Ukulele Addiction Syndrome (UAS) is a very real problem for many ukulele players. The different sizes, multitude of shapes and materials makes it hard to decide what you like best. Add in the very different tones and sounds produced by the different woods and materials makes it even more difficult to choose an instrument.
Each of these will become the subject of a separate blog post here, hopefully complete with a sound sample video.
Here is a portion of my collection, past and present. Many of these can be seen in my YouTube videos about my instruments.
My Ukulele Collection – Part Dieux
Ever since I had the Lyon & Healey repaired by David Talsma (pictured further down below) I’ve wanted one of his instruments. I finally picked it up the end of October six years ago.
 You can see the full progression of the build here: Talsma Custom Build Sequence.
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The features include:
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Yes, I own another Talsma! Dave put this together with spare parts and offered it for sale and I jumped on it. I didn’t have a pineapple in my collection! Check out the unboxing video at: Talsma Unboxing
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Traditional Sunburst
Soprano – Laminate My first ukulele, obtained through eBay. It arrived with just three strings on it and they were gut. I always thought it was probably a Harmony from about the 1950’s. Recently another person was able to connect it! It was made by Harmony, but was purchased by the Richter Company in the 1940’s. Fred Richter was an artist and would decorate them with custom painting and stencils such as this. I immediately put a set of Martin nylon strings on it. Currently I have restrung the instrument with gut strings, giving it a real vintage feel and sound. Video of the Gut Strings on my YouTube channel. |
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| My first brand new ukulele was this Lanakai. I purchased it from Amazon using a gift card I had won from a WikiAnswers.com AnswerThon contest. I was a bit disappointed with the knot in the wood on the soundboard, but I’m sure that was the reason it was sold the way it was, no one in the shop would have purchased it, but when you do it by mail order, you get the “actual instrument will vary” bit and “wood is a varied substance and no two are alike.” And I’ve decided that the Tenor is a bit larger than I really like, and prefer the concert size. |
I used this instrument on the Paul McCartney Tribute Video collaboration I was honored to participate in. Lanikai Tenor – LU-21T |
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 Lyon & Healy Catalog entry:
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This was given to me without a bridge. I wasn’t sure what I had and asked Dave Passant what to do with it. He recommended taking it to Dave Talsma for repair. Dave did a great job replacing the bridge and cleaning it up. He took this picture to show me the results. Check out his amazing craftsmanship at Dave Talsma Instruments. This really sounds great!
Lyon & Healy – Washburn 702 Soprano Martin Strings Nyssa wood is pear wood. The sides and back are three ply and the top is solid. The Washburn name has been sold several times and is now used by the Oscar Schmidt Company for their ukulele line. This is my go to standard ukulele for when I’m looking for that traditional bright and high ukulele sound. |
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Martin – Style 2 Standard 1930 + or minus 4 years Grover No 94 Simplex tuners used on the Style 2 from 1927 to 1937. Back stamp on head. Range is from 1927 to 1934. Has a couple of long cracks on the back that I will have to get taken care of, but still sounds a treat! |
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This is the first ukulele I purchased from a shop. We had been able to cash some vacation days out and I wanted to buy an instrument that I got to play before I purchased it. After consulting with John Pak (paxukulele) and Ken Middleton (Living Water Strings) two of my earliest ukulele influences, I put together my list of wants. I worked through the available instruments on the Elderly Instrument’s web site. When the counterman brought up the first three on the list, he had a fourth box, and said it had just come in and hadn’t been set-up yet. Inside was this beauty and I fell in love immediately! |
Ohana – SK35-GS Concert size – Gloss finish I use this one for teaching kids’ classes |
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Enya Carbon Fiber Travel Ukulele Concert Picked this up for my new lake life! Something that won’t be messed up with a bit of water. Purchased through Amazon. Included gig bag. |
Ammoon Electric
Concert Has a head phone jack so I can practice quietly or blast it through my amps. Purchased through eBay. Included gig bag. |
Eleuke
Concert Bluetooth – FB Marketplace Included gig bag. |
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The Bushman Jenny
Concert
This was the first instrument I dreamed of, after seeing the contest and entering in the hopes of getting a prize to put against buying one. Just recently got this used, as Bushman no longer deals in ukuleles.
