How do you determine that your current instrument is holding you back?

I feel like the answer to this has to be something like "there is some identifiable physical aspect to the ukulele's construction (coud be a defect or simply too big or small for you) that hinders your ability to operate the instrument the way it was designed to be operated."
 
I think some are missing one of the points. Nine times out of ten, it isn't about necessity. I am saving up for a baritone that will cost more than a used automobile. Will a cheap Lanikai do the trick? I guess it could. But do I want it? No. Not having my sweet ass baritone is holding me back. Is it all in my head? Certainly. But my head is attached to my fingers which play the arpeggios. It is a package deal. So I have to give the head what it wants. And I do that openly instead of telling my head that the pioneers of blues played guitars from the Sear Roebuck catalog.

That’s a helpful set of comments, it’s worth reading a few times. They also made me smile, and particularly so this bit: “Is it all in my head? Certainly. But my head is attached to my fingers which play the arpeggios. It is a package deal.” . There’s a helpful bit of honesty and cuts nicely to the issue .... or should that be issues?

I’ve always practised but these days the amount of time spent practicing has increased, it’s quite surprising how much better sounding the output of a Uke - and any other instrument - gets if you put in the time practising (and get the anticipated improvement in skill). The video of Jake, in Rick Olsen’s post above, really says it all.

Of course we’re all slightly different and if someone really does need to spend relatively big bucks on an instrument to motivate them to practice then that’s, I think, their misfortune. Personally I find that a well set-up basic instrument allows me to sound reasonable and that my Ukes always sound better again when played by someone more skilled than me. Indeed the classic ‘acid test’ is: what does your instrument sound like when played by someone who is noticeably more skilled than you?

Whatever, enjoy what you play and play what you enjoy. Joy is what it’s all about.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tm3
One thing that can hold one back is having only one uke. Having some variety can be very inspiring, I have long neck soprano beach uke, re-entrant concert, fifths concert, linear tenor, and six string tenor. Figuring out which one makes any song sound best is fun.
 
Hi all, lot's of good points being made here. I would just like to add that it's always nice to have an instrument that is pleasurable to look at (so you pick it up more often) and that sounds great even just playing open strings- a good instrument inspires me to be a better player in order to be worthy of it (this is the story I tell myself to assuage UAS guilt anyway). As @ripcock says, it's all in the head and the head informs the hands.
 
I feel like I can contribute to this conversation! I just started my uking voyage around 9 months ago. Started not knowing what to buy and what I was doing, and got a cheap Alvarez soprano from eBay. Enjoyed it for a few months, felt that it was holding me back due to the smaller size and toyish sound.

I then found a Lanikai CKCGC concert on Craigslist for $140, seemed like a logical step up and enjoyed that for a good 6 months. Learned a lot of great songs, learned a great deal about fingerstyle and different string types and how they affect sound and feeling of the uke. Again, feeling like I was a bit limited by the size, but mostly that those I saw online shredding in the way I wanted to were playing on instruments very different from my own (solid body tenors from reputable brands, exclusively).

Just this week finally spoiled myself with a cedar top acacia body tenor deluxe Pono from HMS that I am absolutely loving.

I can say every step of the way I was in some way limited by what I was playing. But I don't think I really understood that until I made the next step upward.

Fortunately for us, the resale on mid to high end instruments is quite good. I could resell this Pono today and make 90% of what I spent on it back. Meanwhile, buy a new car, electronics or numerous other things and you lose 40% as soon as you buy it.

The Buddhist in me says be content with what you have, and learn skills necessary on more humble equipment. But we all know that when you have pride in what you have, that you spend more time with it and really enjoy the journey more. And we do only live once :)
 
Oh and another point that was true for me, and may be true for you as well. Size definitely limits you also. I know now that I play the best on a tenor neck due to the spacing of frets, girth of the neck and spacing of the tuners from the first fret. Soprano limits me severely.
 
