Which is the better deal for a beginner uke?

Hi! I'm interested in learning to play and have finally decided to start looking at beginner ukes. There are two used ukes offered in my area, and I'm wondering which would be the better deal for a beginner. The first is a Kala KA-15s, which seems to be a common instrument for beginners, at $40. The second is an Oscar Schmidt OU2 concert uke for $35. I've seen quite a few complaints online about the OU2, but am not sure if this is due to actual bad quality or just lower performance relative to its higher starting price? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Whilst I have never actually owned one, the Kala brand
gets a generally good mention from all who own them,and
I have played a few with no problems.The Oscar Schmidt
models I have never played, so have no opinion on them.

I am sure that in this case, either would be suitable. They are two different sizes so play them if you can and then choose the one that feels best in your hands and to your ears. The Oscars are not the loudest ukes around, but with Aquila strings, they generally sound very good. I have an OU5 myself. The OU2 would be a little heavier than the more popular Kala and will have a fuller sound. Neither have bone nut and saddles which may help. At those prices, it's a no lose situation. New, they are both around $53. I play all the sizes, but am a concert fan myself.

McCabe's Guitar Shop here in Santa Monica has an overstock sale on Ohana SK12's and has been selling them for $65 (normally $109). Great 'uke for the money. And they sell online, too. You could always call them as well.

jaeb welcome to the UU community. The difference in price is negligible here. Wouldn't buy you two cups of coffee at starbucks to seal the deal with the seller. You need to re-read the bad reviews about the O Schmidt to see if what they are saying is of importance to you. A high action wouldn't be so much of a problem for a beginner if they already played a steel strung instrument. check the intonation on each string up to the twelfth fret. Use an electronic tuner. You'll need one anyway. Don't expect perfect intonation either, but one instrument will probably be better than the other. Play each instrument if you can and see which one sounds better to you. If you like the sound and the intonation is pretty good you'll be happier playing it while you're learning. If you take to the uke you'll soon be ready to upgrade to a better sounding instrument. Last concern is scale length. CT is 2" longer than a soprano. Small hands or small reach Soprano may be the best bet. Large hands consider the concert. If your a rank beginner I would go with the scale length criteria, unless you need a cup of coffee.

:agree: Always good for a beginner to learn what constitutes a "properly set up" uke before going shopping and playing some prior to buying. Some shoppers have played as many as a half-dozen of the same uke and ended up with one of them that played and sounded the best.

I learned the hard way don't go buy the list price or MSRP. I did I bought a ukulele list was 115.00 clearance price 39.99 + gig bag & tuner. I seen them selling with prices all over the map most seemed to be 70 to 80.00 I paid 39.99 for the one I got it's not worth more then the 40.00 - ! a penny I paid to me! Someone else may think it's worth the 80.00 I seen it as high as 120.00 If a soprano ukulele fits your needs the Kala KA-15S is a nice beginner ukulele. At the same time you can get a new one for around 53.00 on ebay. I bought before going to a ukulele store I found out about. In doing so I found that their is a big difference in ukuleles how they sound and play based on the set up and woods , solid and laminated etc. Phil makes a great point (properly set up). I'm learning as I go. I did get to play a KA-15S it's a nice ukulele. If you could go see both ukuleles if nothing else you could decide on what size ukulele suites you better the small soprano or the little bit bigger concert. If I had it to do over I would skip the soprano & started with a concert size knowing what I know now. For my hand size the concert & tenors are a better fit. Do your homework it will payoff. I didn't find this site till after I bought my ukulele.

If they sound good to you - no buzzing, sounds ok when you play a chord above the first three frets - why not get both?

Practice one day with one size and the next day with the other one.

I felt really frustrated at first on a soprano with a D chord (2220) but could play it on a concert with no problem. Yet I could not easily do an Em (0432) on the concert, but had no problem on the soprano. After I built up muscle memory, I could play either chord on either size.

Some good advice from the folks above.

I have a Kala KA-15S. I've had it a few years now. It was my second uke (I think), I still have it and like it a lot.

We had a thread on them a while ago. Might not have a whole lot of content, but there were a few folks that held the same opinion as me:
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...15S-for-total-beginners&highlight=kala+ka-15s

I have played the Kala-15s, and I liked it. I don't have any experience with the other brand you mentioned. I started out with a soprano, and I've only been playing for like 3 months and I'm already wishing for a concert. So, that may be something to consider.

The only entry level soprano I ever played that sounded good was a Kala....I tried an OS, and I thought it stunk, and so did the Ohana soprano I bought....'course I can't make any soprano sound very good....I use all concert models....

actadh said:

If they sound good to you - no buzzing, sounds ok when you play a chord above the first three frets - why not get both?

Click to expand...

Ah the voice of reason, jump start your UAS, just give in.

Of course I mentioned in another post my go to ukulele is a Kala KA-SEM I bought in the marketplace for $85 with a setup case and strings around a year ago. I think they retail around $100 or so.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/review/product/list/id/354/category/10/