Is it just me?

Actually, there are lots of perfect ukuleles around. But they are only perfect in specific circumstances. Although some come close, no uke is truly perfect at everything. They are always best at something in particular. These may create conflicts.
1) A linear tuned instrument can do things a reentrant tuned uke can't. Chords sound different with some better one way or the other. Also reentrant sounds much better if you like claw hammer.
2) Do you prefer to play lead or chords? Fingerstyle or with a pick?
3) Some songs sound better with a smooth warm jazzy tone, others with a bright, zippy tone.
4) You probably don't want to take your $3000 custom uke out camping. Use the $100 laminate for that.
5) A soprano may cut through better for some situations, but a tenor is better for larger hands.
6) Some days you might just want to play a koa instead of a maple instrument. Aesthetics count too.

You see. This is just scratching the surface. Plus, ukes are often relatively inexpensive and occupy little real estate in the house. So making additions can be fairly painless, to a point. (But don't tell the wife :).) UAS is real and will always be there.

Good luck with your herd.
 
Yeah, I do tend to be a fickle person by nature. I had a Kanilea, then wanted a Kamaka, then wanted a KoAloha, and so it goes. I have one or two ukes that are quite beautiful but are not my favorite to play (one just needs the action adjusted but I haven't gotten around to getting it done) and I have another that sounds great but is not quite as pretty to look at. I admit fully to being susceptible to eye candy.

I always felt a Moore Bettah was the perfect combination of sound and beauty. If I had one of those, it would be the one uke to rule them all. I am not sure if I would sell off all the others, or keep them. Maybe I would keep one (probably the KoAloha tenor) as a backup uke and sell the rest.

Otherwise though, my other ukes are always going to be great instruments, but not "the one." Hence, my UAS remains unabated.
 
First try changing the strings. Fresh strings, or a different brand, can make a big improvement.

Good tone is subjective. Maybe you're developing a preference for a different ukulele sound or feel. I don't think "The One" exists. It's about the one that inspires and delights you at this moment in your musical development.
 
BigD said:
Is it just me or is there never an end to trying to find the perfect ukulele? I havent had nearly the exposure as some of you, most of you probably, but i just seem to be unhappy with my ukes recently. My go to uke, my cheap (not a bad thing) makala tenor is just not what it used to be in my ears. Itll always have a special place but i dont know if my ears have developed or what but its just not there anymore. I also just received a very nice solid koa tenor by trade from another member ( he was awesome to work with by the way, truly upheld the nature of this site) and im still not happy. Its a great uke, very bell like but still warm, looks fantastic. AND IM STILL NOT HAPPY!! it just doesnt feel right in my hands and i cant pinpoint it, to the point where ill more then likely post it for trade soon, which is a shame because its exactly the look i like. How many of you exchange ukes on a regular basis? How many of you have found " The One" and you could go without another your whole life? Im also not in any way rolling in the dough by any means so its hard to finance these kind of things but it truly bothers me till no end.
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It's a sad fact of life ....like with guitars ...you don't choose ...the uke chooses you.....you will pick one up and it will just be ....and that's it.....

penn'orth.
 
One of the downsides to having so many uke-related resources available online these days is that uke players are starting to sound like guitar players who over-think everything about their instruments to the point where they don't spend any more time actually playing music. :uhoh: As informative as this forum is, reading countless posts about strings, nut widths, bracing patterns, neck thicknesses, tonewoods, and other things that can't be summed up by a bunch of adjectives on the internet is going to make you neurotic and you will dwell on all of these details and always want something else. It's the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. One of my good friends (a guitarist) does this all the time, and I've never seen someone buy and return/resell guitars/pedals/amps so fast because they don't feel right and they don't match the sound in his head. I'm convinced that the sound in his head doesn't exist in any single piece of equipment.

It sucks if you don't live near a couple of good music stores and can't try out stuff before you buy it, but unfortunately you won't know for sure what you'll be happy with unless you try it first. And it might be a nearly-endless cycle of buying stuff off the internet and unloading it.

If you're really unhappy with what you have, your best bet is to track down stuff you're interested in and try it out any way you can before you buy. Meetups with other UUers are great for trying stuff out because most people here are super nice. Don't unload your ukes yet, because you might end up liking what you have better than everything else out there!

And who knows? "The one" might just not exist for you and you'll have to settle for having a couple of ukes that still make you happy. That's never a bad thing!
 
It's very, very, common and rooted in a couple of things. First, as you play your ear will improve (and it will improve faster if you're playng instruments that intonate properly, BTW). Anyway, you run into very real limitations of lower end instruments. You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good instrument but you do have to know what you're looking for and sometimes that just takes experience. Also, if you have the fortune to spend on a really good instrument your chances of finding it to be adequate or even "the one" are much better than with an inexpensive instrument - in essence, you are trading money for reduced frustration. Again, spending money isn't the only answer, nor is it foolproof - you can easily throw money at the wrong "solution." But, if you have the money and you really want to get good..spend some money.

