Good Tenor for beginner.

Lucifer

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
Gothenburg Sweden
Have never played an instrument before.

I need some advice on what to buy.

- I know I want a Tenor.
- I know I want something that sounds good, that has good Intonation.
- I don´t know the wood I want, so I will just go on what looks the best! :D
- My price range is maximum $300. Though I am far from made from money, so cheaper is good if I don't really get anything extra with the added pice. It's just that I love quality, how it feels, how it looks, the impression you get from things that you can just tell is quality. And besides, better to pay much once and not have to buy new just because I am not happy with the sound or quality. Though as I saw in another forum thread, maybe it is better to have a cheaper uke in the beginning, like the KA-TE or ST. That way you always have one that you can bring with you, that you don't feel you need to be super careful with. That you can let your friends touch, etc.

I have been thinking a little bit about getting an acoustic electric tenor, is this advisable? Good things with it? Bad things? Mainly I just think it might sounds awesome once I do learn to play something, to fill the whole room with the sound. But maybe it's better for the future? And I do find it a little bit tacky to have a hole with technology put on a beautiful peace of art (though I love technology) ... gaaah I don't know, so many unknowns, so that's why I am asking you uku players!

I have been looking at the Kala KA-ST, but I just can't find it in Sweden where I live.

What I do find is the KA-TE. Is this a good option? How does it compare to the ST? Or is it more like the KA-T in quality? Is it so called laminate, or what?

Otherwise I have been looking at mainland, just beautiful ukuleles.
The most beautiful that I could buy are definitely:
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc;jsessionid=C45D387C6E922EA678709BA851796F23.m1plqscsfapp01?productId=40&categoryId=3
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc;jsessionid=C45D387C6E922EA678709BA851796F23.m1plqscsfapp01?productId=13&categoryId=3

But these are also nice, although not as nice: http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc;jsessionid=C45D387C6E922EA678709BA851796F23.m1plqscsfapp01?productId=95&categoryId=3
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc;jsessionid=C45D387C6E922EA678709BA851796F23.m1plqscsfapp01?productId=10&categoryId=3

Any other suggestions are very welcome, the more the better, sense a lot of the suggestions might not be available for Sweden.

Also, if there is any english stores with international shipping, that sell the Kala KA-ST it would be great to know of these!

BIG thanks in advance!
 
Thread approved and out of moderation queue. Apologies for the delay!
 
Hello again my sailboat friend!
I too was looking for a tenor and as a matter of fact just received it yesterday. Take a look at Koa Pili Koko (KPK) at the below link.
http://pilikoko.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3
I bought the tenor and added the bone nut and saddle for $10 U.S. There are several reviews for this instrument on this site and I made the decision from the many reviews.
The instruments are solid wood, made in China but set up in Hawaii by a gentleman name Jason. The instrument is not fancy but he does offer a Deluxe Tenor for $25 additional U.S. I personally like the plainer look one. I do not know if Jason ships to Sweden but you can contact him through the link above. Even if you got the most expensive it would be below you limit.
I am just getting used to mine and so far I like it very much. It has a very nice sound and is set up by Jason personally with good strings and it does come with a gig bag which is not the greatest but nice to have.
The only negative I could find on this ukulele occurred years ago where some stated that they cracked. I have not heard this occurring recently and hope the issue was resolved. With all solid wood instruments one needs to ensure that they do not dry out and there are humidifiers that can be placed in their case to prevent damage due to dry environments.
I am sure others will have suggestions and I am far from an expert on ukuleles but I feel happy with my KPK currently....but still getting to know her.
Best wishes my friend. LD
 
I have owned a Mainland Mahogany Tenor for 5 years. You can't go wrong with it. I play it a couple hours every day.
You can buy a cheaper one but why? It will be - how do you say, cheaper...

On the subject of amplification, it is personal preference. I don't use a pickup in my uke. I like to use a Shure SM57 microphone when playing out or whatever is there if it is someone else's equipment.
 
As a beginner, my first good instrument was the KPK deluxe tenor (Same one LarryD mentions above) with the bone nut and saddle. I still have it and still love it. The wood is gorgeous, the intonation is very good, and I love the overall sound. For the money, I think it is a very good choice.
 
My father always told me that he couldn't afford cheap things. I agree, although I never played one, the KPK sounds like a winner. If you go to cheap, you will be quickly disappointed and end up with UAS. A term you will become very familiar with. Good luck and enjoy whatever you buy.
 
Google : Hawaii Music Supply, just about the best uke retailer on the planet, they ship world wide. They have a header "10 best tenors under $200.00", with video and audio samples of the ukes being played. I bought my first uke, a tenor, based on the comparisions in that video. That was 6 ukes ago, which leads me into my next piece of advice. Get your first uke without a pick up because if you stick with it you will own more than one.
 
For a $300 budget, I think a Mainland would be my first choice.

Keep an eye on the marketplace here for some good used bargains. fleamarketmusic.com has a FS area, and there's also craigslist for local deals, with the advantage that you can actually try before you buy.