If this chord is impossible to play, your nut may be holding you back, more than your entire instrument.

g sharp 7 uke.png
 
I think we definitely have to find a balance and be honest with ourselves when it comes to upgrading an instrument. Like others have said sometimes you might think getting a big better newer toy will improve your playing but maybe just putting in more practice would be exactly what is needed.
I mean, I cant really talk. I started playing in May and already own three ukes 😂
I started with a cheap concert, then realized I wanted a baritone, got a cheap baritone (which plays beautifully may I add) but a few weeks ago saw a lute shaped baritone and for sheer aesthetic reasons lost my actual mind and bought it. I made a fair few changes already to make it more playable but even simply changing out tuners and strings has made it a vastly better instrument.
I'm sure the day will come when I crave a different sound and will seek another but for now am pretty happy learning to shred the hell out of ones I have.
 
Whenever I think about being held back by a ukulele I listen to what Al Wood of Ukulele Hunt is doing with the Ohana TK-35 he bought ten or twelve years ago. I doubt that I'm being held back by anything.
 
Whenever I think about being held back by a ukulele I listen to what Al Wood of Ukulele Hunt is doing with the Ohana TK-35 he bought ten or twelve years ago. I doubt that I'm being held back by anything.

I think that that’s definitely a wake up call to many of us. Al could play any Uke that he chooses and I have seem videos of him playing some much more expensive instruments. However that ‘mid priced’ Ohana seems to feature in the bulk of what he plays and he has had it for a long time.

It occurred to me that some of my instruments have been holding me back and not because they are inexpensive but because of their common design features. Playing a variety of Ukes has helped me to identify issues. A number of years ago I came across a Uke with a wider neck and wider spaced strings at the nut, that enabled me to move forwards with finding an instrument that better suited me. Nearly a year ago now I purchased a cheap second hand Soprano and have really enjoyed using it for fingerpicking, it sounds good (to me) and it just seems to suit my fingers. Eventually I realised that the string spacing at its saddle is wider than on my other Ukes (it’s about 41 mm g to A which seems to be the old Martin standard).

How do you tell if your instrument is holding you back? H’mm, some things are a difficult to get around obstacle and others are a greater or lesser drag that slows your progress.

What I’ve found and said before is that it isn’t necessarily all about instrument quality and spending loads of money on ‘the best’, putting the practise hours in and good practise makes a big difference - as in other posts it’s what you do with what you’ve got that matters. However, additionally, it’s also really helpful to occasionally tryout and trial other instruments to chance upon and explore what might and does work better for you. For me the Soprano scale is preferable and finger spacing between strings is important, but my current favourite Uke also has strings that are well matched to it and that grab the ear and encourage me to play more ... some things pull you forwards.
 
Last edited:
You know when your current instrument(s) are holding you back when there is a new instrument out there that you can’t get off your mind.

This is assuming there is a reasonable chance you can afford said new instrument. If not, you current instrument is NOT what’s holding you back.
 
The strings on a proper ukulele (or guitar, or ???) are not the same distance above the fretboard for the entire length. They will be closest at the top (the nut) and gradually increase in height above the fretboard as you move down toward the bridge.
As my fingers move towards the bridge they are moving up the fretboard.
 
i don't buy for a second that a particular you will 'hold you back'.

do we all want prettier, more beautiful sounding instruments? of course we do and that is part of the journey each of us will always be on.

i spent the first 6 years of my ukulele days playing a 30 buck mahalo soprano and i learnt so many skills that have been precious to me then and since; i learnt how to hear and play jazz on that instrument, as an example. it didn't hold me back.
 
Last edited:
i don't buy for a second that a particular you will 'hold you back'.

do we all want prettier, more beautiful sounding instruments? of course we do and that is part of the journey each of us will always be on.

i spent the first 6 years of my ukulele days playing a 30 buck mahalo soprano and i learnt so many skills that have been precious to me then and since; i learnt how to hear and play jazz on that instrument, as an example. it didn't hold me back.
Yup. My experience was similar. 28 buck uke played for 5 years. I still love that little guy.
 
Top Bottom