Uke upgrade help please.

Still doing research, might as well since I won't have the money until Friday, but right now the outdoor tenor in green is looking good. Next question is do I want to shell out the money for the pickup, can't really see me using it much, especially camping. Could just save my pennys and get a good uke in the future, ya know, when I get good enough to have others want me to plug in and play with them.

sukie said:

The I second a Mainland! I just got a Mainland super-concert pineapple. It's wonderful. And it's got a lovely tone. My regular player is a Moore Bettah, so I'm kinda picky about tone. I think you'd be happy with a Mainland.

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Congrats Sukie. I wonder how this feels compared to the holy grail, your MB....
To the OP, I have no idea which uke to recommend, but congrats on learning your 1st song! Mine was way simpler than that, it only had 2 chords, and took me almost a year to learn! (Jambalaya, I'm a very slow but thorough learner)

MananAtma said:

Still doing research, might as well since I won't have the money until Friday, but right now the outdoor tenor in green is looking good. Next question is do I want to shell out the money for the pickup, can't really see me using it much, especially camping. Could just save my pennys and get a good uke in the future, ya know, when I get good enough to have others want me to plug in and play with them.

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I've played Outdoor ukes and they're fun and very useful things to have, but soundwise they're no big whoop (IMHO). Don't waste money amplifying it. Enjoy it for what it is.

If you ever need volume, you can always get a stick-on mic.

Here is the link to a very informative thread on Outdoor Ukuleles: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?108932-Tenor-Outdoor-Ukulele

If you backpack and want to keep it small, I'd recommend a Flea. (Mine spent a week on a sailboat this past winter.)
If you want the deeper sound of a bigger body,
I have a like-new concert Fluke (Natural light wood color) with passive pick-up AND upgraded wooden fretboard (feels so much better than plastic and you can change strings to wound low G without wear on frets) that I'd sell for $250 including shipping. PM me if interested.

Someone just posted a Tenor Outdoor for $100. That's a bargain. If it is still available...snap it up.

The Outdoor Ukes are great. I'm about to take on another soprano myself. Keep in mind the new tenor parts haven't arrived yet, so it may be a bit before they ship those... That said, they have new tooling now that allows them to glue and clamp up 12 per hour. Before they could only do 12 per day. Still all made in the USA.
I think both the soprano and tenor play great, feel great, and sound great. It's not like wood, but I just really like them...I never thought I'd find such happiness in what is a really inexpensive instrument, all things considered. Not having to worry over them is great too.

The Fluke has been good to me - strung with a low G fluorocarbon. It's been to Africa and back with no problems.

The more research I do the more I realize there are some nice solid wood ukes just above my price cap (someone did point that out) so I may wait another month so I can get something better. I'm also looking at traditional ukes, not just the pineapple. Still will be getting an outdoor for hiking and camping, may go with the soprano because its smaller and easier to just toss in a back pack for a day of hiking. Still listening to advice and appreciate all the replies so far, lots to consider. If I wait another month my price cap will be $400.

If you have a size preference, and you are open to different brands and tone woods, you could post a WTB (want to buy) thread in the Marketplace section with your budget and see what people offer. $400 might get you a used uke that would otherwise cost $600 or more. If you later sell it, you will likely recover most of what you paid.

I bought three of my ukes from other regular forum users and it always went extremely well. I also sold a few ukes that I feel were great deals for the buyers (I wanted to sell quickly, so I had asked a moderate price).

An expensive solid wood uke is a no go for camping. I just bring my cheap plastic korala. Suprisingly good for what it is, which is a dirt cheap plastic uke. I think they're called Vorson in the states.

Situation update, money situation loosened up a bit, have decided on the Outdoor soprano for hiking and camping. Tenor may sound better but would not fit in my day bag as nicely. Now for a nice sounding concert, I can swing about $250, maybe $300. I would like to get a solid top but am not sure what the different qualities of the woods are. Spruce vs maple vs koa vs ect.......? If I can keep money low enough I can swing for a hard/polyfoam case. Ilive in Milwaukee WI, do I need a humidor being so close to the lake?

Since you live in the north (incidentally, I grew up around the Milwaukee area and now live in the Twin Cities), it is the heat in your home that will sap the humidity from the air. As the weather changes--you won't need a humidifier for the summer: but you will need a case and a case humidifier in the fall.

There are so many choices when it comes to solid wood ukuleles, even in the $300 range. Since you are in the Milwaukee area, consider visiting the Milwaukee Ukulele Club and getting to know some people and hearing what their ukuleles are like. Also keep your eye out on Craigslist and here on the forums. And realistically, if you can hold off a little while and add another $200 to $250 to your purchase, you can exponentially expand the value of what you get for your money.

For example, Mim (Mim's ukes) has Opio Concerts on eBay right now for $425 (I would upgrade to a case, and e-mail her if you are interested as she can sell off eBay, too); you can buy a wonderful "second" or even a "first" Mainland for well under $500, Kala and Ohana and other popular manufacturers have solid wood offerings under $400, and for a totally different ukulele you might even want to check out one of the Bonanza wood models.

The "hassle" of humidification isn't bad...you simply fill a humidifier ($20) with distilled water just about once a week (at least in my house). And also buy a hygrometer to track humidity (next winter I will buy the new Bluetooth D'Addario hygrometer).

You might like to consider a solid top rather than an all solid - maybe cedar.

As far as brands go, how do you feel about Cordobas? There are a couple of 35TS's that are seconds because of blemish's in the finish. I will email Mainland today asking about seconds. I think I will get what I can now and save my money and upgrade when I hit another milestone, like say I perform for the first time? Got to have these little incentives to keep practicing.

Sorry uke1950, I should have been more clear, yes, I'm looking for a solid top, not an all solid. Was looking at a cedar but was a bit pricing.

MananAtma said:

Sorry uke1950, I should have been more clear, yes, I'm looking for a solid top, not an all solid. Was looking at a cedar but was a bit pricing.

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They do have a lovely tone though.....

Cordoba make fine ukes, actually. But like with any lower cost ukes (and maybe all ukes in general), it's important to buy them from a place that includes setups.

Ukes purchased and out for delivery. I went with the Outdoor soprano with low G D'Addario strings in green for my camping/hiking uke. I found an amazing deal on a Cordoba 35TS tenor ($215) that I could not pass up. I will set it up myself, if I run into the slightest snag I will take it to a local music store with a good rep.

My big question is what strings should I put on the Cordoba? I usually go with Aquila, but I've seen Worths spoken of highly, any recommendations? Also need to be educated on humidifiers.

Did I do good? I probably should have asked for opinions about the Cordoba, but if its the deal I hope it is I did not want it to slip away.

Strings are a personal choice, and some work better on some instruments than others. Unless you dislike the ones it comes with, I'd stick to those for a while. I use different strings on most of my ukes (after a lot of experimentation). I have mixed opinions about fluorocarbon strings as far as their somewhat clinical and sterile sound goes, but I like the thinness that they often have (also causes the least intonation issues if a ukulele wasn't setup for thicker strings or doesn't have a compensated saddle). I like Aquila Red Series strings on a lot of ukes.

My personal choice would be Living Water low G flourocarbons.