Just one Ukulele

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CalBrit

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This may have come up before (if so please post a link). Most of us have more than one ukulele and often there are forum members who post about reducing their collections for various reasons. Has anyone actually done this to the point that they just have one ukulele to focus on and are happy to have done so? The obvious next question is what was the one? I like Sopranos and would be interested in this size but please feel free to respond no matter what size you ended up keeping.
 
Calbrit said:
This may have come up before (if so please post a link). Most of us have more than one ukulele and often there are forum members who post about reducing their collections for various reasons. Has anyone actually done this to the point that they just have one ukulele to focus on and are happy to have done so? The obvious next question is what was the one? I like Sopranos and would be interested in this size but please feel free to respond no matter what size you ended up keeping.
Click to expand...

I reduced my 7 ukuleles down to 2 within 2 weeks just recently
https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?146622-anti-UAS-your-recent-sales

But, now, within 2 weeks time, I'm at 6.

NOTE: I was concert heavy before the shift; now I'm all sopranos except for an odd concert.
 
The good thing about ukuleles is that, at least in the current climate, they sell like hotcakes.
The bad thing about ukuleles is that, at least in the current climate, they sell like hotcakes.
 
It's kind of a dream of mine, but hasn't happened yet. If I had one, it would be a Martin-style soprano. I like my Ohana SK-38 well enough to be my one and only, but there are a few songs I want to play that go past the 12th fret. I see my old SK-39 is up for sale again on CL (don't buy it back, don't buy it back, don't buy it back).
 
Interesting, I have an SK38. Some days I love it, others not so much but then again it might be my playing! I also have a Cordoba 20SM which is quite different, less bark more sweetness of tone and slightly quieter. Is boom/bark always a good thing? I don't know. I'm more fingerstyle than strummer.
 
Calbrit said:
Interesting, I have an SK38. Some days I love it, others not so much but then again it might be my playing! I also have a Cordoba 20SM which is quite different, less bark more sweetness of tone and slightly quieter. Is boom/bark always a good thing? I don't know. I'm more fingerstyle than strummer.
Click to expand...

I'm more fingerstyle too so I'm not using the SK-38 to its true potential. I'll admit I go through phases where I like my Opio much better, but for now it's the SK-38 and the Opio is neglected. Now I'm thinking I need two ukes so I can switch them up every few months to keep it fresh. But what to do with the other four?
 
I've been playing 3+ years and play with uke groups a few times a week. My 3 year old Kala ABP-CTG baritone has a full rich sound that contrasts nicely with the other ukes. Haven't felt the need to get a better uke.


But...

I have a set of regular ukes (tenor, concert, long neck soprano) that I don't play and are used only when giving free intro lessons at seniors centres and the folk song society.

And a pair of tenor banjo ukes to lend to uke players when the guitars come out and everone needs to be loud enough to contribute.

Cheers.
 
I would be hard pressed to reduce my tenors down to just two; Low-G & High-g; let alone one.

It's kind of like asking, "Which of your children would you rescue from a burning building if you could only save one?" (The one who is going to take care of me in my old age, of course. If I had any kids.)

I find I like different ukes on different days. Or I'm trying to learn something that sounds better to me on one particular tenor. Or, it's easier to play it one of them. Or, I just haven't played that one for a while. Or, I like the strings I'm trying out on that one.

Just one tenor would be a real constraint. And I'm not a very good player.
 
My one and only ukulele is a Martin Style 0 soprano that was rescued and repaired by PetalumaRescuke.

Previous to getting the Martin, my one and only ukulele was an Outdoor Ukulele Carbon soprano.

I like having only one uke. Since the old Martin already has dings and repaired cracks it is also my outdoor ukulele now. The only thing I fear is leaving it inside of a hot car. I have a jumbo zip lock plastic bag for if it rains.