Another thing though is that often we want a shortcut to being a good player. I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but there aren't any. Years ago I used to joke that I kept buying guitars because I was looking for the one that would make me a better player. Then, I had a custom guitar built. It did make me a better player but largely because it was so good that I realized all the limitations I'd been complaining about on my other guitars were actually just poor technique. I saw this because when I picked up the guitar at the builder's shop he was playing flawless ZZ top covers on it while it sounded like crap in my hands (by comparison, anyway). That experience was actually worth the price of the custom guitar because I stopped looking outside for excuses and started hitting the old woodshed.

Write this on the inside of your forehead..."if the instrument intonates well then any shortcomings of my technique are the fault of inadequate practice, not the instrument." The action is not "too high" if the instrument intonates well all up the fretboard...it's a physical impossibility...at that point you have to suck it up and realize that wanting to be a good player is not going to make you a good player. Wanting to be a good player so badly that you will make time to spend two or three or four hours a day playing will make you a good player.

Okay...down off my soap box now.

John
 
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haole said:
One of the downsides to having so many uke-related resources available online these days is that uke players are starting to sound like guitar players who over-think everything about their instruments to the point where they don't spend any more time actually playing music. :uhoh: As informative as this forum is, reading countless posts about strings, nut widths, bracing patterns, neck thicknesses, tonewoods, and other things that can't be summed up by a bunch of adjectives on the internet is going to make you neurotic and you will dwell on all of these details and always want something else. It's the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome.
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....oh yeah baby ...this man rocks ....spot on ....hey my uke "stable" consists of a £10.00 Lazy Palm (fantastic sounds you can make with it )....a £60 CK10 concert Ohana (fantastic sounds you can make with it ) and my very old and much loved Banjo Uke ( Yes you guessed) of Uncertain Provenance .......all three are the "one" ...cos they are mine and I love 'em.......
 
I pretty much agree with the last two posts. I over analyze unimportant things because I convince myself they will help me play better. I would love to blame weak technique on the action or strings when it likely is not. I spend a lot of time shopping and dreaming. Like with woman in my youth I wanted to try them all. The only thing I have going for me is that I usually do practice around two hour per day. So it all works out for me. :cool: I accept my weaknesses and strengths and hope I land somewhere in the middle.

To be an average player has always been my realistic goal. I'm not ultra talented and I started playing at almost 61. Not a good start to end up like James Hill. But I have a LOT of fun. So my goals are truly being met so far.
 
Icelander53 said:
I pretty much agree with the last two posts. I over analyze unimportant things because I convince myself they will help me play better. I would love to blame weak technique on the action or strings when it likely is not. I spend a lot of time shopping and dreaming. Like with woman in my youth I wanted to try them all. The only thing I have going for me is that I usually do practice around two hour per day. So it all works out for me. :cool: I accept my weaknesses and strengths and hope I land somewhere in the middle.

To be an average player has always been my realistic goal. I'm not ultra talented and I started playing at almost 61. Not a good start to end up like James Hill. But I have a LOT of fun. So my goals are truly being met so far.
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...As Inspector Callaghan says " a Mans gotta know his limitations " and then you can work on them ....and two hours a day will get help get 'em sorted ...and that "LOT of fun" is worth loads...

Cheers
 
I think it's possible to over analyse both ways though. I mean, it's not always a bad thing if someone flips between a lot of ukes as long as one incredibly important thing applies: it gives them pleasure!

I think for some people there's a buzz in lusting after different instruments, looking at pictures, the exciting opening of the box etc. It's no different to having lots of expensive shoes or clothes. You don't need them all but sometimes it sure is nice to get them.
 
KnowsPickin said:
Actually, there are lots of perfect ukuleles around. But they are only perfect in specific circumstances. Although some come close, no uke is truly perfect at everything. They are always best at something in particular. These may create conflicts.
1) A linear tuned instrument can do things a reentrant tuned uke can't. Chords sound different with some better one way or the other. Also reentrant sounds much better if you like claw hammer.
2) Do you prefer to play lead or chords? Fingerstyle or with a pick?
3) Some songs sound better with a smooth warm jazzy tone, others with a bright, zippy tone.
4) You probably don't want to take your $3000 custom uke out camping. Use the $100 laminate for that.
5) A soprano may cut through better for some situations, but a tenor is better for larger hands.
6) Some days you might just want to play a koa instead of a maple instrument. Aesthetics count too.

You see. This is just scratching the surface. Plus, ukes are often relatively inexpensive and occupy little real estate in the house. So making additions can be fairly painless, to a point. (But don't tell the wife :).) UAS is real and will always be there.

Good luck with your herd.
Click to expand...

This is how I feel about the topic as well, when I first started playing I had several poor instruments and now I own several good instruments, not necessarily expensive but good clean tone and good intonation, that criteria is what I find to be the most important to me. After that I judge by neck play-ability and sometimes if the neck does not feel good to me, i will pass on the instrument regardless of how good it sounds. if I'm not comfortable playing it, it will show up in the music. A wise man told me this when I first started and now that I've been playing for a while its very true. If your not comfortable with your instrument it will take away from the experience.