Like cars, most ukes tend to lose some value once you drive them off the lot. Pono might have been out of your original limit, but used, it isn't. Sometimes there are "door dings", or a uke might be pristine.

I wouldn't worry about electronics for now. Down the line you can reconsider that, but for the most part, a cheap uke will have really cheap electronics.
 
As it took a while for this thread (or me) to be approved, i had a lot of time to dig around and find out much more about what I want and don't want. Which was just a good thing. If I would have been able to reemake tgis thread now, it would have been muvh different.

Now I am mainly interested in the Mainland Red Cedar Tenor, since I have heard some negative views on the Mainland Mango. Which is a bummer since it's so beautiful. But I saw a youtube review of the Red Cedar and it just sounded great, and they guy said something about that because of the cedar it sounded a bit like a classical spanish guitar, which is the sound I'm after since I want to play that kind of music, "plucking" the strings, or pulling them or whatever you guys call it. Sounds amazing in my ears.. So the scale is tipping in favour of the red cedar.

But yet again, talking with the guys at mainland, they say that the cedar is one of the woods most prone to cracking. And I live in Sweden where we go from dry summers with +30°C to rainy late summers and automns, and then to cold dry winters with temperatures falling down to -30°C. On top of all that I live in a house heated by a fireplace at winter. It can get pretty hot and dry inside then. They said that Mango is one of the woods that arr less prone to cracking. But he also said that there probably wont be much change to thr sound if cracks, though, ofc no one can know before it has happened. I could go with the mahogany, but at almost the same price and no real idea on which sound i'd like thr most, i might as well go eith the one that looks the best.

So, what to do? What do do..

And now I hear about this other company this koa pili koko that has an even nicer price and yet is all solid and in really nice acasia (spelling?) wood. So now I am lost again.

If pricing was not an issue, should I go with Mainland or KPK? If thr answer is mainland, but we now say that pricing is a little bit of an issue, then do I really gain that much from getting a Mainland?

Is the sound equally as good? Is the build quality equally as good?

Saw another thread about Mainland vs KPK, but that one was about 5 years old, so I guess it's ok to ask all this again :p

Thread approved and out of moderation queue. Apologies for the delay!

Really no problem, as I say above! :)

Hello again my sailboat friend!
I too was looking for a tenor and as a matter of fact just received it yesterday. Take a look at Koa Pili Koko (KPK) at the below link.
http://pilikoko.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3
I bought the tenor and added the bone nut and saddle for $10 U.S. There are several reviews for this instrument on this site and I made the decision from the many reviews.
The instruments are solid wood, made in China but set up in Hawaii by a gentleman name Jason. The instrument is not fancy but he does offer a Deluxe Tenor for $25 additional U.S. I personally like the plainer look one. I do not know if Jason ships to Sweden but you can contact him through the link above. Even if you got the most expensive it would be below you limit.
I am just getting used to mine and so far I like it very much. It has a very nice sound and is set up by Jason personally with good strings and it does come with a gig bag which is not the greatest but nice to have.
The only negative I could find on this ukulele occurred years ago where some stated that they cracked. I have not heard this occurring recently and hope the issue was resolved. With all solid wood instruments one needs to ensure that they do not dry out and there are humidifiers that can be placed in their case to prevent damage due to dry environments.
I am sure others will have suggestions and I am far from an expert on ukuleles but I feel happy with my KPK currently....but still getting to know her.
Best wishes my friend. LD

Yeah that uke looks real nice, guess you just made it even harder for me to decide :p

No but really this might be the right uke due to the price and quality, and acasia! Thx!

I have read some about the humidifiers, but how do they work? Are they expensive? Do you just refill them with water? Do you need batteries?

As a beginner, my first good instrument was the KPK deluxe tenor (Same one LarryD mentions above) with the bone nut and saddle. I still have it and still love it. The wood is gorgeous, the intonation is very good, and I love the overall sound. For the money, I think it is a very good choice.

I have owned a Mainland Mahogany Tenor for 5 years. You can't go wrong with it. I play it a couple hours every day.
You can buy a cheaper one but why? It will be - how do you say, cheaper...

On the subject of amplification, it is personal preference. I don't use a pickup in my uke. I like to use a Shure SM57 microphone when playing out or whatever is there if it is someone else's equipment.

Do any of you guys own both a Mainland and KPK? Anyone like one more than the other, and if so, why?
 
save $100 a month and buy yourself a HF-3 Kamaka in a year...or save up $40 a month and buy yourself a MTD Pono from HMS in a year...somewhere in between should be where you can save...if you are truly hand to mouth...I would keep barking up the tree you currently are...but I have no experience with those. But you might try Gretsch...Islander...etc. I would buy solid and not settle for less. the issue is, imho, are you just buying to get into ukulele? [which is usually the case, but eventually you will want a better one] or are you truly getting into it? [in which case save up and buy once, and be done with it] either way you are destined to get UAS...and the grass is always greener...on the other side.