The downside to having only one ukulele is being seperated from it if it breaks or needs repairs. My Martin is at the repair shop for a minor repair and I miss her. I gave the Outdoor Ukulele to a close friend and I could still play her if I want. I may go have a few strums for old times sake
 
I could, (probably), get away with just one concert scaled soprano of superior quality.....but I've already got a 'collection', so there's no point to my mind.....the money is already spent! :D :music:
 
What's important for me is not how many ukuleles I have but how focused I am in playing and studying the ukulele. I don't make progress if I am all over the place - even if I only have one instrument. The working title of my current focus is "Martin style 0 and style 1". My aim is to get a better understanding of the history and "anatomy" of the style 0/style 1 and the repertoire suited for them. Since I am in Europe, it's very hard to get a vintage style 0 or style 1 so, instead, I have three instruments which all brilliantly try to carry on the spirit of those instrument: a Kiwaya KTS-4, a Ken Timms soprano and the Flight WUS-3 laminate mahogany soprano. Since the last one sounds almost exactly like the best Martins I have heard on YouTube, I guess I would keep that if I really had to choose just one - but I am very happy with all three of them.
 
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I don't think I could ever get down to just one ukulele, since I play both re-entrant and linear. But, some days I think it'd be nice to have just 2 ukuleles, one in each tuning. Then I play all of my ukuleles to see which ones I'd be willing to sell, and I decide that I'm fortunate to have a few options here, and there is no need to get down to just 2. And, that usually cures my UAS, too. (Not that I don't still look and listen online, and sometimes think that another one would be fun.)
As Kenn2018 said, I like different ukuleles on different days. Might be the weather, might be what I'm playing, might be just enjoying a different sound, might be totally random. And some days, I like them all, or don't like any of them. LOL.
 
I don't think I'd be happy without one of each size. I like to play each and see the different voices they have. I'm still trying to develop love for the soprano, today I found that playing it with a pick was better, but it does require more precise fingering. Tight little fret board!
 
I am a one ukulele man. Here's my back-story: like many others I started with a crappy $200 Kala-esque uke, then I got a slightly better one, and then I realized this was a fool's proposition. Instead of frittering away my money on progressively less sucky ukuleles, I just sold all my old ones and bespoke a custom uke for a few thousand. It is my soul-mate uke and the only one I need. I find this simplifies matters for me. I don't have UAS because the only ukes that would be an upgrade for me are cost-prohibitive. And I don't even have to read the yearly NAMM threads because no matter what bell or whistle Ohana or Lanikai is pimping, my ukulele is still better.

I also like being monogamous with my uke because I am very much into melding with the instrument. I enjoy the process of unifying with the instrument.

Obviously this is all predicated on personality. I am built for this. However someone who needs more external stimulus wouldn't flourish as I do. So I'm not really trying to make a value judgment here; I'm just describing me
 
Just one? I don't know, I don't own it yet.
 
One is none and two is one.........

I only have four.....

But yes I could live with two......

ONLY one would be a challenge.....

If I had to reduce to one, I would keep my KoAloha tenor and that would be that.....
 
Calbrit said:
Great response. I like "unifying with the instrument ". That's what I was getting at in my original post. What size did you end up with?
Click to expand...

I got a long-neck tenor. I specifically designed a 19-fret instrument with a Florentine cutaway. I insisted on 19 frets because I primarily play in the key of E, so I wanted the highest note on the uke to be an E. That makes it easy to punctuate the phrases of my solos with a root note. Now perhaps you can infer why I love my uke; I actually conceived it. Sometimes "custom" doesn't actually mean very much. For example, if you pay $4500 for a custom Ko'olau, you basically get to choose the wood for your sound board. However, in my case, I gave a lot of input to my luthier and was personally involved in much of the uke. Perhaps that's why I can get away with this one instrument: it is really individual to me.
 
I have a Kamaka semi custom, Kanilea Custom and an off the rack KoAloha. All tenors. I really like the KoAloha and Kanilea. I absolutely love the Kamaka. Told my wife to put it in the casket with me if I kick the bucket first!
 
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