betcha. Just like with people, I sometimes feel more inclined to hang with some on some days, and others at other times.

I do go through phases. Play one or two ukes for a week or two. Then move to a different one. I also have upstairs ukes and downstairs ukes. They do migrate though.
 
Guess I'm the exception cuz I have ZERO ukes. However, I have 2 classical guitars; an el cheapo Terada bought in 1977 for $100. The second one, is a bit better. Use the Terada when playing outdoors, crowded area or amplified with an iRig acoustic stage.

LP Twist shakers if I want a change of pace from guitar. Or, occasionally attempt to play someone else's Uke.

Peavey Dyna-Bass in candy apple red used when slated to play bass with one of my Uke groups. (No other choice)
 
I have 9 ukes and every Sunday I go to a park with a bunch of acoustic players, so I rotate between 8 of them every week and practice at home with a knock around, which was a tenor Fluke, but I don't like it, so I ordered an all bamboo Aklot tenor cutaway to replace it.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
Last edited:
I am avaricious but monogamous. I always wanted more and more, but only played my favorite. I figured it wasn't fair to the world-at-large to horde ukuleles that wouldn't really be played. So I sold off all the ukuleles, turned my back on UAS, and contented myself with two top-shelf ukuleles, a Kamaka for my re-entrant needs and a custom uke for my regular playing. I have a crappy $300 Kala baritone and, someday, I want to replace it with an elite baritone (something like a Mya Moe or another custom)...but I am done with ukulele purchasing.
 
I have 6 ukes.
I play most of them, but there is definately 2 or 3 that I play more often than the rest. I have a LNS for that staccato uke sound when strumming, a warmer sounding concert, and tenors with and without low G. Each time I learn a new song I try it on several ukes to hear which is best for that song.

My non ukeing friends say that having more than one makes me a collector. I find that a bit harsh, but I would like to trim my collection down to 2-3 ukes. But which ones to let go?!
 
Different ukes for different sounds - whilst I don't play as often as I once did, I still like to vary it when I play, so having multiple ukes is good to have. :)
 
... I ordered an all bamboo Aklot tenor cutaway to replace it.




This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

My Aklot was processed through Beijing on Jan 9, and it's probably on a ship somewhere in the Pacific now. Estimated delivery date is Jan 29.
 
I have five tenors. I’ve tried to play them in rotation but I’m only human so sometimes I focus one one or two. UAS for me was more about trying different ukes. With my first Ukulele, a Pono AT, I’ve been very satisfied. But then the itch comes back to try something different. I still have my AT, I will likely never sell it (knock on wood) it’s a terrific Uke. I got a Fluke tenor for Father’s Day. Hated the tuner, so out pegheds on. Much nicer. Don’t like the neck but I do go thru phases where I play it a lot. Got a MTD-SP and it nice with radius fretboard. Just put it in low G and it sound great. My custom gypsy tenor, I will likely NEVER sell. So, eventually, I hope to get down to a couple that I play a lot. Don’t know what those will be. Depends upon what I try and like. I think on line buying and being far from a good source of choices, makes sampling harder.

I endorse multiple ukes for different situations, songs and sometimes just how a different Uke sounds at any given time.

If I could , I’d likely have more but gotta starting moving the ones I don’t play as often.
 
I used to take 2 Ukes to each group I played with, had a luthier make me two neck uke , concert and tenor, high and low G so I can change sound while playing same song
 
I've gone through quite a few ukuleles in the almost 3 years I've been playing, 4 seems to be my happy number. I'm very happy with the 4 I now have. Even though they are all concert scale, they are all very different in personality & sound. They each have (more or less) a particular purpose, and they all get played regularly. I sometimes will play 1 or 2 of them a bit more, but none of them are neglected.
 
I have both a reentrant and a liniar uke upstairs, a tenor and a baritone. Downstairs I have my low G tenor and my husband's concert or soprano (both high G). The high G tenor moves up and down an out of the house. I play my tenors most, as that is my preferred size. Sometimes I just like to change it up a bit.
 
My Aklot was processed through Beijing on Jan 9, and it's probably on a ship somewhere in the Pacific now. Estimated delivery date is Jan 29.

Yep, I ordered mine on eBay Dec. 28, the last tracking note shows "Jan. 3 Beijing, China Processed through facility" and delivery estimate Jan. 8 - Jan. 29. I hope it doesn't get caught in the Chinese New Year long delay into late February.
 
Yep, I ordered mine on eBay Dec. 28, the last tracking note shows "Jan. 3 Beijing, China Processed through facility" and delivery estimate Jan. 8 - Jan. 29. I hope it doesn't get caught in the Chinese New Year long delay into late February.

They're probably on the same ship. :D

I'm sure I have a Uke Crazy-type case that will work with it.
 
I am not saying that I never play my other ukes. I have a Martin Travel Uke that I take when flying. I get the other ones out once in a while, my Favilla soprano has a sweet sound and is easier to finger for a couple songs. I also play a resonator once in a while when I use the slide, the neck on my Mainland seems to be just right for me and I haven't found an instrument that feels as good as that one.
 
I rotate a couple just because of size. I really should keep a reentrant uke, but I bounce between two concerts and one soprano, all strung low g. Even on the soprano I like the low g.
 
I have five ukes, but only four get used. The two main ukes are tenors - one a 6-string lili'u the other with linear tuning that are mainly used for performance and playing in public. Then I have a concert mainly for playing at home learning new songs, and a long-neck soprano for travelling that is now used by my GF to learn. The one uke that is not getting used is a luthier-built concert strung in fifths, where I simply don't have the time to learn this tuning, and I don't have a need to use it otherwise. I can't bring myself to post it for sale either so it's just sitting in a spare room.
 
Top Bottom