Good Luck!
 
another one for kpk or mainland -- or for about $350 you could go for the pono at/mt
 
For what it's worth, I'm a beginner uke player and I like my KA-TE a lot. It is a solid first uke that can always be a good backup to higher end ukes that I may get in the future...and there will be more ukes...I'm up to 3 after about a month of playing ;)
 
save $100 a month and buy yourself a HF-3 Kamaka in a year...or save up $40 a month and buy yourself a MTD Pono from HMS in a year...somewhere in between should be where you can save...if you are truly hand to mouth...I would keep barking up the tree you currently are...but I have no experience with those. But you might try Gretsch...Islander...etc. I would buy solid and not settle for less. the issue is, imho, are you just buying to get into ukulele? [which is usually the case, but eventually you will want a better one] or are you truly getting into it? [in which case save up and buy once, and be done with it] either way you are destined to get UAS...and the grass is always greener...on the other side.

Good Luck!

Nah, I don't want it in a year, I want it now :p

Besides whats's good enough, and when is enough? I am well aware about the UAS, have had similar syndromes concerning high quality expensive leather bags/gear, and a lot of other things, the most important thing is to get something good in the beginning, and then use that, not fall for the pressure of buying more. Just wait it out. I really don't want to put to much money into it even if I had more. A nive solid tenor is what's good enough for me. Hell, I can't almost hear the difference of different kinds of wood.


Ask Jim if he'll ship this Ohana to you in Sweden... he has Southcoast strings on it and a button. It has an A/E output too. Really good deal on a tenor:
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?97443-FS-FT-Ohana-Thinline-Tenor/page2

Thanks for the advise, but I want to buy new :)

For what it's worth, I'm a beginner uke player and I like my KA-TE a lot. It is a solid first uke that can always be a good backup to higher end ukes that I may get in the future...and there will be more ukes...I'm up to 3 after about a month of playing ;)

Well that's thr thing, I want to make sure that I am happy with my first Uke, so I won't have to buy 3 of them during the first month ;)
 
Lucifer.....reminds me of when I was a kid and my Dad gave me a dollar to buy candy in a big candy store.....everything looked so good and I wanted one piece of every one. I even got to try some for free but settled on a bunch of different kind because they looked good. Most were, but some of the prettiest wound up not my favorite. And the couple of pieces I got for free was really the best. I should have listened to the lady. I may not have purchased the best, but it sure was fun shopping and my Dad got some free babysitting for a buck...lol
I feel your confusion and believe that the advice given to you would all be great choices. When you do choose and get your new baby in your hands I bet you will feel you made the best choice. But if you do not you could sell it and may loose a few dollars. Quality instruments should hold their value fairly good.
But I bet you will keep her and if ukuleles are for you love her. And like so many of our members she will be your first love, but not your last if UAS should strike:)
Enjoy the shopping like I did as a kid in the candy shop. I sure enjoyed shopping for my second uke and I am sure she will keep me happy for a year or two before I "need" another one. Thanks for bringing back that memory of my candy shopping spree...almost forgot that one....time sure fly's and "toys" do cost more now that I am a big kid...lol
 
Last edited:
Well that's thr thing, I want to make sure that I am happy with my first Uke, so I won't have to buy 3 of them during the first month ;)

Haven't been upgrading already, there was a long delay in the first one I ordered (Tom TUT-200E) which is how I ended up with the Kala for my first uke because I didn't think the first Tom was going to get shipped. The Tom showed up a few weeks later so that made two. Then I bought a cheapo to leave at work ;)
 
Nah, I don't want it in a year, I want it now :p

Besides whats's good enough, and when is enough? I am well aware about the UAS, have had similar syndromes concerning high quality expensive leather bags/gear, and a lot of other things, the most important thing is to get something good in the beginning, and then use that, not fall for the pressure of buying more. Just wait it out. I really don't want to put to much money into it even if I had more. A nive solid tenor is what's good enough for me. Hell, I can't almost hear the difference of different kinds of wood.




Thanks for the advise, but I want to buy new :)



Well that's thr thing, I want to make sure that I am happy with my first Uke, so I won't have to buy 3 of them during the first month ;)

Sounds like you know what you want in several areas already, and that is half the battle. YouTube has sound samples of pretty much all that has been mentioned so far.

Here's a few I listened to in helping me decide to buy my KPK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSrALaTlqbg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAWpx2ZIdYI
 
There's an added cost to living in low humidity areas with a solid wood thin top ukulele...you will need a hard case and humidifiers..
I use two humidifiers plus a reader.My house is similar to yours and can get into the single digits so when my KPK tenor came I was prepared But it was an extra $150 I was not thinking about. That's said my next ukulele will be a plywood ukulele,something I can take anywhere and in a soft case.Like you I like nice things but there is nothing wrong or cheep with a good ply ukulele.
When that time comes and I can buy the Koaloha that sings to me it won't be new, becouse like me it had gotten better with age.
 
Kala exotic mahogony. Classic sound, affordable price, option for electronics... Can't go wrong.

I've had mine for four years now and I've been thinking of buying another simply to have two different tunings (low G and high G) immediately available.

Honestly, $300 will buy a lot of ukulele.

~Danny
 
Top Bottom