Your First Ukulele and what it meant to you.

CoLmes

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So today I'm moving into my new house with my parents. I was scrounging around boxes of old stuff and I found my first ever ukulele.

It's really weird to think I've been playing for almost 3 years. This little guy was the one that made me fall in love with the uke. There's really no reason I bought it.. I just got a picture one day of me and a ukulele.. figured it be funny to do at parties.

Fast forward and I found myself on Ebay looking for a cheap uke. Actually bought this one for one dollar (plus 25 dollar shipping :mad:) I remember first getting it, never ever played an instrument besides a week stint in 5th grade at trumpet. I opened up Youtube and attempted to try to do tutorials with no avail. Funny thing is I still loved it, even if I wasn't making a real chord...

(i didn;t know you had to tune it until like 3 months in, no joke)

I'd never throw this guy out, he made me make uke a passion. Because of it there's never a day I don't play the uke for hours on end. It's just a lifestyle of mine now, something I love.

How about you guys, what was your first uke and what did it mean for you?
 

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My first uke was a Redwood UK-160 soprano. It was impossible to get it to stay in tune, and a real piece of s**** to play. However it was the uke that got me into playing ukuleles, and i'll never throw it out! Now my kids use it when i jam :D
 
I was VERY lucky. My family gave me money as gifts for birthdays, Christmas etc and I saved it all. Went to Hawaii on a vacation for our aniversary (30th) in Sept 2009 and I was planning on buying my first uke while in Hawaii. My better half, for our anniversary gave me extra money and I had enough to buy a "K" brand. Long story short....I bought a Kamaka Tenor. The shop that sold it made me a deal I could not pass up, especially since I had enough money. That Kamaka is the one I have very special memories for. Even played the uke on the beaches in Maui, can't get any better than that!!
 
A Harmony-Roy Smeck model, with a plastic fingerboard.
Still have it hanging on the wall, my Grandmother gave it to me.
She started me down the long winding road of ukulele & guitar.
Without her my bank account might be bigger, but my life would have a huge void.
I have played many a night with dear friends I would have probably never met without music.
 
Mahalo!

Great thread :)

Mine was a red Mahalo. I brought it home and (having already been a guitarist) was able to play some songs in a few minutes. That was all it took then I was hooked.

So for that reason I'll never get rid of it. It's a reminder of what started this long (and expensive) journey :D
 
My first ukulele was (and still is!) a Lanikai LU-21 Tenor I purchased on Maui about 5 years ago. I took guitar lessons when I was a kid but had not played much in many moons. I wanted to be able to play along with my Hawaiian soon-to-be-wife's family, there is a lot of music always going on in their homes and I figured I could pick it up fairly easily. That was the trip where I asked her to marry me, and she said yes! So that ukulele will always remind me of that trip.
 
This is a Westbrook ukulele it was my mothers she passed away last October well now it's mine this uke has been in our family about 49 years I don't know why mom bought it I don't recall ever seeing her play it me and my sister did as kids but we just made noise with it no music :) anyways I was on you tube watching the little Japanese kid play I'm yours so I picked up moms uke and plinked away at it and I got to thinking this could be fun if I had a better uke now I have 4 functional uke and I'm taking lessons :)
moms uke will most likely stay hanging on the wall
7ebc11a4.jpg
 
It's the little mahogany soprano in my sig. I bought it for $30 on craigslist from some older gentleman 3 miles from me. The strings sucked and the action was high but I made it work. It'll always be the uke I learned to play the leads for undercover lover and drop baby drop on.
 
My first ukulele was a Kala solid mahogany concert I bought at Music Works in El Cerrito, California, in October 2009. I've gravitated more toward tenor scale since then, but I still love the sound of this little guy and I still play it a few times a week.
 
I absolutely hated my first ukulele. My mom wanted me to look like Annette Funicello from the Mickey Mouse Club. So my first ukulele was a plastic Mickey Mouse toy thing that used all the same sized fishing line and *gasp* mouse ears:rofl:
 
sheeeeesh... first uke was 4 yrs ago - had to persuade wife, and bought a bottom line Mahalo - what a mistake!

If I wasnt already a string player (guitar) i'd have given up - it was shockingly badly made - and thats a real bugbear of mine when it comes to instruments - how many kids are put off by crappy instruments

Anyway - I didnt give up, bought a Flea, then a Mainland and now gig with both of them!

As for the poor kids whose parents dont know better - well there is an answer - PARENTS!!!! BUY A MAKALA DOLPHIN!!!!!!!
 
LU-21P, I've only been playing for a week and I'm in love with this little uke.
 
I absolutely hated my first ukulele. My mom wanted me to look like Annette Funicello from the Mickey Mouse Club. So my first ukulele was a plastic Mickey Mouse toy thing that used all the same sized fishing line and *gasp* mouse ears:rofl:

Did it look like this?
cbwayback.jpg

.........and no I don't still have it. That was 52 years ago!
 
Mine was a plastic islander, long gone....and no pictures just memories....shucks
I wish I was as lucky as CB56.....
 
Did it look like this?
cbwayback.jpg

.........and no I don't still have it. That was 52 years ago!

Great picture.

My first uke was a Mainland Classic Mahogany Concert that I got a few months ago. I enjoy that instrument so much I just fell in love with ukes and now spend about 2 hours a night researching more uke purchases hoping to have a gaggle of ukes I love. Right now I'm trying to decided between getting a new Mainland, a KoAloha, an MP, or a Mya-Moe, or maybe even a Boat Paddle.
 
Only had one for a few months - what it means to me is I can appreciate music in a new way. I still love guitar, but I already love ukulele equally as it helps me hear songs I've known forever in a way that makes them all feel new again.
 
A Cordoba 25ck that I knew nothing about. I saw it on my local music stores website and immediately went to pick it up. Of course, that was only about a month or two ago, but now I've upgraded to the Kala Acacia and can tell the huuuuuge difference of sounds. I also bought a Mahalo (really cheap from Amazon) about an hour before getting my Cordoba, and good thing I acted on impulse and got the 25ck. The Mahalo is a piece of junk, but my nephew loves carrying it around and saying, "My guitar!"
 
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