UAS confusion and the benefit of a "cooling off" period.

mikelz777

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I was at my all-time high of 5 ukes when I got a strong itch to get yet another. I certainly didn't need it and if I scratched that itch I'd be spending north of $400 so I couldn't take that decision lightly. I decided to put myself into a "cooling off" period of undetermined length to see if I really wanted the uke or if it was just a whim or an impulse. Two of my 5 ukes were pure impulse buys. One I bonded with, the other I didn't. To make room for a possible future purchase I sold the impulse uke I didn't bond with.

The next step in my cooling off period was to sell off a bunch of my stuff to see how I felt about the uke when I had the actual cash to buy it in hand. Surprisingly, that only took about a month. Now I had enough to buy it and I still wanted it but..... another uke enters the picture! I saw a resonator uke I suddenly fell in love with. It was beautiful to look at, the sound samples online sounded nice and it was cheaper than the other uke I was looking at. It was also different from everything else I had so it seemed like a logical addition. I was already leaning toward abandoning the other uke but I decided I'd better do some hands on research. First of all, it was a tenor and I'm an all-concert scale guy. I wanted to go into a music store and play some tenors for a while to see if I could get on board with the larger scale. (I sold a tenor years ago that I didn't bond with but it was mostly due to looks and feel of the uke itself.) I also hoped to play a resonator uke to see if I liked it. I played several tenors and decided that the scale wouldn't be a problem. They did have a concert reso so I was able to play that too. It was just OK. It wasn't really lighting my fire. I didn't dislike the sound but I didn't like it enough to want to buy one. It looked like the reso was out and the other uke was back in.

While I was there I tried out some sopranos just for the heck of it. Early on in my ukulele journey I had rejected sopranos as being too small for me to play comfortably. Today was different. With several years of experience under my belt, the sopranos were easier and more comfortable for me to play. I didn't know what I was missing! Now this trip to the music store has me browsing the internet for sopranos!


I guess the lesson in this story is that UAS is an insidious thing and it evolves over time. What we think we want and have to have today may be something totally different tomorrow. Now I have to put myself into a soprano cooling off period to make sure this isn't just another impulse thing!
 
I know exactly what you are talking about. I’m in the phase of letting go my tenor size ukulele as I have confirmed I’m not a tenor scale player. I went through a long phase of visiting store to play different tenors and eventually really thought I can work with a tenor ukulele. So I went ahead and bought a mid high level tenor which is the Enya in my sig.

But I’m more of a chord melody guy and some songs really need my fingers to stretch beyond my physical limit on a tenor scale. So I’m letting go of it but it means I’m making room for either a soprano or concert. This will kick start another round of UAS. So my max ukulele number is at 4 and the first 3 are firmly occupied by the Martin S1, Martin C1K and plus the Eddy Finn hog soprano which is my work place ukulele.

My UAS subsided a lot ever since I got myself a copy of Jake Shimabukuro’s Grand Ukulele. There are plenty of amazing songs inside which I wish to learn. I’m still working at the first piece only. And I really realised my ukuleles are in fact, of very excellent build and playability. There isn’t a need for a better ukulele to play a Shimabukuro piece. The only lacking part is my skill level which I need to work hard on it, so that I can properly reproduce the song.
 
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Some sage advice. I think a lot of us have convinced ourselves that "x" is the perfect ukulele and either impulse buy it, or think about it for a while and there's at least a 50/50 chance we change our mind. I try to give myself a 7 day period to think over most purchases (of any kind, not just ukes) before I place the order (at least 24 hours for smaller impulse purchases). A lot of times when I break this rule, I end up regretting my purchase.
 
I ran out of money before I ran out of UAS, so I started enjoying the ukes I have. Amazingly, they now seem to fit what ever style or music I choose to play, its like they have been imbued with a magical quality while I was asleep.

Great advice. Plus there are string changes and setup that make an existing ukulele even better.

John
 
On the flip side:

I caught UAS because I found that each ukulele (all tenors) I bought sounded and played a little different from the others. I wanted to try different woods and brands to see what I liked. I don't play well enough for a few minutes in a store to tell me much about longer playing time with the instrument.

I also tried a cooling off period for some of the ones I purchased. Which worked better with new instruments, but not with used ones. Several times I had tenors bought before I moved on it.

So I have a few covets I want that I will move quickly on. Others I will quickly research and read the listing and photos very carefully—then move.

We who hesitate... And all that.
 
I feel like I have a form of UAS where I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at ukuleles to buy. But I do have one thing going for me. First, it takes me a month to buy something, anything. I just hardly ever buy something on impulse. I feel like the excitement comes from the anticipation, and if I buy it the anticipation is gone. So I tend to look at it for a month stretching out that anticipation for as long as I can. But then something else comes along and I decide I want that one more. Luckily for me, there is no shortage of ukuleles out there to make me forget about what I've been looking at want something else before I buy it. So I'm in this constant state of I'm gonna buy it next week, or in the fall, or get it for Christmas.
 
