Just One Ukulele?

I've got a lot of ukes, and I find uses for most of them, but I think I could get by just with the Blackbird Clara if I had to. It hits all the right spots - plays loud, soft, has a pickup, no humidity issues, fantastic tone both plucked and strummed. There is only one thing I would change - the tuners on the headstock are too close to the neck and I don't exactly run into them as much as feel just a little crowded in certain chord positions. But other than that, it is an instrument that I can get a huge range of sounds out of - its incredibly expressive and really does everything I need.

Sure the Godin Multiuke is better plugged in and slightly more comfortable on the neck. The Flight travel uke plays great and for $50 is practically disposable for when I want to go someplace that might damage a uke. The Gold Tone resonator is loud and has a different tone, but the Blackbird can be almost as loud. The flea is a neat uke - you need something to hand to the next player that shows up without a uke. But none of them has the range of possibilities that the Blackbird does.

Maybe it is time to thin the herd...
 
My grandma was visiting one day and once she noticed all my ukes she asked "do you play all of these?", to which I answered "not all at once". So yes, just one ukulele... at a time. :D
 
Dohle said:
My grandma was visiting one day and once she noticed all my ukes she asked "do you play all of these?", to which I answered "not all at once". So yes, just one ukulele... at a time. :D
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You took the word right out of my mouth! :D
 
Of the 60+ players in my Uke groups I doubt more than a handful have more than one ukulele or at least more than one they play regularly. I suspect most would have no interest in acquiring another unless they had to.

I'd like to replace my Mainland (currently strung as a low-g) at some point. Partly for functional reasons; my Tinguitar tenor has a wider nut and string spacing I prefer. Partly for UAS. There are some luthier made instruments it would be nice to have and of course owning a high end K-brand is aspirational. Acquiring even more instruments would be a negotiation with "the boss" I'd probably lose :rolleyes:
 
Steve_S said:
Of the 60+ players in my Uke groups I doubt more than a handful have more than one ukulele or at least more than one they play regularly. I suspect most would have no interest in acquiring another unless they had to.
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Wow! I don't know anyone in my group who has just one.

EDIT: If the only kind of uke made was a mahogany soprano, I doubt many people would have large collections.
 
I sometimes think that if I had one good K-brand tenor that I loved, like a Kanilea K1T, I could be happy with just one. But I also know that I'd want at least one more, strung low G. Oh, and one more durable uke for travel/beach, so my concert Flea couldn't leave. So I guess my answer is no, 3 would be my desired minimum. If I absolutely had to choose only one, it would be the best reentrant tenor that I have.
 
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When I started out I had but one tenor. It was a Fender Nohea all-laminate koa. After a setup, it wasn't a bad uke. It was built like a tank. But I wasn't happy with its sound. Sort of boxy and muffled. I played it exclusively for six months.

Then I went to a music store that sold ukes and bought a Ohana TK-50G. Solid spruce/rosewood. The store did a setup. Lighter, brighter and louder. I liked it a lot. But now I was listening to other tenors in my club. I liked what I heard and how they felt to play. How different they all sounded.

That was the start of my explorations: Pono mango MGT, Pono acacia ATD, Identical builds, but what a difference the wood made. Solid koa Kanile'a K-1T. Wow! And the quest began...

So just one? Not for me. But for others in my uke club? One is enough. A few have a Banjolele as well. Very few have multiple sizes. Quite a few play multiple instruments, so one is all they want. Surprisingly few are curious about how other ukes sound compared to theirs. They are content with what they have.
 
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Steve_S said:
Of the 60+ players in my Uke groups I doubt more than a handful have more than one ukulele or at least more than one they play regularly. I suspect most would have no interest in acquiring another unless they had to.

I'd like to replace my Mainland (currently strung as a low-g) at some point. Partly for functional reasons; my Tinguitar tenor has a wider nut and string spacing I prefer. Partly for UAS. There are some luthier made instruments it would be nice to have and of course owning a high end K-brand is aspirational. Acquiring even more instruments would be a negotiation with "the boss" I'd probably lose :rolleyes:
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If you have one of Rob's tenor's, then you're not missing anything by not having a K-brand. I am a two-uke guy: a Tinguitar and a Kamaka. The Tinguitar completely eclipses the Kamaka. I am essentially a one-uke guy in my heart. I occasionally play the Kamaka out of a sense of duty and obligation feeling that I should play something with a shrill high G string to pay homage to the tradition.
 
ukantor said:
I've given some thought to the question of how many ukuleles I really need. In my more lucid moments, I conclude that three would be my minimum number. One sturdy cheapie to keep in the car, and two really nice ones for regular use. I reckon I need two because if a string breaks then that uke is, effectively, out of commission for a day or so while the new string(s) settle.

