Rating my ukes

Being a uke addict means acquiring a lot of ukuleles. Some people refer to this as UAS (Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome). I definitely have UAS and in the relatively short time I've played the ukulele, I've already bought 15 ukes, 10 of which I still have. Part of my excuse is that there aren't many ukes in Minnesota for me to try, so if I want to try a new uke, I pretty much have to buy it. Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to rank the ukes currently in my possession. I'll rank them in order of preference:

1. KoAloha Pineapple Sunday: My most expensive uke by far. It looks and sounds great. I'd say it sounds like a cross between a mandolin & harp, with a distinctively loud high pitched sound. Easiest playing uke I have. Sound come out of it so effortlessly it almost plays itself.

2. Kanile'a super-soprano: It has the best looking wood (wide curly Koa) of any uke I own. I really love its looks. It has a nice and deep sound for a small uke. Great for Jake Shimabukuro songs.

3. G-String Honu tatoo soprano: Great soprano tone. Very resonant. The entire uke vibrates as you strum it.

4. Big Island Ukulele Honu super deluxe concert: The best workmanship of any uke I own. Wide string spacing for easy finger picking. Looks great with distinctive Honu theme.

5. Pono Cedar top tenor: Good looking uke with big sound. Sounds guitar-like to me. I installed a Dean Markley under-saddle pickup in it and it works great.

6. '20's-'30's Martin style 1: Very loud and nice tone. Not as complex of a tone as the G-String but has more bark. Extremely light ukulele. I don't play it much because it only has 12 frets.

7. KoAlana concert: It sounds great. The sound really pops out of this uke. I would have liked it more if it had better workmanship. Pretty rough fretwork overall. Many knockoff-like touches. Still, the sound is hard to beat for the money.

8. Risa uke solid: I got it as a practice uke for occasions where I can't make a lot of sound. I hardly play it. Kind of strange to play due to lack of headstock. Too much sustain on some strings when plugged in. I might sell it and get a Bugsgear down the road.

9. Applause soprano (multi-hole): Lots of great features for the money, including compansated saddle. Sounds decent. I don't really like it due to the "V" shaped neck. Feels like my thumb needs to be centered on it or it would slide off.

10. Maccaferri Islander: Well, it's a nice novelty uke. Doesn't really sound that great and only has 12 frets, so I rarely play it. I strung it with some KoAloha blue strings and it looks pretty cool.

I'm adding at least one custom ukulele into the collection next year. Since I already have too many ukes, it means some of the above ukes have to go. It probably make sense to work from the bottom up. Anyway, I hope this has been slightly interesting for anyone who has read it.