Intermediate Ukulele

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Biamcs2000

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So about 3 or 4 months ago a friend of mine gave me a used Lanikai Lu-21 ukulele because she had two. I'm thinking of getting a better one, preferably solid body, for christmas, but I not an ukulele connoisseur so I have no idea on what to get. What are the best soprano/tenor ukuleles I can get for under $200?
 
$200 is still starter range of ukulele. If you are in the US, I'd recommend a Mainland Ukulele, which are a little more than your price point, but the best instrument for your money at that level (particularly with new instruments).

Other mid level instruments (new) will be in the $500 and up range (Pono, KoAloha Opio, Martin).
 
Contact Mim with your question, she'll give you the best advice and if she has one sell you, do a proper setup too.

http://mimsukes.com
 
I agree with contacting Mim. I just bought a Pono from her ($303) and it is a very nice ukulele. She had some Opios for $350. So you can get a good midrange uke without spending $500.
 
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Agreed on MIM's. She'll hook you up.
Alternately a good suggestion is to buy used from here on the UU Marketplace. You should be able to get something decent in that price range. Just make sure it got a good set-up initially.
 
In a new uke, sticking to your price range, the best all solid wood uke for $200 or less is the KPK solid acacia from Aiersi. It's a bit on the heavy side, but it has the tone of ukes costing many, many times more. Lots of fans of them here. I'd never get rid of my concert. You may even get one in the marketplace cheaper if you're lucky.

http://www.aiersiguitar.com/koa-pili-koko-brand-tenor-ukulele/
 
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High end solid wood Kaka (yes Kaka, not Kala) or low end Enya come in under US $200 and in my opinion outclass everything else under US$500. They're transitioning from 2015 to 2016 models, so stock may be difficult to find at the moment but they're definitely worth considering. The last of the 2015 KUC-MADs were sold off for $99 on Amazon, which was a steal for an all solid (mostly) African mahogany, lightly built, nicely finished, easy playing tone machine. The 2016 versions are starting to become available, and the changes all seem to be positive. I haven't had a chance to play one yet but will pick up a concert scale soon.
 
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Unless you like the prefer the soprano scale, I'd look at concerts as well.
I'd second the recommendation for Koa Pili Koko. I've got a pineapple soprano, a mahogany concert (my favorite), and a couple of tenors (acacia and mahogany deluxe), all purchased for $200 or less, and all nice players with a low action and nice string spacing.
I'm in the process of culling my uke herd (I don't need 5 tenors!) and would be willing to part with a plain tenor acacia (with Asian headstock) for $200 (shipping incl) if you're interested. Otherwise, you can by them new at pilikoko.com for $240, I believe. PM me if you're interested and I can send thru pics.
 
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