I feel like I have a form of UAS where I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at ukuleles to buy. But I do have one thing going for me. First, it takes me a month to buy something, anything. I just hardly ever buy something on impulse. I feel like the excitement comes from the anticipation, and if I buy it the anticipation is gone. So I tend to look at it for a month stretching out that anticipation for as long as I can. But then something else comes along and I decide I want that one more. Luckily for me, there is no shortage of ukuleles out there to make me forget about what I've been looking at want something else before I buy it. So I'm in this constant state of I'm gonna buy it next week, or in the fall, or get it for Christmas.

You have UOS - Ukulele Obsession Syndrome. I had that much worse than UAS, but they're both in remission ... for now.
 
I think we are looking for a particular type of uke when we have our UAS - for me, it stopped when I got my long neck concert ukes, one solid acacia, the other solid mahogany - I no longer want any more, & have moved on......




....to harmonicas! :biglaugh::cheers:
 
I am a champion ditherer. I can spend so many months dithering about whether to buy a uke that eventually my poor husband tells me to just go ahead and buy it already. Heh heh heh.
 
I feel like I have a form of UAS where I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at ukuleles to buy. But I do have one thing going for me. First, it takes me a month to buy something, anything.

My thinking is, "He who hesitates is lost." If I see something good in the Marketplace or Reverb, I'm afraid it will be gone if I don't act right away.
 
My thinking is, "He who hesitates is lost." If I see something good in the Marketplace or Reverb, I'm afraid it will be gone if I don't act right away.
I figure there is another one right around the corner.
 
"He who hesitates is lost" is the reasoning behind one of my pure impulse buys. It also helped that I was sitting on a nice PayPal balance from junk that I sold. (Mostly books and CDs.) It turned out well because it was a spruce top which I didn't have, it was beautiful and it has a wonderful, bright sound. I still have it today and it would be tough to let it go.

I'm still not sure of the reason(s) behind my UAS. I'm not looking for a holy grail. I'm very happy with the sound and the looks of the ukes I have. While it would be nice, I don't aspire to one day own a "K brand" or other high dollar professional level uke. (I can suck on much cheaper ukes! :D) I don't need to own one of every size or every kind of wood or multiple ukes for multiple tunings. My buying history is very modest compared to a lot of people here. I've purchased 7 ukes (2 of which I regret buying) and sold 3 leaving me with my current 4. My lust for a reso has already come and gone. I would have regretted it if I had bought it. My interest in a true soprano is starting to fall by the wayside. I already own a solid mahogany long-neck soprano and in browsing around for sopranos, there's not really anything out there that is so different that I would want it just because it has a soprano scale. Maybe I still want the uke I've had my eye on for some time because it is unique in and of itself and it's different than what I already have. I've been moving on this one like a glacier. It's already been months and it's likely to be several more. I've been kind of setting it up in my mind that I may use that uke as an option for some kind of self reward or celebration of some kind somewhere down the road. In the mean time, I've been enjoying grabbing a different uke among my 4 for each of my playing sessions so that each get equal playing time. (And knock on wood that I've been able to avoid recent impulse buys I would have regretted.)
 
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My thinking is, "He who hesitates is lost." If I see something good in the Marketplace or Reverb, I'm afraid it will be gone if I don't act right away.

Do you believe you must own everything that is good or take advantage of every good deal? What is the worst that can happen if something good gets away?
 
My thinking is, "He who hesitates is lost." If I see something good in the Marketplace or Reverb, I'm afraid it will be gone if I don't act right away.

This is part of what fuels my UAS. There were a few that got away either because they're no longer manufactured or I waited too long on eBay or Reverb. One of those a Rick Turner Compass Rose now has me looking daily for a similar one - cedar topped (mahogany would be nice too). And yes I know about the Spruce top one on the flea market. That one wasn't the one for me.

I think I need to remind myself, it's ok either way. Okay if I get the Ukulele and okay if not. And I need to practice that song from Frozen, "Let it Go.'
 
I stumbled upon this song recently and thought it went well with UAS, at least in some cases for me.

After You Get What You Want (You Don't Want It)
https://www.doctoruke.com/afteryougetwhatyouwant.pdf

:)

-Brett

There's a lot of truth in that song. Sometimes wanting and chasing the object is more exciting than obtaining the object. I actually play and sing this song from time to time. I first heard it on an episode of "Boardwalk Empire" several years ago and worked up a song sheet for it because I liked it so much. It's very well suited for the ukulele.
 
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This is how I discovered the song on Boardwalk Empire. The singer really lays it on pretty thick but I guess I get what she's going for.

 
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