My next Uke????

My first and current uke is an Schmidt OU2. I started playing 3 months ago and have taught myself. I have changed to aqila strings. Thinking about upgrading my instrument. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Going to get suggestions all over the place. Any ideas on what you are looking for? Price range is a biggy. Size? wood/finish? Desired sound? Special features such as cutaway, pickup, etc. etc.? If you can narrow it down a little, you will get much better results.

Thanks for the advice. Price $300 +/-. No real preference about wood finish or any special features. Currently on a Concert and that seems to be a good size for me.

in that range you will get two common referrals of pono and mainland. Never played mainland but the look nice.

I would look for one of these...
http://www.theukulelesite.com/koaloha-opio-concert-ukulele-package.html

This is one of the best concerts in the mid-range price point, IMO... I think Pono's build for concerts is a little less effective than their tenors (again, my own opinion), but you can't go wrong with the Opios/KoAlanas as your next step. If you wanted something in between or cheaper (might be hard to find a good Opio/KoAlana for cheap) Kala's mid-level concerts with solid wood construction are great, and Mainland is obviously a very good and popular choice.

I managed to snag a good KoAlana concert from Isaac (ukulelelab) for $235 shipped... a great deal, and obviously one that was available for a short time. My point is, look around before you buy new... you may luck out and get something good for cheap!

My second uke was a Mainland classic mahogany concert gloss with Amber/silver friction pegs. Its punchy full tone was huge coming from a cheap laminate Kala soprano. ( also an excellent instrument for the price Ka-15s ). I've tried a few other brands in different sizes and woods. Pono Acasia tenor, Kala tenor, Mainland Soprano and a few others. All very nice instruments. There is just something about that concert mainlands punchy tone I really like and keep going back too, it's really quite a beauty as well. I would highly recommend it. Haven't tried Ohana yet but they have a good reputation and look similar in design to mainlands. Keep in mind the Kala, mainland, and ohana have closer string spacing than you OS or Pono's. Which I prefer for faster strumming, others prefer the wider spacing for fingerpicking. Just MHO, I'm pretty new to the ukulele as well though.

Jason

To upgrade, I'd definitifely go for a company that produces all solid instruments, either Pono or KoAloha Opio (be aware of those friction tuners on the latter, though). You said you liked the concert size, and so do I, but buying another Uke could give you the chance to try a different size as well. To me, Pono really stands out in the tenor size.

I have a Pono mahogany concert that I love. That being said, the cedar topped Mainland concert will impress the hell out of you. On the low end, the solid acacia concert KPK sounds amazing with the right strings at $185

since you've already had a great recommendation for a uke about $100 over your price range (The Opio will definitely be my next uke), let me give you one on the low end -

Have you considered a flea/fluke. They have a great sound, amazing durability, the setup and playability are awesome, and for your price point you could get some great options - cool designs, a pickup, etc. A majority of people I play with/for prefer the sound of my concert flea over the Pono MT.

My recommendations are: Don't get wood fretboard (unless you can't live without wound strings), do consider the peghead geared tuners (friction can have a bit of a learning curve) and if you want to go cheaper, call Magic Fluke company and ask about seconds.

Keep playing your Oscar Schmidt and upgrade to at LEAST a Pono or Hawaiian built!

For purely sound….. Pono AT over my Tenor Walnut Fluke…. no question. Flurocarbon strings on both. Pono Worth cleaners……. Fluke Fremont blackline. That being said………. Fluke is funky in its own right. Mainland…… Pono, Koaloha Opio all good choices. If I had the money, in your shoes probably try the KoAloha Opio. Just……… my opinion. Good luck!