Why do Martin Ukes cost so much????

I have a Martin Style 2 Soprano and I love it. It's action is amazing, it's sound is amazing. It's so responsive, easy to play and good looking.

We (my grandson and I) also have a Martin OX, it's action and sound are not of the same caliber as the Style 2 but it's still not too shabby and is a keeper.
 
You've got great ukes. I have a Style 2 Tenor that I love. Play yours in good health!
 
You've got great ukes. I have a Style 2 Tenor that I love. Play yours in good health!

Thanks I almost added a Style 2 Concert but am having arm issues and am trying to play thinner ukes instead.
 
It is my observation that in the past 5 years, in the US Vintage Martins have gone down in price. 4 lovely Martins were just sold for $1999 on the Marketplace.
I sell "rescued" Martins and actually I have no problem with selling them for much less than what they were 10 years ago as they aren't collector pieces, just nice to great playing instruments that will please it's holder.
 
Why do rare, old postage stamps cost so much? They are just small pieces of paper with ink on one side and glue on the other. Crazy, isn't it?

John Colter
 
The market for vintage ukes is a market. The instruments are commodities at the mercy of supply and demand in the market.

But it does not hurt to lament the fact that you cannot afford a particular instrument, it happens to us all.

However, there has to be plenty of low cost used ukuleles on the planet. Mahalo produced its first ukes in 1999, 20 years ago. The old ukes are out there, you just have to find them. In the early part of the century there was a flurry of brands, a lot of them very well built and possibly going to be getting better with age now. So there is no need for despair, just change the target species. In 2020 you may start to clearly see some of these old ukes in markets and charity shops for less than $20. Take a chance and buy one and see how it goes.

Flea Market Music has a bulletin board that goes back to the late 1990s. Its a good resource to research and target a wide range of low cost vintage ukulele. Its still active as well.

The thread was started in 2014 and the last post from the originator seems to be date 2016. It would be interesting to see how the quest for a nice uke ended.

As ever Bill hits the nail on the head. Thanks and I’ll be following some of that advice in due course.

I note Bill’s references to Mahalo and then think of an old one that I had. It didn’t sound great when I got it but was clearly worn from years of gentle use so it must have pleased someone. Some home Luthier effort and better stings improved maters but it fell just short of something I’d really enjoy playing at the Uke Club so I gave it away to another player as a good spare. I still liked it and somehow it had provenance; perhaps I should have kept it as a beater, but trying to help others has a value too ... maybe it will be returned when they don’t need it anymore. Anyway the point is (in support of Bill’s comments) that there are many pre-loved and cared for instruments out there that you can love and enjoy and not all of them have the Martin name on them.

Though I keep an eye out for them Vintage Ukes don’t seem to cross my path. I’ve had several basic Sopranos through my hands, I keep the best ones and sell on the others - buyers always get a really good deal in the form of a much improved Uke at a fraction of the cost it should be for the time and materials put into it. Strangely (counter to all expectations and commonly perceived wisdom) the Uke I currently love most, after working on it to bring the best out in it, is a humble Kala KA-S. It just sings to me, of course there will be something better out there but if past experience is any guide then the route to it is almost certainly via many that are worse regardless of price.

Edit. For what it’s worth check a Uke by listening to the plucked open C string and the plucked A string fretted at the twelfth fret - it took me years to discover that. That test tells you whether it has bass response, whether it has treble response and whether it has sustain, do it with known good strings that have settled in.

Why do Martins cost so much? Well I don’t doubt that a lot of it is down to the company still being in business and still marketing its brand very successfully. Of course the product basically just works very well too and for that it’s the case of the plumber’s $100 bill: $1 to hit the pipe and $99 for the knowledge and years experience needed to know the right place to hit it.
 
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Because everyone will think you are cool because you play a Martin.;)
 
And Martins are the only sopranos that don’t get the ‘You should try a concert or tenor because sopranos are to small’ treatment. Somehow those magical Martins are great for any and all ukulele players. That alone is worth a few extra hundred. ;)
 
Because Cliff played one.
In the end he played a tenor - even to the end in the nursing home.
Now he may have just played what he could get (and there certainly wasn't the choice we have now; maybe he would have gone with a Kala sponsorship), and it's what he did with it that counts. BUT this far down the track there is some intangible value to honoring the past - especially when playing old songs.
Hard to put into words but I feel good playing my 50's Martin tenor and strumming an old toon.
I'm sure it'll be in my bony hands when I pass...

Cliff+Edwards with tenor.jpg
 
I have a 2018 all-mahogany Martin 1T IZ tenor. It sold for about $1700 new. I like it. It sounds rally good, and it is loud. Really projects. Easy to play.

Is it better than my 2016, all-Koa Kamaka HF-3 100th Anniversary tenor that cost about $1400 new? It sounds really good. It has a full, rounded & sophisticated sound. It isn't quite as easy to play as the Martin. But not by much. (For me to play, YMMV.)

The Kamaka sounds great with Living Waters Low-G strings. The Martin did not. The Martin sounds great with Low-G Fremont Blacks Medium strings. The Kamaka, not so much. They sound and play differently. They are both commemorative models. Both are beautiful instruments. Both are handmade in the USA. (Whatever that means. Both companies use automation for some parts and processes.)

Both companies capitalize on their brand names. You pay a premium for those brands.

Is the Martin worth $300 more than the Kamaka? I personally don't think so. But that is strictly my personal opinion. I think they are pretty comparable in quality. I like the sound of both of them. I play both of them regularly.

PS: The Kamaka hard case is much nicer than the Martin gig bag.
 
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No question, both are beautiful and well made instruments. My experience has been that Martins seem to hold their value more than other brands. Of course, that means nothing if you don't try to sell them.

Play Both in good health!
 
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