So how come I've ended up with a dozen really nice ukes, and another dozen (or so) lesser ones?

And I've only ever had one string breakage - years ago.

My name is John Colter and I am a uke-aholic.
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The uke for the car trunk doesn't count against your totals!
 
My one and only ukulele is a mahogany 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.
 
Steve_S said:
Of the 60+ players in my Uke groups I doubt more than a handful have more than one ukulele or at least more than one they play regularly. I suspect most would have no interest in acquiring another unless they had to.
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Just curious. Is the main use of their one uke to join in the group activity?

I wonder if those with more than one ukulele are more likely to play fingerstyle, play on their own or with a very small group of others, (where you can hear the individual ukulele better), vs. taking part in a group of 60+ players.

Might be one difference, though there are so many reasons why we might make the choices that we do regarding how many ukuleles to own.
 
Jerryc41 said:
I don't know if this has come up, but does anyone have just one ukulele?

I've been helping a woman find a ukulele. She wants a "good quality" tenor, solid wood, for $500. I've offered several ideas, but she's still looking. She says it will be her one and only. Is it possibly to be a ukulele player and have just one uke?
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I know many with just 1 ukulele; but they don't play much. I think $500 can get a very good quality ukulele, especially in soprano size; why does she want a tenor?
 
Joyful Uke said:
Just curious. Is the main use of their one uke to join in the group activity?

I wonder if those with more than one ukulele are more likely to play fingerstyle, play on their own or with a very small group of others, (where you can hear the individual ukulele better), vs. taking part in a group of 60+ players.

Might be one difference, though there are so many reasons why we might make the choices that we do regarding how many ukuleles to own.
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I think this is a good point. In a club scene of course the majority are attracted by the communal experience of making music (which is rather stating the obvious). Most in that scene may progress beyond their starter uke to something they regard as better quality or better suited in size but once they have that instrument it is all that they need to fulfill their needs. Singing is an equal if not more important component of that experience. The Uke is to provide accompaniment. It's the minority in the club scene who are either collector types or want to explore different musical forms with other variants of the instrument. Maybe the fact that I can't sing for toffee is what is part of what attracts me towards exploring the ukulele as an instrument. My few guitar playing friends (and their friends as far as I know) who either play alone or in small bands are similar and all have multiple instruments.

All of this of course is small number statistics :)
 
ripock said:
If you have one of Rob's tenor's, then you're not missing anything by not having a K-brand. I am a two-uke guy: a Tinguitar and a Kamaka. The Tinguitar completely eclipses the Kamaka. I am essentially a one-uke guy in my heart. I occasionally play the Kamaka out of a sense of duty and obligation feeling that I should play something with a shrill high G string to pay homage to the tradition.
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That's the collector in me talking. And Rob's already had two instruments out of me :)
 
clear said:
I know many with just 1 ukulele; but they don't play much. I think $500 can get a very good quality ukulele, especially in soprano size; why does she want a tenor?
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She likes that size. I haven't heard from her in several days, so maybe she's having second thoughts.
 
I used to have a lot of ukes when it was my primary instrument for a two-year period. Then I got into mandolin, back to guitar, electric guitar, and even a bass.

I got rid of all my ukes but realized I still needed one so I bought a Kiwaya KTS-7 and that will be my only uke for a while. Only my bass gets less playing time.
 
I had my mainland mahogany concert as my first & only for 3 years...then I gave in...
 
I think it's definitely possible to be a serious, enthusiastic player and have only one. But maybe it depends on how strictly we define "having only one" ukulele. I would consider myself to be enthusiastic, if not serious. And while there are always a lot of ukuleles here in the house, there's only one that I think of as "mine." 9apps

Regards, cartoonhd
 
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There is only one ukulele that matters to me, at any given time - that's the one I'm playing.

Where ukes are concerned, I'm promiscuous.

John Colter
 
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