Now a days instead of me looking for 'better' I end up looking for 'different'. Once you reach a certain level where an instrument is not crap, "better" becomes subjective. Add in the mixture of different tunings and different strings and brands, you end up with a never ending game haha. If you can play just one instrument and be happy with it, thats awesome, but finding the "one" does not exist for me, far too many unique sounds out there for me to stick to one stringed instrument.
 
This thread reminds me of a quote from a guitar forum I used to lurk a bit on.

"Every person who has ever picked up a guitar will spend the rest of their lives searching for the perfect tone that will shooting jizzing unicorns riding rainbows out of the amp"

And I agree. Thankfully I'm skint, so I'll never have to go through constantly changing instruments searching for satisfaction. My Dolphin served the purpose of getting me into the instrument, now my Korala is doing the job of letting me be taken a bit more seriously at open mics, as well as sounding a lot better. That'll do me for now, I could perhaps do with a second concert so I can have one re-entrant, one Low-G but in reality that'd just be a luxury. If the time comes when I'm doing 'proper' gigs and my set list calls for different tunings then that'll be when I take the plunge.
 
This is a great thread with some excellent posts and different points of view. I think there is some validity in trying different ukes till you figure out the size you like, the neck width and profile and the sound, ie bright and loud or something more soft and mellow. Then you can start to narrow down your search.

I apprieciate the comments about changing strings and giving them ENOUGH time to settle in before making a judgement. As many wise experienced players have pointed out, better skills and technique can make almost anything sound good. At the end of the day it is all about being happy with what you have. True wealth is wanting what you have as opposed to trying to have what you want.

Ok, I am off to the marketplace forum to see what I can luste after :drool:
 
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BigD said:
Is it just me or is there never an end to trying to find the perfect ukulele?
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Nope. It's a journey, not a destination.

And don't even suggest that ukulele players are attention-deficit and fickle... ooooo! shiny!
 
Wow! Three Canucks replies in a row. I have three inexpensive ukes. Each with a specific purpose. My Makala soprano for my backpack on my bike rides by the river. My Oscar Schmidt OU 2 concert mahagony laminate everything. A very nice size and tone for the armchair playing. And my Oscar Schmidt OU 4 Tenor with laminate everything also, spruce top and rosewood back and sides. It was too loud for me so I made a little rosette for the sound hole. It is my favourite now. One of each size. I am contented. I think that is the secret of life. If we are healthy and contented. Jim
 
1931jim said:
Wow! Three Canucks replies in a row. I have three inexpensive ukes. Each with a specific purpose. My Makala soprano for my backpack on my bike rides by the river. My Oscar Schmidt OU 2 concert mahagony laminate everything. A very nice size and tone for the armchair playing. And my Oscar Schmidt OU 4 Tenor with laminate everything also, spruce top and rosewood back and sides. It was too loud for me so I made a little rosette for the sound hole. It is my favourite now. One of each size. I am contented. I think that is the secret of life. If we are healthy and contented. Jim
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I agree. Actually from a practical standpoint, from my perspective as a kick around at home player and with the occasional friend, laminates if well made are all one would actually need. If they played well they would sound very nice/

However I enjoy the process of shopping for ukes and then trying them out and upgrading here and there. Most of the time that is. When you get that less than expected uke and you wait too long and can't send it back it can leave you feeling sour. That's why your perspective is ultimately best imo. I just can't seem to manage it in this lifetime.
 
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Olarte said:
In the end it's not about the instrument or you, but about the music. In the same manner as a painting there is no one perfect brush...
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True. However, and also true, you need an instrument that you resonate with (pun intended), and you just don't bond with some instruments. With others, even if you bonded at some point, in time you move on from them. It's the nature of life to evolve, and it's time we got used to it. 'Cause it's gonna happen whether we likes it or not. :D
 
The secret to finding the perfect ukulele is actually quite simple.

First: Start with a million dollars....

Second: Buy ukuleles.

Third: Start over with another million dollars....
 
This issue is common with pretty much any instrument. At least, any of the instruments I have tried playing.

Other people have covered the topic pretty well, so I will just add this: I have tried out and bought a reasonable number of guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, etc. over the years and have never found the "perfect" instrument -- one that plays effortlessly and sounds amazing for everything. I eventually concluded that is because there is no such instrument. Playing effortlessly and sounding amazing are, IMHO, mostly the product of the player's ability rather than the instrument. Particularly with acoustic instruments. That's not to say the instrument doesn't matter; just that, again IMHO, most people will get better results practicing than they will doing the revolving door routine.

I understand shopping for and occasionally buying new instruments is fun and exciting, and I fully encourage it. But it can become an obsession to the detriment of the player's development if the player is convinced that everything will be right once the one perfect instrument is found. Because it never will be.
 
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