FB Marketplace. |
Gold Tone Reverberator
Concert |
Gold Tone Little Gem Banjolele
Concert |
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KiwiCo Ukulele Kit Bought this after watching Adam Savage put one together on his Tested channel. Easy assembly, all flat parts and everything you need, including the tools, is provided in the kit. |
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S. Yairi Standard In the Fall of 2019, I took a trip to Okinawa with a couple hundred good friends. Picked up this Japanese made uke for less than $90, pretty great instrument for the price. Came with a gig bag. |
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Kohala Baritone
I rescued this from a pawn shop. It only had 3 strings on it and there is a ding in the side, but it plays well and I took it as my baritone for MidWest Uke and Harmonica Camp in 2022. Had the strap buttons put on there as well. Came with a light blue gig bag. |
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Badaax
Soprano – Acoustic-Electric I was blown away by this little gem. For under $40 you get a very nice instrument. And it has a pick-up and adjustments on it! Often take this as a loaner when teaching. |
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| Banjolele – Unknown make and model. Purchased in a lot of two instruments that needed work on eBay. I obtained a new bridge, a new set of tuners and new strings. After a lot of elbow grease cleaning it up, I sold the instrument on eBay and used a video to drum up sales, which you can view at Five Foot Two on YouTube.
NO LONGER OWNED |
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The project set I purchased on eBay. The one on the right is the one above. The Capital is on the left in both pictures. |
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| Capital Banjolele – The other instrument purchased in the set of two. Some of the j-hooks had to be replaced as well as the tuners and bridge, so it is a mish mosh of parts and time frames. The fret makers are actually little stickers that can be removed easily.
NO LONGER OWNED |
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Fluke – Lava Black
Aquila Nylgut Purchased from eBay, I had heard lots of good things about these instruments. The biggest deal was that they were rated to sound as good as instruments that cost a great deal more. I’ve taken this to the West coast with me and often take it to picnics and outdoor type events. |
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| This was another eBay purchase. It was really inexpensive and I got it for minimum bid. I think the shipping cost more than the actual instrument.
Jisheng or Shojing – Giant Tenor (Baritone) – Made in Guangzhou, China. Aquila Nylgut strings. |
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Kala KA-15S
Soprano Purchased this on Craig’s List. Solid mahogany top with a really nice sound. It has a set of GHS strings on it. It is the soprano sized instrument that I play the most and hangs on the table beside my chair in the living room. |
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| Luxor Prince Banjolele
Actually made by Globe, these were sold under the label Horenstein & Sons Co., New York in 1929-30. I got it as a project instrument from eBay. The new tuners and bridge were easy to obtain. Finding a tail piece that would work was more of a challenge. Everything I could find was designed for the j-hook design. I finally spotted one I thought would work on a modern instrument and was able to purchase one. I had to make a slight modification to get this one to work, but it sounds great! |
The top picture is how the instrument arrived.
The bottom is how it looks today. |
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| Bought this used from a friend, mainly because it was koa, and despite all of the instruments I have, this is the only koa wood ukulele that I own! He gave it up as he has a couple of custom instruments that he plays now. Came with the case, too!
Lanakai Concert South Coast Strings This sits in a stand next to the desk in my home office and gets played most work days. |
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Picked this up from a friend who basically gave it to me for a cup of coffee. It has some issues, the bridge popped off, but it has been re-glued, however, it left a few missing splinters, so it doesn’t look very good. It plays just fine!
Soprano About 1960 |
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My birthday present a couple of years ago! I’ve used this on stage at Shine at our church and a couple of other gigs when I have to be amped.
Epiphone – Les Paul Concert Acoustic-Electric – Passive pick-up. |
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This is a Silvertone ukulele, probably from the early 60’s. It had some condition issues and the head and neck have been rebuilt, so the logo is missing. It sounds pretty amazing considering the challenges it has had! The instrument came with the case and was purchased at an ukulele garage sale. Yes, a garage sale with nothing but ukuleles!
Silvertone Baritone Aquila Nylgut |
Note – Silvertone is the Sears brand made by the Harmony Company, which Sears purchased in 1917. The founder, William Schultz, worked for Lyon & Healey for 7 years before leaving to launch Harmony. |
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Custom ‘Stick’ – Tenor Electric – Aquila Nylgut strings – Purchased through eBay. This has no sound box, just an extension with a pick-up in it. The neck is a bit wide, but it makes only a little noise when played without an amp, which can be good for practicing when you don’t want to bother other people or call attention to yourself. The action is high, but it came with full instructions on how to adjust it. I was pleased to receive the gig bag as well! |
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Woodstock Instruments – Sopranino – I did a video review of this instrument. Note how the neck is off center, as is the bridge, and the strings don’t go over the sound hole properly. |
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This 13 foot ukulele is listed as the largest in the World according to The Guinness Book of World Records. It served as the concert stage backdrop for Mighty Uke Day 5 and 6. It is fully playable! |
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I also had a Eddy Finn EF-5-C Concert Ukulele in Mahogany Brown that I purchased on eBay, but it has been sold. NO LONGER OWNED.
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Picked this up at Target! It is a sopranino size, the distance from bridge to nut is ten inches and a full 12 frets!. Additional instruments that I need to get pictures of and post. They include among others a Style 1 1920’s Martin(Blog post and YouTube video), a pocket ukulele, a Talsma pineapple (See video on YouTube), and an Aklot (reviewed on the blog pages). |
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