Cordoba vs. Who?

CueFilmMusic

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I've had a Luna mahogany tattoo concert uke for a couple years - $100. It's been great.
I decided to upgrade with the local Guitar Center - so I can return one if I didn't like it easily without wasting $20-$30 for shipping return costs.
I went with a Cordoba TK25-CE tenor and got it for $320 during Labor Day + price matching (thought that was a good price). While I have noticed it sounds clearer and sharper than the Luna, I wasn't blown away by it immediately and need to record it.

Are there other brands that people like in the $350 range that GC may carry in case I'm not happy with the sound? I like the idea of a pickup, but I only write music in my home studio, so my theory for that is that I have a pickup and then mic it - rather than 2 mics.

Guitar center doesn't have a lot of options in that range, and I originally wanted a Kala, but only because of the sound the band Sleeping at Last gets from theirs.

Thanks!
 
I don't know which other brands you could find there, as I haven't dealt with GC. Although I've heard they either carry, or can order, the Martin C1K concert, and I would think, the T1K tenor as well. However, I'd recommend a string change on the Cordoba first. New and/or different strings work wonders on many instruments! What sound quality are you looking for? Maybe we can recommend some strings based on what sound you want to hear from that uke. Alas, this could also not work... But string changes are always worth a shot first.
 
In case you hadn't run across this, here's a demo from HMS: http://vimeo.com/24820714

Some decent reviews on this. With solid acacia top AND back (odd) it should sound decent. It's main competition seems to be the Kala, which has Grover tuners and a synthetic bone nut and saddle. The Cordoba's tuners are adequate, but not quite up to Grover's standards and after much prodding, Cordoba admitted the nut and saddle were plastic. I suggest you compare it to the Kala all solid acacia and if you like the Cordoba over it, just install a bone nut/saddle. Grover geared tuners are only about $16 give or take. I had that pickup in a Cordoba 20TM-CE and liked it a lot. I would set my Amp on clean, dial in the uke eq, then use my amp features from there. Good luck.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/kala-ka-asac-t-solid-acacia-tenor.html - they didn't have the cutaway electric model) - more money. Guitar Center does not seem to carry the Kala, at least on their website.
 
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Great, thanks for the feedback already!

Yeah I saw the Martin and I guess the thing that held me back from that was that it didn't have a pickup and was a concert size. Although, I know without a pickup it could potentially mean better workmanship on the instrument.
I'm new to ukes though and thought a tenor would automatically make it a little deeper/richer, but actually the Luna concert I have sounds deeper/warmer, and that actually may be muddier too though, because I can definitely hear the clarity in the Cordoba over the Luna...

I think the "sound" I was thinking it would have would be warm and smooth, not thin and nasally (not necessarily what this one sounds like). I could just be over thinking the sound and also not know too much about how a uke sounds, generally speaking. Let me know if strings are a potential upgrade. I thought the Aquila Nylgut were decent though, at least to my newbie knowledge.
The music I write is for film and commercial, so it could be any style. But generally speaking, I blend modern with classical elements, so, strings, piano, electric guitars, drums, ukelele, banjo, etc...

That tenor review of the Cordobas, http://vimeo.com/24820714, was good. I actually thought the 25TK sounded more warm than the 25TK-CE (which is what I have, with the cutaway/pickup). But let me know your thoughts on the sound.

I have noticed this new one has gone out of tune since I brought it home today, twice. Do new strings and new ukes do that like guitars do - stretch? I don't know where it shipped from, but it's humid here in central IL, so that could be a factor too.

I am probably the worst with buyer's remorse, so if people think this is a good uke, I'll keep it. I just wonder, "What would the ___ sound like?" Unfortunately, the GC here carries ukes under $200, so I wasn't interested in those, and there aren't many more shops nearby.


Here are two songs from Sleeping at Last that made me love ukelele and start using it on any track I can. I love the tone too, he endorses Kala and uses a couple different ones. Live is the Kala KA-MTE-C. His page on them is http://sleepingatlast.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/kala-ukuleles/

Porcelain (this was a custom Kala koa I believe):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGZ763X7Rwg

Slow and Steady (using a Kala KA-MT):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlYCg9veXJ4
 
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